Richard Rodgers has served on our Board since November 2020 and served as our Interim Chief Executive Officer and President from April 2023 through October 2023. Prior to his appointment as Interim Chief Executive Officer and President in April 2023, Mr. Rodgers served as chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Compensation Committee since November 2020. Mr. Rodgers previously served as a member of the board of Rexahn from 2014 until November 2020. Mr. Rodgers currently serves on the board of directors and as the chair of the audit committee and member of the compensation committee of Ardelyx, Inc., Novavax, Inc., and Sagimet Biosciences, Inc. Mr. Rodgers was previously Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer of TESARO, Inc., an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company that he co-founded, from March 2010 until August 2013. He served as the Chief Financial Officer from June 2009 to February 2010 of Abraxis BioScience, Inc. which was subsequently acquired by Celgene Corporation. Prior to that, Mr. Rodgers served as Senior Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of MGI PHARMA, INC., from 2004 until its acquisition by Eisai Co., Ltd. in January 2008. He has held finance and accounting positions at several private and public companies, including Arthur Andersen. Mr. Rodgers holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Financial Accounting from St. Cloud State University and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Business.

James S. Manuso, Ph.D., M.B.A., Chairman and CEO of Talfinium Investments, Inc., has served on the Ocuphire Board since January 2019.  Dr. Manuso is an international biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry CEO and management consultant with over 25 years’ experience.   He has co-founded multiple biotech companies where he held C-level management positions.  As chairman and CEO of Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Dr. Manuso led the sale of the Company to Otsuka Pharmaceuticals for $886 million.  A former Board Member of the Biotechnology Industry Association, he has served on the boards of several private and public companies in the US, UK, France, Canada and Ireland. Dr. Manuso earned a B.A. with honors in Economics and Chemistry from New York University, a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology and Genetics from the New School University, and an Executive M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Sean Ainsworth is Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board at Immusoft, a Seattle-based cell therapy company, and has 25 years of experience in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Mr. Ainsworth has served as a member of the Ocuphire Board since April 2018 and currently serves as the Lead Independent Director of the Board. Previously, he founded and led RetroSense Therapeutics, a gene therapy company he advanced into human clinical trials and sold to Allergan in 2016 in a deal valued at up to $555 million. Earlier, he was deeply involved in the launch of Compendia Bioscience, Inc., and GeneVivo, LLC. At both, he assisted in developing business models, licensing technologies, building management teams, and securing capital and first customers. Life Technologies acquired Compendia BioScience in 2012. Mr. Ainsworth founded Ainsworth BioConsulting in 2004 to provide licensing, as well as strategic and business planning services to the life science and entrepreneurial community. His clients included large pharmaceutical companies, small biotechnology companies, universities, clinical research organizations, and venture investment funds. He has worked with clients at all stages of development. His other professional experience includes research at the Medical Biology Institute (now Avanir Pharmaceuticals, developers of Abreva, the leading cold sore medication), intellectual property at Koyama and Associates in Tokyo, and international corporate development consulting at The Mattson Jack Group. Mr. Ainsworth earned a B.S. in Microbiology from University of California, San Diego and an M.B.A. in strategy and finance from Washington University in St. Louis.

Cam Gallagher has more than 28 years of experience in the life science and biotech industry with a focus on corporate development, marketing, operations, and early-stage investing. Mr. Gallagher has served as a member of the Ocuphire Board since January 2019 and Chair since December 2019. He is a co-founder and board member of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ZNTL) since December 2014. He also currently serves on the board of directors of VelosBio and SelectION. In addition to his board roles, Mr. Gallagher serves as Chief Business Officer at Immusoft and business advisor to jCyte. Prior to joining Immusoft, he was a Director and Chief Business Officer at RetroSense Therapeutics, which was acquired by Allergan in 2016. Mr. Gallagher was Managing Director of Nerveda, LLC, a life science seed fund he co-founded in June 2007. Prior to these roles, he held management positions at Oncternal, Zavante, Verus Pharma, CV Therapeutics and Dura Pharma. Mr. Gallagher holds an M.B.A. from the University of San Diego and a B.S. in Business Administration from Ohio University in 1992.

Sean Ainsworth is Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board at Immusoft, a Seattle-based cell therapy company, and has 25 years of experience in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Mr. Ainsworth has served as a member of the Ocuphire Board since April 2018 and currently serves as the Lead Independent Director of the Board. Previously, he founded and led RetroSense Therapeutics, a gene therapy company he advanced into human clinical trials and sold to Allergan in 2016 in a deal valued at up to $555 million. Earlier, he was deeply involved in the launch of Compendia Bioscience, Inc., and GeneVivo, LLC. At both, he assisted in developing business models, licensing technologies, building management teams, and securing capital and first customers. Life Technologies acquired Compendia BioScience in 2012. Mr. Ainsworth founded Ainsworth BioConsulting in 2004 to provide licensing, as well as strategic and business planning services to the life science and entrepreneurial community. His clients included large pharmaceutical companies, small biotechnology companies, universities, clinical research organizations, and venture investment funds. He has worked with clients at all stages of development. His other professional experience includes research at the Medical Biology Institute (now Avanir Pharmaceuticals, developers of Abreva, the leading cold sore medication), intellectual property at Koyama and Associates in Tokyo, and international corporate development consulting at The Mattson Jack Group. Mr. Ainsworth earned a B.S. in Microbiology from University of California, San Diego and an M.B.A. in strategy and finance from Washington University in St. Louis.

Susan Benton joined the Ocuphire Board in November 2020. She serves as the General Manager and Head of the U.S. for Thea Pharma, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Thea Laboratories, a leading independent ophthalmic pharmaceutical company, since 2019. Ms Benton has extensive experience in building companies and brands with deep expertise in strategy, commercial operations, and business development.  Ms. Benton’s career spans more than 30 years in life sciences with over 20 years focused in ophthalmology.  From 2015-2019, Susan served in a number of key leadership positions while at Shire and played an instrumental role in the expansion of the ophthalmic pipeline.  As the Head of New Products, she led the Ophthalmic Innovation Committee that shaped and executed the growth strategy for the franchise.  Before joining Shire, Susan served in a leadership capacity in Global Business Development for Bausch + Lomb Pharmaceuticals where she and the Corporate Development team transacted over 10 deals in 3 years.  She was a co-Founder and CCO for an ophthalmic start-up, Sirion Therapeutics, where she launched and oversaw the commercialization of Durezol® and Zirgan® before being sold to Alcon and B+L respectively.  Susan began her ophthalmic career at B+L where she assumed leadership roles as the Head of Diversified Products and as the VP of Professional Sales. During her tenure she launched B+L’s first ever branded products, Lotemax® and Alrex®, in addition to Optivar® through a co-promote with Muro Pharmaceutical.  She has also served as a strategic consultant for more than a dozen start-up ophthalmic companies.   Her experience outside of ophthalmology includes roles as the VP of Consumer and Professional Sales for J&J’s diabetes franchise, LifeScan, and senior manager roles in Sanofi Pasteur’s vaccine business.  Ms. Benton serves on the boards of two privately held ophthalmic companies; Tarsius Pharma and Translatum Medicus, Inc. (TMi) since 2019. Susan earned her MBA the University of South Florida and a BS in Biology from Muhlenberg College.

Richard Rodgers has served on our Board since November 2020 and served as our Interim Chief Executive Officer and President from April 2023 through October 2023. Prior to his appointment as Interim Chief Executive Officer and President in April 2023, Mr. Rodgers served as chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Compensation Committee since November 2020. Mr. Rodgers previously served as a member of the board of Rexahn from 2014 until November 2020. Mr. Rodgers currently serves on the board of directors and as the chair of the audit committee and member of the compensation committee of Ardelyx, Inc., Novavax, Inc., and Sagimet Biosciences, Inc. Mr. Rodgers was previously Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer of TESARO, Inc., an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company that he co-founded, from March 2010 until August 2013. He served as the Chief Financial Officer from June 2009 to February 2010 of Abraxis BioScience, Inc. which was subsequently acquired by Celgene Corporation. Prior to that, Mr. Rodgers served as Senior Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of MGI PHARMA, INC., from 2004 until its acquisition by Eisai Co., Ltd. in January 2008. He has held finance and accounting positions at several private and public companies, including Arthur Andersen. Mr. Rodgers holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Financial Accounting from St. Cloud State University and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Business.

James S. Manuso, Ph.D., M.B.A., Chairman and CEO of Talfinium Investments, Inc., has served on the Ocuphire Board since January 2019.  Dr. Manuso is an international biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry CEO and management consultant with over 25 years’ experience.   He has co-founded multiple biotech companies where he held C-level management positions.  As chairman and CEO of Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Dr. Manuso led the sale of the Company to Otsuka Pharmaceuticals for $886 million.  A former Board Member of the Biotechnology Industry Association, he has served on the boards of several private and public companies in the US, UK, France, Canada and Ireland. Dr. Manuso earned a B.A. with honors in Economics and Chemistry from New York University, a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology and Genetics from the New School University, and an Executive M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Cam Gallagher has more than 28 years of experience in the life science and biotech industry with a focus on corporate development, marketing, operations, and early-stage investing. Mr. Gallagher has served as a member of the Ocuphire Board since January 2019 and Chair since December 2019. He is a co-founder and board member of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ZNTL) since December 2014. He also currently serves on the board of directors of VelosBio and SelectION. In addition to his board roles, Mr. Gallagher serves as Chief Business Officer at Immusoft and business advisor to jCyte. Prior to joining Immusoft, he was a Director and Chief Business Officer at RetroSense Therapeutics, which was acquired by Allergan in 2016. Mr. Gallagher was Managing Director of Nerveda, LLC, a life science seed fund he co-founded in June 2007. Prior to these roles, he held management positions at Oncternal, Zavante, Verus Pharma, CV Therapeutics and Dura Pharma. Mr. Gallagher holds an M.B.A. from the University of San Diego and a B.S. in Business Administration from Ohio University in 1992.

Susan Benton joined the Ocuphire Board in November 2020. She serves as the General Manager and Head of the U.S. for Thea Pharma, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Thea Laboratories, a leading independent ophthalmic pharmaceutical company, since 2019. Ms Benton has extensive experience in building companies and brands with deep expertise in strategy, commercial operations, and business development.  Ms. Benton’s career spans more than 30 years in life sciences with over 20 years focused in ophthalmology.  From 2015-2019, Susan served in a number of key leadership positions while at Shire and played an instrumental role in the expansion of the ophthalmic pipeline.  As the Head of New Products, she led the Ophthalmic Innovation Committee that shaped and executed the growth strategy for the franchise.  Before joining Shire, Susan served in a leadership capacity in Global Business Development for Bausch + Lomb Pharmaceuticals where she and the Corporate Development team transacted over 10 deals in 3 years.  She was a co-Founder and CCO for an ophthalmic start-up, Sirion Therapeutics, where she launched and oversaw the commercialization of Durezol® and Zirgan® before being sold to Alcon and B+L respectively.  Susan began her ophthalmic career at B+L where she assumed leadership roles as the Head of Diversified Products and as the VP of Professional Sales. During her tenure she launched B+L’s first ever branded products, Lotemax® and Alrex®, in addition to Optivar® through a co-promote with Muro Pharmaceutical.  She has also served as a strategic consultant for more than a dozen start-up ophthalmic companies.   Her experience outside of ophthalmology includes roles as the VP of Consumer and Professional Sales for J&J’s diabetes franchise, LifeScan, and senior manager roles in Sanofi Pasteur’s vaccine business.  Ms. Benton serves on the boards of two privately held ophthalmic companies; Tarsius Pharma and Translatum Medicus, Inc. (TMi) since 2019. Susan earned her MBA the University of South Florida and a BS in Biology from Muhlenberg College.