Created in May 2005, Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA (Fovea) is a Paris-based biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development and commercialization of innovative drugs for the treatment of ocular diseases with a special focus on retinal pathologies.

Science and technology
Fovea has three proprietary technology platforms that are dedicated to :
1 - The identification of protein factors controlling vision integrity
2 - The medicinal chemistry, with the screening of chemical libraries on primary cells and the identification of molecular targets/mechanisms for screening
3 - The discovery projects currently on track against AMD, glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa

Products in Development
FOV1101, a novel treatment for severe/chronic allergic conjunctivitis
FOV2301, at preclinical stage, directed to the treatment of diabetic Macular Edema,
FOV2302, a kallikrain inhibitor against acute edema following retinal vein occlusion,
FOV2501, a novel protein that is directed at preventing vision loss in retinis pigmentosa patients

Alliances
4 agreements signed with : CombinatoRx, Dyax, Novartis, Genzyme

Speaker Profile

Bernard Gilly, co-founder of Fovea, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

Bernard Gilly has been a Partner at Sofinnova Partners from 2000 to November 2005 to join FOVEA. He founded or invested in several companies, including Sequoia Pharmaceuticals (USA), Faust Pharmaceuticals (France) and Cellzome (Germany). Prior to joining Sofinnova, Bernard has been President and CEO of Transgene, a company he has driven from its early financing round in 1994 to its listing on the Nasdaq and the Nouveau Marche in March 1998, successfully raising a total of 160M€. He was able to sign two key strategic partnerships with Schering-Plough and with Human Genome Sciences. Prior to joining Transgene, Bernard spent 6 years as VP R&D at Pasteur-Merieux-Connaught, the vaccine company that since then became Sanofi Pasteur. He was managing 1200 scientists and development engineers in three main facilities (France, USA and Canada) and was a member of the Executive Committee of the group.