PolyActiva—a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company whose technology enables precise drug delivery to the eye—is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. But three of its top leaders are based at the company’s office in Fort Worth, including CEO and Board Director Jerry St. Peter, whose hiring was announced just one month ago. (In 2022, St. Peter sold his Fort Worth-based company Eyevance Pharmaceuticals to Japan’s Santen for $225 million. More on that later.)

On Wednesday, PolyActiva announced two other new top additions: CFO Wes Brazell and Chief Scientific Officer, Michael Brubaker, PhD. Like St. Peter, both are based in Fort Worth, and all three leaders have worked together for years.

There’s a reason behind the Aussie company’s North Texas leadership concentration: PolyActiva is focused on advancing its lead asset, a glaucoma treatment called PA5108, into Phase 2b clinical trials in the U.S. To help pursue this, the company opened its Fort Worth office on June 1, the company confirmed to Dallas Innovates.

“Wes and Mike bring exceptional expertise in their respective fields and a shared commitment to innovation and value creation in ophthalmology,” St. Peter said in a statement. “Their appointments come at an important time as we scale globally and advance our lead product candidate, PA5108, into late-stage clinical development. Alongside [former CEO] Vanessa Waddell’s continued leadership as chief strategy officer, we’re building a highly capable executive team to guide our next phase of growth. These appointments enhance our deep technical foundation in Australia and position us to deliver on our mission to lead in sustained-release ocular therapies and improve patient outcomes.”

PolyActiva calls its expansion to the U.S. a “key step” in its evolution to become a leader in sustained release ocular therapies. The company has a proprietary drug delivery platform, PREZIA, that delivers “precise, consistent, and fully customizable” drug release over periods ranging from one week to over one year. 

Top hirings follow company’s $25M Series C raise

The hiring of the three top PolyActiva leaders comes in the wake of PolyActiva’s $25 million (AUD $40 million) Series C financing round, which was announced on June 18 along with the new CEO’s appointment.

The Series C round was led by an Australian Sovereign Wealth Fund with “continued strong support from Brandon Capital,” the company said.

St. Peter succeeded PolyActiva’s former CEO, Vanessa Waddell, who remains at the company in the role of chief strategy officer, as noted above.

“I look forward to building on the foundation the team in Australia has created, expanding our footprint in the U.S., and delivering transformative therapies to patients around the world,” St. Peter said at the time of his hiring last month.

Under St. Peter’s leadership, PolyActiva said it plans to accelerate efforts to bring its lead product to market in the U.S. while maintaining its robust R&D and product development operations in Australia.

New leaders had a $225M exit in Fort Worth in 2020

Founded in 2010, PolyActiva is “expanding to be a global company,” a spokesperson told us, and the three new top hirings aim to help that growth: St. Peter, Brazell, and Brubaker all bring experience as serial entrepreneurs.

St. Peter co-founded Eyevance Pharmaceuticals as CEO in Fort Worth in 2017, and was joined by Brazell as CFO shortly afterward. In 2020, they sold Eyevance to global Japanese pharma company Santen for $225 million, as Dallas Innovates reported at the time. Eyevance had earlier acquired the ophthalmic drugs Tobradex ST and Natacyn from Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Novartis, and had raised $30 million in a 2019 funding round.

In 2022, St. Peter, Brazell, and Brubaker formed the leadership team of Xequel Bio, also headquartered in Fort Worth. In late 2024, Xequel’s technology was licensed to “a large strategic ophthalmic company,” PolyActiva’s spokesperson said.

More on the new CFO and CSO

As PolyActiva’s new CFO, Brazell brings more than 30 years of leadership across public and private companies in the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors, with deep expertise in financial strategy, global operations, business development, fundraising, and corporate planning, the company said. He previously served as CFO at Xequel Bio, Eyevance Pharmaceuticals, and TearLab Corporation, and he spent over two decades at Alcon, where he led finance functions across regional and global operations.

“PolyActiva is backed by exceptional biotech investors and is entering a pivotal growth phase,” said Mr. Brazell. “The recent Series C financing gives us the runway to scale in the U.S., launch our Phase 2b trial, and accelerate both the path to commercializing PA5108 and identifying additional assets to leverage the PREZIA platform. I’m excited to join this talented team and look forward to contributing to this next chapter of success.”

Brubaker brings over 25 years of R&D leadership across ophthalmic, otic, and respiratory diseases. He most recently served as CSO at Xequel Bio and previously held senior R&D roles at Novartis—where he led global development for Xiidra—as well as Alcon, Bausch & Lomb, and Abbott Laboratories. His expertise spans drug and device development, regulatory strategy, and portfolio leadership, PolyActiva said.

“The PREZIA platform represents a breakthrough for ocular drug delivery through its innovative and cutting-edge technology,” said Brubaker. “I’m thrilled to join PolyActiva and eager to help our strong, experienced R&D team to advance and fortify our pipeline with the potential to transform how we treat glaucoma and other serious eye diseases.”

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