retinal-disease
(2)
Rich Small
Rich Small is the CEO of Neurotech Pharmaceuticals, the Cumberland, Rhode Island clinical-stage biotech that in March 2025 won FDA approval for ENCELTO, the first and only treatment for macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel). A CPA and Northeastern University graduate, he joined Neurotech as CFO in 2007 and took over the top job in 2016, guiding the company's encapsulated cell technology platform from experimental science to a commercial retinal implant.
Xuandai Nguyen
Xuandai Nguyen, Ph.D., MBA, is Vice President, Head of Global Program Strategy and Chief of Staff to the CEO at Beacon Therapeutics, an ophthalmic gene therapy company working to restore sight in people with inherited and prevalent retinal diseases. A scientist-turned-strategist, Nguyen has spent more than two decades moving medicines from bench to market, with senior roles at Genentech, Forma Therapeutics and ACELYRIN spanning immunology, ophthalmology, respiratory and sickle cell disease. Trilingual and Berkeley- and Cornell-trained, Nguyen sits at the intersection of hard science and commercial strategy, translating complicated biology into the plans that decide which therapies reach patients.