Dr. Mark Bachleda has served as Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of Eyconis, Inc. since June 2024.

Dr. Bachleda brings more than 25 years of biopharmaceutical leadership experience building and advancing innovative therapeutic platforms across the full product lifecycle, from early clinical development through commercialization. He has led franchise strategy and operational scale at Amgen, Juno Therapeutics, Celgene, and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), including leadership of the U.S. CAR T cell therapy franchise as these therapies transitioned from clinical innovation to commercial scale.

Most recently, he served as Chief Commercial Officer at Galera Therapeutics. He previously held senior leadership roles at Juno Therapeutics prior to its acquisition by Celgene in 2018, and at Celgene prior to its acquisition by BMS in 2019. During a 15-year tenure at Amgen, he advanced through U.S. and international leadership roles, ultimately serving as Country President & General Manager of Amgen Czech Republic. Earlier in his career, he held positions at Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

Dr. Bachleda serves on the Board of Directors of Lyell Immunopharma (Nasdaq: LYEL). He earned his PharmD from the University of Illinois at Chicago, completed a fellowship in health policy and economics at Thomas Jefferson University, and holds MBA degrees from Columbia University and the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Emmett Cunningham co-founded Eyconis, Inc., a spinout of Ascendis Pharma (NASDAQ; ASND), in 2023 and has served as Executive Chair since inception.

Dr. Emmett Cunningham has been a full-time entrepreneur and investor for more than 25 years. Prior to 2023, he served as a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone Life Sciences group (BXLS) of Blackstone, Inc. (BX), joining that company through the acquisition of Clarus Ventures in 2018, where he was a member of the full-time investment team since that firm’s inception in 2006. Prior to investing, his previous roles included Senior Vice President, Medical Strategy at Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he was a key member of the leadership team responsible for the development of Macugen® (pegaptanib sodium), a pioneering, first-in-class VEGF-A inhibitor for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema. Emmett's extensive experience and leadership was recognized further through his role as the founder and chairman of the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit (OIS) symposium.

Emmett earned his MD and MPH in epidemiology and statistics from Johns Hopkins University and holds a PhD in neuroscience from the University of California at San Diego for research conducted at The Salk Institute. He completed residency in ophthalmology and fellowship training in Corneal Disease and Uveitis at UCSF and The Francis I. Proctor Foundation, a medical retina and uveitis fellowship at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, and a fellowship in public health ophthalmology with Prof. Alfred Sommer at the Wilmer Eye Institute in Baltimore. In addition to his professional commitments, Emmett is actively involved in teaching and holds positions as an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at California Pacific Medical Center and Stanford University, as well as a Research Associate at The Francis I. Proctor Foundation, UCSF School of Medicine. He has co-authored over 400 papers related to his clinical and research efforts. He has co-authored more than 450 clinical and scientific publications.

Oliver Stauch, PhD, is a highly accomplished pharmaceutical executive with over two decades of experience in the industry. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer and a founding member of Eyconis. Before Eyconis, he held significant roles at Ascendis Pharma, including Head of Ophthalmology. Dr. Stauch’s career includes leadership positions at Genentech, Chugai Japan, and Roche Pharmaceuticals Switzerland. At Roche, he notably contributed to the development of pioneering drug delivery innovations, including Actemra™, Herceptin Hylecta™, Rituxan Hycela™, and leading ophthalmic therapies like Lucentis™ and Vabysmo™. Additionally, he has served on the Advisory Board for Atropos Therapeutics, a biotech company specializing in anti-aging treatments. His educational background includes a PhD in Industrial Pharmacy from the University of Freiburg, Germany, a Master’s in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and executive training from Stanford Graduate School of Business and London Business School.

Dr. Vitti is a highly accomplished biopharmaceutical executive with over two decades of experience serving in various functions including Clinical Development, Medical Affairs and Business Development.  Before Eyconis, he was Senior Vice President at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals where he spent more than 17 years in significant roles, notably leading ophthalmology clinical development from 2009 to 2023. Dr. Vitti led the development programs for EYLEA® and EYLEA HD® obtaining indications in neovascular age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, retinopathy of prematurity as well as other indications outside of the U.S. namely, myopic CNV and neovascular glaucoma.  Dr. Vitti’s career also includes oversight of development programs for combinations of anti-VEGF and anti-angiopoetin 2, anti-VEGF and anti-PDGFR, as well as systemic IL-6 blockade for posterior uveitis.

He also held positions at Daiichi Pharmaceuticals and Novartis. Dr. Vitti is a board-certified ophthalmologist with 10 years of experience in clinical ophthalmology as a practitioner and as a clinical instructor at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.  

His educational background includes a BA in Chemistry from SUNY Purchase, an MD from SUNY Health Science Center in Brooklyn, and an MBA from New York University.

Karen Chu, MS is a clinical development professional with over 30 years of strategic and operational experience leading cross-functional teams in the pharmaceutical industry.   Her development experience spans pre-IND, IND/CTA submission, Phase 1-4 clinical trials (US and Global), multiple BLA/MAA submissions, FDA Advisory Committees, launch support and lifecycle management.  Prior to joining Eyconis, she served as Vice President and Global Program Head of Ophthalmology within Global Development at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.  She spent more than 20 years at Regeneron, and was a key leader in the successful strategy and execution of the EYLEA® and EYLEA® HD global development programs, including FDA and global health authority approvals across multiple retinal disease indications.  In addition to ophthalmology/retina indications, she has experience in oncology, infectious disease and gene therapy. 

Her educational background includes a BS in Biology from California Polytechnic State University and an MS in Human Nutrition from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Ben is a highly experienced clinical development professional with a 28-year career across the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. His background spans all phases of drug development from Phase 1 through Phase 4 with a focus on Regulatory Affairs and Quality Management. Ben brings deep global regulatory leadership and a strong track record of advancing innovative therapies from early development through late-stage execution and approval. He has led regulatory strategy, partnered closely with global health authorities, and built scalable regulatory functions that enable both near term clinical progress and long-term value creation.

Before joining Eyconis, Ben spent more than 15 years at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals where he held several senior leadership roles, including SVP, Global Development Quality and Regulatory Compliance, responsible for GCP, GVP, and GLP Quality Management, auditing, health authority inspections, labeling, and advertising and promotion functions, and VP, Head of Regulatory Affairs for Ophthalmology, overseeing regulatory development for EYLEA®, EYLEA HD®, and additional retina programs.

Prior to Regeneron, Ben held positions of increasing responsibility at Pfizer across Pharmacovigilance, Quality, and Regulatory Affairs.

Ben holds a BS in Pharmacy from Long Island University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

William Galush, PhD, is an accomplished scientist and leader with extensive experience in drug development. He specializes in analytical and formulation development across large and small molecule formats, including sustained-release systems. Dr. Galush previously held key technical, management, and cross-functional leadership roles at Ascendis Pharma, Achaogen, and Genentech. A biophysical chemist by training, he earned his PhD in Chemistry from UC Berkeley, a BA from Carleton College, and has published numerous papers.

YongQi Mu, PhD, joined Eyconis in March 2024, bringing over 25 years of experience from discovery to late-stage development. Previously, she was a Senior Director at Ascendis, leading chemical development and manufacturing for TransCon projects. At Theravance and Vifor/Relypsa, she played key roles in the discovery of Vibativ®, Yupelri®, and the development of Veltassa®. YongQi is a co-inventor and author of over 100 patent applications and journal publications. She completed her postdoctoral training at Stanford University, earned a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from Wayne State University, an MS from the Chinese Academy of Medical Science, and a BS from Beijing Normal University.

Chris Heynes is a seasoned technical leader with over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry.  With a background in biochemistry / cell biology from UC San Diego and Lancaster University UK, Chris has a proven track record in designing, developing, and implementing innovative processes and equipment to produce complex therapeutic, diagnostic, and drug delivery products. He has navigated products through technical and regulatory lifecycle challenges, from early bench scale to commercial production of blockbuster products with complex international supply chains. Prior to Eyconis, he recently held roles at Ascendis and Genentech, focused on technical leadership.

Rolf Jansen leads site operations and project management for Eyconis’ research and development portfolio. Rolf is a chemical engineer with more than 30 years of experience spanning pharmaceutical development, manufacturing, and technical operations, with a focus on building and scaling processes that advance programs from early development through commercialization. Prior to joining Eyconis, he held senior technical leadership roles at Ascendis Pharma, Relypsa, Alza, and Johnson & Johnson. Throughout his career, Rolf has contributed to the successful development, launch, and lifecycle management of multiple pharmaceutical products and is recognized for his collaborative leadership style, pragmatic problem‑solving approach, and ability to align technical and operational priorities to drive execution and manage risk.

Tom Witt serves as Vice President of Business and Corporate Development at Eyconis.

Mr. Witt brings more than 20 years of biopharmaceutical leadership experience spanning business development, corporate strategy, and financial planning. He has led strategic partnerships, licensing transactions, and corporate initiatives across multiple bio technology companies, supporting both platform expansion and enterprise growth.

Prior to joining Eyconis, Mr. Witt served as a business development consultant to Cidara Therapeutics, where he supported strategic initiatives that culminated in the company’s acquisition by Merck in 2026. Previously, he held senior leadership roles at Atara Biotherapeutics, where as Vice President of Business Development and Corporate Strategy he originated and led key partnerships for the company’s cell therapy programs, including the out-licensing of ex-U.S. and subsequently U.S. rights to Pierre Fabre for its lead therapeutic program. Earlier, as Executive Director of Business Development at Halozyme Therapeutics, he led multiple sell-side transactions for the company’s ENHANZE ^® drug delivery technology platform.

Mr. Witt has also held business development and finance leadership roles at Avanir Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Otsuka Pharmaceutical), Shire, and Amgen. During a nine-year tenure at Amgen, he led financial planning and analysis efforts supporting Commercial, R&D, and Biosimilars organizations.

Mr. Witt earned a BA in Business Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

Jessica Harris is the fractional Head of Finance at Eyconis, where she leads financial strategy, planning and operations, partnering closely with executive leadership to guide strategic decision-making, capital planning, and long-term value creation. As a Partner at van den Boom & Associates, Jessica brings over thirteen years of financial, strategic, and operational leadership in the biotechnology sector.

Specializing in scaling life science organizations from inception to exit, Jessica has led finance functions for more than a dozen companies, including supporting through acquisitions and initial public offerings such as Human Immunology Biosciences Inc. (acquired by Biogen in 2024), Rain Therapeutics (IPO:RAIN), and Icosavax (IPO: ICVX).

Her expertise spans strategic financial planning and management, operational accounting, financial reporting, technical accounting, and SOX implementation and compliance, within regulated and science-driven environments.

Jessica began her career at Ernst & Young and is a Certified Public Accountant in both California and Colorado.