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November, 08 2022 • Articles

Nacuity Pharmaceuticals Expands Board of Directors with Appointment of Dr. Russell Kelley

Managing director of the Retinal Degeneration Fund joins board of directors

FORT WORTH, TX – Nov. 8, 2022 -- Nacuity Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for retinitis pigmentosa, cataracts, and other ocular diseases caused by oxidative stress, today announced the appointment of Russell Kelley, Ph.D., MBA, to its board of directors. Dr. Kelley currently serves as managing director of the Retinal Degeneration (RD) Fund, the venture arm of Foundation Fighting Blindness and a significant investor of Nacuity.

Dr. Kelley is a pharmacologist who brings a wealth of experience advancing life science technologies to Nacuity’s board. Dr. Kelley helped launch the RD Fund and has been instrumental in building a portfolio of novel technologies including genetic medicines. Prior to his promotion to managing director, he served as RD Fund senior vice president of investments and alliances, responsible for identifying and managing external investment opportunities.

“The Foundation and the RD Fund have been integral in helping Nacuity realize our vision to advance programs to address retinal diseases caused by oxidative stress, and we are pleased to welcome Rusty to our board,” said Halden Conner, Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Nacuity Pharmaceuticals. “We look forward to leveraging Rusty’s development and investment experience as we advance our lead candidates through proof-of-concept trials and explore the potential of our science in additional ophthalmic indications.”

Prior to joining the Foundation in 2018, Dr. Kelley led several initiatives at the Burroughs Wellcome Fund for funding gaps in interdisciplinary and translational medicine, while earning an executive MBA from Duke University. His experience also includes prior scientific and leadership roles in industry spanning discovery, preclinical and clinical development across multiple therapeutic fields. Among his board service with several portfolio companies, Dr. Kelley is a founding director of Opus Genetics.

“Oxidative stress is involved in a number of diseases of the eye and Nacuity’s first-in-class therapies have the potential to stop oxidative tissue damage leading to multiple blinding eye diseases,” said Dr. Kelley. “The RD Fund’s mission is to catalyze treatments and cures for blinding retinal diseases through investment, and we have been fortunate to have supported Nacuity since its inception. I look forward to working more closely with the board and leadership team to help advance this important work.”

About Nacuity Pharmaceuticals
Nacuity Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage leader in innovative treatments for oxidative stress. The company’s powerful, targeted therapies aim to stop oxidative tissue damage, a driver of blinding eye diseases and a broad spectrum of serious chronic conditions. Nacuity has three highly differentiated clinical programs ongoing in retinitis pigmentosa, cataracts and cystinosis with the potential to be first-of-a-kind therapies and gateways to wider applications. Based in Fort Worth, TX, the company has extensive managerial and scientific domain expertise as well as backing from Foundation Fighting Blindness (https://www.fightingblindness.org/) and its venture arm RD Fund (https://www.retinaldegenerationfund.org). For more information, please visit www.nacuity.com.

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