Valitor Appoints Biotech and Ophthalmic Industry Veteran Gregory D. Kunst as Chief Executive Officer

BERKELEY, Calif., Oct. 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Valitor, a biotechnology company engineering a new generation of ophthalmic medicines, today announced the appointment of Gregory D. Kunst as chief executive officer and member of the board of directors. Mr. Kunst brings deep and varied experience in ophthalmic drugs and medical devices, drug delivery systems, diagnostics, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and cell and gene therapy products. His expertise spans global corporate development, strategy, clinical development, regulatory, health policy, marketing, commercialization, business development, market access and medical affairs. Mr. Kunst replaces interim CEO, Michael Ostrach.

“We are thrilled to welcome Greg as chief executive officer at this pivotal time of growth for Valitor,” said Anthony Aiudi, chairman of Valitor’s board of directors representing lead investor Morningside. “His achievements and diverse experience in the ophthalmic field make him the ideal candidate to accelerate the company’s advancement into clinical and commercial stages. Greg’s strategic vision and leadership will be instrumental as we prioritize development of VLTR-559, our long-acting anti-VEGF therapy for wet AMD into clinical trials and continue to pioneer a new generation of ophthalmic medicines that leverage our multivalent biopolymer platform technology for patients living with vision-threatening diseases.”

“Valitor’s science, technology and mission are impressive, and I believe uniquely and competitively position the company for success in the field and for patients,” said Gregory D. Kunst, chief executive officer of Valitor. “The company’s pioneering approach to engineering next-generation ophthalmic medicines via the multivalent biopolymer technology platform has broad applicability and the potential to transform how we treat vision-threatening diseases. I look forward to working with this team to advance clinical development and potentially build a robust pipeline that can meaningfully improve outcomes for patients.”

About Gregory D. Kunst
Prior to Valitor, Greg served as founder, chief executive officer and board member at Aurion Biotech, a private clinical-stage cell therapy company focused on a range of ophthalmic diseases which he sold to Alcon in 2025. Before Aurion , Greg spent six years at Glaukos Corporation, where he led the worldwide marketing, market access, reimbursement, health economics and outcomes research, government affairs, and business development teams. During his tenure at Glaukos, Greg launched four new products and led the development for multiple ophthalmology device, pharmaceutical and biologic candidates targeting corneal, glaucoma, and retinal diseases. Prior to Glaukos, Greg was global franchise director over the glaucoma surgery and retina pharmaceutical businesses at Alcon, a Novartis company. Prior to Alcon, Greg was the global head of market access at Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (Acelity Inc.) Greg is a national advisory board member of the Brigham Young University School of Life Sciences. Greg has previously been a member of the steering committee of the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute at the University of California, Irvine. Greg is an independent board member of a number of life sciences companies including Biomimetix, Pr3vent, Feliqs, and SIME Diagnostics. Greg holds an MBA from Vanderbilt University and a BS in Economics from Brigham Young University.

About Valitor
Valitor is conquering limitations of established drug targets by leveraging its multivalent biopolymer technology to maximize benefits for patients. The company is initially focused on developing long-acting molecules aimed at capturing several large markets in ophthalmology. Valitor’s lead product is a long-acting inhibitor of VEGF designed to reliably extend the duration of a single dose in humans to six months or more, which would offer a substantial benefit for the majority of patients that require dosing approximately every 8-12 weeks with the current market leaders. Valitor’s proprietary platform technology has been shown in preclinical models to safely enable intravitreal treatment with unprecedented target tissue durability and potency. For more information on the company, please visit its website at https://www.valitorbio.com/ or follow its LinkedIn page.

Investor Contact
Alexandra Santos
asantos@wheelhouselsa.com

Media Contact
Aljanae Reynolds
areynolds@wheelhouselsa.com

Valitor Contact
info@valitorbio.com

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