Qlaris Bio Appoints Fred Guerard as President and Chief Executive Officer
Fred Guerard, Pharm.D., president and Chief Executive Officer of Qlaris Bio・Photo Credit: Qlaris Bio
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DEDHAM, Mass., March 14, 2026 (VSNewsNetwork.com) — Biotechnology company, Qlaris Bio, Inc. has announced the appointment of Fred Guerard, Pharm.D., as President and Chief Executive Officer.
Guerard will also join the company’s Board of Directors. He succeeds Thurein Htoo, who will remain with Qlaris through April 1, 2026, to support the leadership transition.
“As Qlaris advances QLS-111 into Phase 3 clinical development, we are pleased to welcome Fred as our next chief executive officer. Fred brings more than two decades of global ophthalmology leadership experience across biotechnology and major pharmaceutical organizations. His proven ability to build high-performing teams and drive clinical and commercial execution will be invaluable as we enter this pivotal stage of growth. We are deeply grateful to Thurein for his leadership and dedication since the Company’s founding,” said Ron Hunt, chairman of the board of directors of Qlaris.
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“I am honored to join Qlaris at this pivotal moment. QLS-111 represents a differentiated and potentially transformative approach to lowering intraocular pressure by targeting the episcleral vein through its novel vasodilatory mechanism. I look forward to working with Qlaris’ talented team to advance our Phase 3 program and prepare the organization for commercialization,” said Guerard.
Guerard brings more than two decades of leadership experience in ophthalmology and biotechnology. Most recently, he served as chief executive officer of Opthea. He previously served as president and chief executive officer of Graybug Vision, leading the company through a Series C financing and its initial public offering.
Prior to Graybug, Guerard was worldwide franchise head of ophthalmology at Novartis, overseeing a global portfolio across the Novartis retina and Alcon pharmaceuticals businesses and executing strategic transactions to expand the pipeline. During his tenure at Novartis, he held senior leadership roles across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and emerging markets.
“We are grateful to Thurein, co-founder and previous CEO, for his many invaluable contributions in co-founding the company and in providing strong leadership through the early phases of pre-clinical and clinical development. Qlaris is now in a strong position to take QLS-111 through late-stage development, and we wish to thank Thurein for his outstanding efforts in leading the company to this point,” said Wende Hutton, member of the board of directors of Qlaris and general partner of Canaan Partners.
Qlaris Bio is developing QLS-111, a topical ATP-sensitive potassium channel modulator designed to reduce intraocular pressure by lowering episcleral venous pressure. According to the company, the therapy demonstrated sustained intraocular pressure reduction with a favorable safety profile in Phase 2 clinical trials.
For more information, visit www.qlaris.bio.
Source: Qlaris Bio
