ProQR Appoints Naveed Shams, MD, PhD as Chief Scientific Officer

Proven leader with deep worldwide ophthalmology experience, including multiple approvals globally

LEIDEN, Netherlands & CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ProQR Therapeutics N.V. (Nasdaq: PRQR) (the “Company”), a company dedicated to changing lives through the creation of transformative RNA therapies for inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), today announced the appointment of Naveed Shams, MD, PhD, as Chief Scientific Officer reporting to Daniel de Boer, Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Shams will assume responsibility for research programs and the translational medicine platform from David Rodman, MD, who is departing ProQR.

Dr. Shams brings to ProQR deep ophthalmology, scientific and research management experience, most recently serving as Senior Corporate Officer, Head of Global Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer at Santen, a global company focused solely on ophthalmology.

“Naveed is a highly regarded leader who brings extensive experience in preclinical, translational, and clinical development of ophthalmic medicines. I am excited that he will be leading our research and early development programs in support of our mission to develop a portfolio of medicines for patients with inherited retinal diseases that currently have no treatment.” said Daniel A. de Boer, Chief Executive Officer at ProQR Therapeutics.

As Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Shams will provide strategic direction, oversight, and execution for ProQR’s research and early development efforts. This entails driving research strategy as ProQR continues to optimize its platform, preclinical, and clinical pipeline focused on ophthalmology.

With more than 20 years of experience in global drug development, Dr. Shams has played a significant role in bringing several ophthalmology products to market, including Zaditor/Zaditen, Rescula, and Lucentis. While at Genentech, Dr. Shams helped to establish the Ophthalmology Development Group and led the development and . approval of Lucentis. His experience spans startups and large multinational companies, including Novartis. Dr. Shams received his MD degree from Dow Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan and his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of South Carolina. He completed fellowships in cornea and external diseases at Harvard Medical School and in histocompatibility and immunogenetics at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Shams is also a former faculty member at Schepens Eye Research Institute and Harvard Medical School.