COLUMBIA, Md.—The Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) has selected Benjamin Yerxa, a biotechnology and drug development executive, as its chief executive officer, effective immediately, according to an announcement from the organization.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness is one of the world’s leading private funder and strategic champion of research on preventions, treatments and cures for inherited retinal diseases. It currently funds over 150 researchers at 61 locations worldwide.

“We are very excited to have Ben Yerxa as the Foundation’s new CEO,” said FFB chairman David Brint. “Research on cures for inherited retinal diseases has enjoyed significant breakthroughs in the last decade but there is more work to do. Ben has the skills and experience, particularly in the areas of drug development and partnerships between researchers, industry and venture capital, to help FFB complete its mission of eradicating blindness caused by gene mutations.”

Yerxa brings broad experience in translating research discoveries into clinical milestones and commercial products. In his most recent role as president and co-founder of Envisia Therapeutics, he led an organization focused on the development of novel ocular sustained delivery therapies for the front and back of the eye. He also has extensive pharmaceutical and scientific management experience having served as a co-founder and in other senior executive positions in several ophthalmology-based R&D organizations, including Liquidia Technologies, Clearside Biomedical, Parion Sciences and Inspire Pharmaceuticals.

Yerxa holds 60 U.S. patents and has worked in other disease areas including pulmonary, cardiovascular and HIV.

“This is a really exciting time to be joining FFB, as the basic science around the mechanisms causing inherited retinal diseases is now ready for translation into new therapies,” said Yerxa. “I look forward to working with this tremendous community of supporters and researchers to help make breakthrough, sight saving therapies a reality.”