NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–jCyte, a private biotechnology company dedicated to improving the lives of patients with retinal degenerative diseases, announced today the continued expansion of the Company’s leadership team with the appointment of Dr. Rebecca Kammer as Vice President of Clinical Operations. In her new role, Dr. Kammer will be responsible for the leadership, oversight, and execution of clinical trials and studies to support the development of jCell for current and future indications. Dr. Kammer will also be responsible for the creation, refinement, and supervision of clinical trial endpoints and other assessments conducted at the centralized jCyte Low Vision Testing Center.
Dr. Kammer joins jCyte with over 20 years of experience in academia, low vision patient care, clinician education, endpoint development, and professional consulting. She is considered a world-renowned expert in low vision models of patient care and has conducted cutting-edge clinical trial research in retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and other retinal dystrophies. Prior to joining jCyte, Dr. Kammer established and led the Low Vision Rehabilitation Service in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of California – Irvine Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, where she remains an Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology. In addition, she has been consulting for companies as a leading authority in clinical low vision research for the last decade. For RP and other future low vision clinical studies, Dr. Kammer has helped jCyte develop and validate its novel Low Luminance Mobility Test (LLMT), with recent validation work on this instrument presented at the 2021 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting. She has also used her extensive clinical experience in age-related macular degeneration to help companies develop and explore the effectiveness of potential therapies. Of note, Dr. Kammer is a leading authority in the field of Oculocutaneous Albinism, having pioneered programs in East Africa, presented as an invited lecturer globally, and published work educating other clinicians on how to provide specialty care in remote settings. She started her academic career at the Southern California College of Optometry where she held positions as Associate Professor and Chief of Low Vision Rehabilitation. Dr. Kammer is also one of a select group of clinicians and scientists who have Diplomate Status in low vision rehabilitation from the American Academy of Optometry.
Dr. Kammer holds a Bachelor’s degree in Optical Engineering from University of LaVerne, a Doctor of Optometry degree from the Southern California College of Optometry and a PhD in Higher Education from Azusa Pacific University.
“The addition of Dr. Kammer brings to jCyte a worldwide expert in the field of low vision clinical and outcomes research,” said Dr. Shannon Blalock, Chief Executive Officer, jCyte. “Her significant level of hands-on experience in working with low-vision patients with inherited retinal disorders in both the clinical research and private practice settings is absolutely critical as we design our single pivotal Phase 3 study for RP, and as we pivot towards late-stage studies for follow-on retinal degenerative conditions. Further, her expertise in the areas of clinical trial endpoint and instrument development will be essential to fully optimize and execute our Phase 3 program in RP. I am extremely excited to have Dr. Kammer join our team of highly skilled professionals with decades of pharmaceutical industry experience to ensure we successfully deliver our transformative cell therapy platform technology to the millions of patients in desperate need as quickly as possible.”
jCell is a first-in-class investigational treatment for RP which has received FDA Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designation. In addition to RMAT designation, jCell has received Orphan Drug designation from the FDA and the European Medicines Agency.
About jCyte
jCyte is a late-stage clinical phase biotech company focused on developing its first-in-class regenerative cell therapy, jCell, for RP and other retinal degenerative disorders. The treatment is minimally invasive and given as an intravitreal injection. There are currently no FDA approved therapies for RP. The Company is pioneering a new era of regenerative therapies to address the significant unmet medical needs of patients suffering from a broad set of retinal degenerative diseases. For more information, visit www.jcyte.com.
