News

June, 09 2025 • Articles

SparingVision appoints Dr. Kali Stasi as Chief Medical Officer

• Experienced global leader in ophthalmology and gene therapy to advance SparingVision’s clinical programs towards registration and commercialization
• Over 30 years of experience across academic research, biotech, and pharma, including key leadership roles at Novartis, SalioGen, and Adverum, especially in inherited retinal diseases and age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
   

Paris, 9 June 2025 – SparingVision (“the Company”), a clinical-stage genomic medicine company transforming the treatment of retinal disease, today announced the appointment of Kalliopi “Kali” Stasi, MD, PhD, as Chief Medical Officer effective immediately. A seasoned physician-scientist with over 30 years of ophthalmology experience, Dr. Stasi brings the required strategic leadership and deep expertise in early and late-stage clinical development to successfully advance the Company’s gene therapy programs through proof of concept, pivotal trials and toward commercialization. She succeeds Dr. Daniel Chung, who played a key role in advancing the Company’s assets to early-stage clinical development over the past five years.
 
Kali’s appointment comes as SparingVision is accelerating the development of its suite of platform-in-a-product gene therapy programs, with the goal of initiating up to three pivotal studies in 2027. SPVN06, the lead gene therapy program which aims to preserve function independently of the cause of the disease, is currently enrolling its Phase II PRODYGY study in retinitis pigmentosa (RP) with a Phase II trial in geographic atrophy secondary to dry AMD also planned. SPVN20, its second gene therapy program, which is aimed at restoring function regardless of genetic cause, is about to enter clinical development, with a CTA authorization recently granted for the first-in-human NYRVANA study in the first of three European countries targeted.  
 
Dr. Stasi has led early and late-stage clinical programs across a range of retinal diseases, including wet and dry AMD, inherited retinal diseases, and glaucoma. She has held senior roles at Novartis, Adverum and SalioGen where she oversaw global trial strategy and execution, including the ex-US launch of Luxturna®. Her leadership has consistently focused on moving pioneering science into and through the clinic with rigor and patient focus.
 
Stéphane Boissel, Chief Executive Officer of SparingVision, commented: “Kali brings exactly the leadership we need at this important moment for SparingVision as we look ahead to initiate our first registrational trials in 2027. Her deep ophthalmology expertise, combined with a strong track record of leading gene therapies through late-stage development, makes her ideally placed to advance the development of SPVN06 and SPVN20, strengthening our ability to execute with precision, ambition and ingenuity. I’d also like to thank Dr. Dan Chung for his many contributions in laying the clinical foundations we are now building upon as we progress towards clinical proof-of-concept and look beyond to later stage development.”
 
Dr. Kali Stasi, Chief Medical Officer of SparingVision, also commented: “What drew me to SparingVision is its clarity of purpose: a team grounded in rigorous science and deeply committed to changing the trajectory of retinal disease. This is a pivotal time for the company, with multiple clinical programs advancing. I’m looking forward to contributing to the next phase of development and build upon the achievements of the team under Dan’s leadership. There is real momentum behind the work here, and I’m excited to help translate that into meaningful impact for patients who need it.”
 
Dr. Stasi is an ophthalmologist, holds an M.D. and a Ph.D. in neurodegenerative diseases from the University of Patras, School of Medicine in Greece, and has trained at leading academic institutions in the U.S., including Harvard Medical School, Mount Sinai, the University of Rochester, and Johns Hopkins. She is the recipient of the Novartis Ophthalmology Vision Award and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications.

**ENDS**

Contacts:
Investors:
Nathalie Trepo (nathalie.trepo@sparingvision.com)
 
Media:
ICR Healthcare (sparingvision@icrhealthcare.com)
 
About SparingVision
SparingVision is a clinical-stage genomic medicines company with a mission to translate pioneering science into vision saving treatments. Leveraging its unparalleled understanding of retinal diseases, SparingVision has built the world’s most compelling portfolio of synergistic cutting-edge gene therapy and genome editing treatments for blinding retinal diseases. Its most advanced products, SPVN06 and SPVN20 look to go beyond single gene correction therapies to deliver new mutation agnostic treatments for Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and geographic atrophy secondary to dry-AMD, two leading causes of blindness globally. The Company also has a strategic collaboration with Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NTLA) to develop novel genome editing-based treatments for ocular disease utilizing CRISPR-Cas9 technology.

SparingVision is a spin-off from the Paris Vision Institute and backed by high-quality investors including 4BIO Capital, Adbio Partners, Bpifrance, Retinal Degeneration Fund, the venture arm of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, Fondation Voir & Entendre, Intellia Therapeutics, UPMC Enterprises, Jeito Capital and Ysios Capital.
Visit www.sparingvision.com for more and follow us on LinkedIn and X  @SparingVision
 
About SPVN06
SPVN06 is a proprietary, mutation-agnostic, AAV vector based investigational gene therapy approach comprised of one neurotrophic factor (Rod derived Cone Viability Factor, RdCVF) and one enzyme reducing oxidative stress (Rod derived Cone Viability Factor Long form, RdCVFL). Acting synergistically, RdCVF and RdCVFL aim at slowing or stopping the degeneration of cone photoreceptors, which inevitably leads to blindness in patients with rod-cone dystrophies (RCD). SparingVision’s primary disease target is retinitis pigmentosa (RP), one of the most common inherited retinal diseases that affects an estimated two million patients worldwide. There is currently no treatment approved to treat patients with RP independently of their genetic background. This approach is potentially applicable to many more diseases, where the loss of rods is known to be an early signal of the disease, notably Geographic Atrophy (GA) secondary to dry Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). SPVN06 is the result of world-leading ophthalmology research by SparingVision founders José-Alain Sahel and Thierry Léveillard at the Paris Vision Institute.
 
About SPVN20
SparingVision’s second product, SPVN20, is another pioneering, mutation-agnostic gene therapy product, which aims to restore visual acuity and color vision in advanced and late-stage Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) patients with dormant cones. An injection with SPVN20 provides cone cell bodies with the GIRK (G-Protein Inward Rectifying Potassium Channel) channel, a protein activating an alternative phototransduction cascade within the dormant cone, restoring its electric signal and thereby vision, regardless of the patient’s genetic mutation.