Innovative Ophthalmic Pharmaceutical Company

Striving to restore vision

LENZ Therapeutics is pharmaceutical company focused on the commercialization of VIZZ™ (aceclidine ophthalmologic solution) 1.44%, the first and only FDA-approved aceclidine-based eye drop for the treatment of presbyopia.

LENZ is commercializing VIZZ™ in the United States and continues to establish licensing partnerships internationally to provide access to VIZZ™ globally. LENZ is headquartered in San Diego, California.

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Science

LENZ Therapeutics is committed to delivering the first and only, aceclidine-based eye drop for the treatment of presbyopia. Learn more at VIZZ.com

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Market

Our novel and lead program aims to provide an ideal pharmaceutical presbyopia solution to restore near vision, with the potential for broadest target patient population.

Presbyopia impacts 128 million people in the US.1 and research shows that adults over 50 lose on average 1.5 lines of near vision per 6 years.2

The promise of a once-daily eye drop solution is welcomed by all age groups, 45 and above. LENZ Therapeutics is looking to provide a solution to treat all eyes, all day.

  1. Global Prevalence of Presbyopia and Vision Impairment from Uncorrected Presbyopia, Fricke, Timothy, et al, American Academy of Ophthalmology, vol 125, number 10, Oct 2018.
  2. Progression of Near Vision Loss and Incidence of Near Vision Impairment in an Adult Chinese Population, Han, Xiaotong, et al, Ophthalmology, 124(5): page 734, May 2017.

Our team

At LENZ, we appreciate each other’s strengths and perspectives and we instinctively fill in the gaps. Our team is not afraid to express opinions or ask for support. We take action, and we take the time to know where we’re going.

We see speed bumps as an essential part of the ride. The LENZ team loves a challenge, and love to challenge. We encourage constructive and contagious curiosity – looking beyond the obvious.

We each rally around what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. This makes us tenacious in getting things done right. We’re unstoppable in our pursuit of better, which gives us great pride.

Meet the people who inspire the big ideas, fresh thinking, and bold action that help us get over challenges today that will lead to cures tomorrow.

Eef Schimmelpennink
President and Chief Executive Officer

Eef (Evert) Schimmelpennink is the President and CEO of LENZ Therapeutics and has a proven track record in successfully building and scaling public and private biopharmaceutical companies, securing funding around captivating strategies, and creating patient and shareholder value.

Eef Schimmelpennink
President and Chief Executive Officer

Eef (Evert) Schimmelpennink is the President and CEO of LENZ Therapeutics and has a proven track record in successfully building and scaling public and private biopharmaceutical companies, securing funding around captivating strategies, and creating patient and shareholder value.

Dan Chevallard
Chief Financial Officer

Dan Chevallard is the Chief Financial Officer of LENZ Therapeutics and is a respected corporate finance and strategic executive with significant experience in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and diagnostic industries.

Shawn Olsson
Chief Commercial Officer

Shawn Olsson is the CCO of LENZ Therapeutics and brings over a decade of successful experience taking new products to market and establishing new distribution channels in the pharmaceutical industry.

Marc Odrich
Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Marc Odrich is the Chief Medical Officer of LENZ Therapeutics and has an extensive career in private practice, teaching, and medical research that contributes to LENZ’s success by driving the clinical trial and potential approval of our novel product.

Kris Gambelin
SVP,  Regulatory and Clincal Operations

Kris Gambelin is the Senior Vice President, Regulatory and Clinical Operations at LENZ Therapeutics and brings over 20 years of clinical and regulatory experience spanning clinical trial protocol development, study initiations and FDA submissions.

Melissa Rosness
SVP,  Manufacturing Operations

Melissa Rosness is Senior Vice President, Manufacturing Operations at LENZ Therapeutics where she brings over two decades of experience in chemical manufacturing, controls and operations to oversee our manufacturing activities.

Ted Wheeler
Vice President, Quality

Ted Wheeler is the Vice President, Quality at LENZ Therapeutics and has a proven track record of implementing and maintaining quality systems, demonstrating strong regulatory compliance and has actively participated in more than 20 FDA and European audits.

Melody Burcar
Vice President, Finance

Melody Burcar is the Vice President, Finance at LENZ Therapeutics and has over 20 years of experience, including over 15 years in the life sciences industry. Her previous positions have been with pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, which included products at various stages – from early and late-stage clinical to those commercially available in the U.S. and globally. Melody is a licensed CPA in the State of California.

David Choromanski
Vice President, Marketing

David Choromanski is the Vice President, Marketing at LENZ Therapeutics and has significant marketing leadership experience across consumer (Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Dermalogica) and ophthalmology (STAAR Surgical).

Domenick Porfidia
Vice President, Sales

Domenick Porfidia is the Vice President, Sales at LENZ Therapeutics and has over 15 years of eye care experience. With a strong focus on sales leadership and has a long history of building high-performing teams across buy & bill, Rx, cash pay and OTC brands such as Restasis, Refresh, Vuity, Durysta and others.

Ahmad Chaudhri
Vice President, Commercial Operations

Ahmad Chaudhri is the Vice President, Commercial Operations at LENZ Therapeutics and has over 15 years of strategy, analytics and operations experience including roles at Allergan, Avanir and Deloitte.

Jaime Elledge
Vice President, AI Enablement & Strategy

Jaime Elledge is Vice President, AI Enablement & Strategy at LENZ Therapeutics and brings extensive experience applying artificial intelligence and learning strategy to scale knowledge, accelerate decision making, and advance AI enabled ways of working across the organization.

Ethan Mengle
Vice President of Medical Affairs

Dr. Ethan Mengle is the Vice President of Medical Affairs at LENZ Therapeutics and brings extensive clinical experience and a track record supporting multiple pharmaceutical product launches, including Vuity and Syfovre, contributing to the company’s success by leading medical strategy and field medical operations.

Frederic Guerard
Board Member

Frederic Guerard, Pharm.D. has served as a member of our board of directors since September 2021. Dr. Guerard currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Qlaris Bio, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. He was previously Chief Executive Officer of Opthea Limited and President and Chief Executive Officer of Graybug Vision, Inc. For 20 years, Dr. Guerard held key leadership roles at Novartis AG, a multinational pharmaceutical company, including Worldwide Business Franchise Head of Ophthalmology, Global Franchise Head of Pharmaceuticals at Alcon Laboratories, Novartis Managing Director of the United Kingdom and Ireland and Country President and Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand, among others.

Dr. Guerard currently serves on the boards of directors of CalciMedica, Inc., Spiral Therapeutics, and Unither Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Guerard holds a Pharm.D. and a Master of Biological and Medical Sciences from the University of Rouen, France and a Master of Marketing from HEC Paris.

Frederic Guerard
Board Member

Frederic Guerard, Pharm.D. has served as a member of our board of directors since September 2021. Dr. Guerard currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Qlaris Bio, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. He was previously Chief Executive Officer of Opthea Limited and President and Chief Executive Officer of Graybug Vision, Inc. For 20 years, Dr. Guerard held key leadership roles at Novartis AG, a multinational pharmaceutical company, including Worldwide Business Franchise Head of Ophthalmology, Global Franchise Head of Pharmaceuticals at Alcon Laboratories, Novartis Managing Director of the United Kingdom and Ireland and Country President and Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand, among others.

Dr. Guerard currently serves on the boards of directors of CalciMedica, Inc., Spiral Therapeutics, and Unither Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Guerard holds a Pharm.D. and a Master of Biological and Medical Sciences from the University of Rouen, France and a Master of Marketing from HEC Paris.

James McCollum
Founder

James McCollum co-founded LENZ and has served as a member of our board of directors since July 2013. From September 2016 to March 2021, Mr. McCollum served as LENZ’s President and Chief Executive Officer. From September 2014 to September 2016, Mr. McCollum served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Eye Therapies, LLC, an ocular pharmaceutical company co-founded by Mr. McCollum.

Executive Officer of Restoration Robotics, a medical robotics company, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vision Membrane Technologies, an intraocular lens medical device company, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Argus Biomedical, an artificial cornea medical device company. Earlier in his career, Mr. McCollum held the position of Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing and Sales at VISX, Incorporated, a developer of technology and systems for laser vision correction. Mr. McCollum holds a B.A. in Business from North Carolina State University.

Evert Schimmelpennink
President and Chief Executive Officer

Evert Schimmelpennink has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Previously, from August 2017 to October 2020, Mr. Schimmelpennink served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of publicly listed Pfenex, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, until its acquisition by Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: LGND) in late 2020. From November 2019 until its sale, Mr. Schimmelpennink also served as the acting Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer of Pfenex Inc. From October 2015 to August 2017, Mr. Schimmelpennink served as Chief Executive Officer of Alvotech, a biopharmaceutical company.

Prior to that, Mr. Schimmelpennink held senior positions at Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and Hospira, Inc. within their global specialty injectables businesses, as well as Synthon BV. Mr. Schimmelpennink served on the board of directors of iBio, Inc. (Nasdaq: IBIO) from June 2021 to May 2026, and currently serves on the board of Contineum Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CTNM). Mr. Schimmelpennink holds a M.Sc. in Bioprocess Engineering from the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands and a business degree from the Arnhem Business School.

Kimberlee C. Drapkin
Board Member

Kimberlee C. Drapkin has served a member of our board of directors since March 2024. Ms. Drapkin served as a member of the board of directors of Graphite Bio, Inc. from July 2023 and as interim president and chief executive officer of Graphite Bio, Inc. from August 2023, each through the closing of the merger with LENZ in March 2024.

Ms. Drapkin has over 25 years of experience working with private and publicly traded biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including building and leading finance functions, raising capital, and leading strategic financial planning. Prior to joining Graphite Bio, Ms. Drapkin was the Chief Financial Officer at Jounce Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company, a position she held from August 2015 until the company’s acquisition by Concentra Biosciences, LLC in May 2023, playing a key role in building Jounce’s financial infrastructure. Prior to joining Jounce, Ms. Drapkin owned a financial consulting firm where she served as the interim chief financial officer for numerous early-stage biotechnology companies. Previously, she was the Chief Financial Officer at EPIX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and also spent ten years in roles of increasing responsibility within the finance organization at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Ms. Drapkin’s career began in the technology and life sciences practice at PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP. Ms. Drapkin served as a member of the board of directors of Proteostasis Therapeutics, Inc. until the completion of the merger of Proteostasis and Yumanity Therapeutics, Inc., at which point she became a member of the Yumanity board of directors. Ms. Drapkin then served on the board of directors of Yumanity through the completion of its reverse merger with Kineta, Inc., and subsequently served on the board of Kineta through its acquisition by TuHura Biosciences (Nasdaq: HURA) in June 2025. She currently serves on the board of directors of Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABOS), Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU), and Climb Bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLYM), where she is a member of the audit committee at all three companies. Ms. Drapkin holds a B.S. in accounting from Babson College.

Shelley Thunen
Board Member

Shelley Thunen has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2023. From February 2017 to January 2026, Ms. Thunen served as Chief Financial Officer of RxSight, Inc. (Nasdaq: RXST), an ophthalmic medical technology company, and served as RxSight’s Chief Administrative Officer from January 2016 to February 2017. From January 2013 to October 2015, Ms. Thunen served as the Chief Financial Officer of Endologix, Inc. (Nasdaq: ELGX), a medical device company.

From August 2010 to December 2012, Ms. Thunen served as Associate General Manager of Alcon LenSx, Inc., a medical device company. Prior to Alcon’s (NYSE: ALC) acquisition of LenSx, Inc. in August 2010, Ms. Thunen served as a board member and chair of the audit committee from April 2008 to August 2010, as well as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Operations from November 2009 to August 2010. Ms. Thunen joined IntraLase Corp. (Nasdaq: ILSE), a laser technology company, in May 2001 and was its Chief Financial Officer and later Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer until its acquisition by Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (NYSE: EYE) in April 2007. Ms. Thunen serves on the board of directors, as audit committee chair and as a member of the nominating and corporate governance committee of AEON Biopharma, Inc. (NYSE: AEON). Ms. Thunen holds a B.A. in economics and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Irvine.

Jeff George
Chair

Jeff George has served as Chair of our board of directors since March 2024. Mr. George has over 25 years of leadership experience across North America, Europe, and emerging markets. Since 2017, he has served as the Managing Partner of Maytal Capital, a healthcare-focused private equity investment and advisory firm he founded.

Between 2008 and 2016, Mr. George served on the Executive Committee of Novartis Group AG, a global pharmaceutical leader, first as Division Head and CEO of Sandoz, Novartis’ generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars subsidiary, and then as Division Head and CEO of Alcon, Novartis’ then eye care subsidiary, both of which are now publicly-listed companies. Mr. George previously headed Emerging Markets for the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and CIS at Novartis Pharmaceuticals and served as Vice President and Head of Western and Eastern Europe for Novartis Vaccines. Prior to this, Mr. George held leadership roles at Gap Inc. and McKinsey & Co.

Mr. George has served on the board of directors of Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMRX), a generics, biosimilars, and specialty pharmaceuticals company, since 2019, and as Chairman of ENYO Pharma, a privately-held, clinical-stage rare disease biotech company, since 2026. Until 2025, Mr. George also served on the boards of directors of 908 Devices (Nasdaq: MASS), a pioneer in life science diagnostics until its divestiture of its biopharma business to Repligen; Dorian Therapeutics, a pre-clinical biotech spun out of Stanford University until its sale to Altos Labs; and Lykos Therapeutics, a CNS-focused private biopharma company whose FDA-designated breakthrough therapy for PTSD has completed two Phase 3 clinical trials. Mr. George holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, an M.A. from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, and a B.A. from Carleton College.

Barry Eiden
OD, FAAO
Director, Medical Professional Relations

Ophthalmology

Colman Kraff, MD
Kraff Eye Institute
Colman Kraff, MD
Kraff Eye Institute
Deepinder Dhaliwal, MD
UPMC Eye Center
John Doane, MD
Discover Vision Centers
Kathryn Hatch, MD
Massachusetts Eye and Ear
Robert Osher, MD
Professor of Ophthalmology at the College of Medicine of the University of Cincinnati and Medical Director Emeritus of the Cincinnati Eye Institute
Steven Dell, MD
Owner, Medical Director Dell Laser Consultants

Optometry

Andrew Morgenstern
OD, FAAO, FNAP
Andrew Morgenstern
OD, FAAO, FNAP
Carolyn Majcher
OD, FAAO
Louise Sclafani
OD, FAAO, FSLS
Michael Kling
OD
Stephanie Woo
OD, FAAO, FSLS