Robert J. Dempsey

Robert brings more than two decades of domestic and global experience in the ophthalmic space driving successful drug development, business transactions and commercialization. His widespread experience in Ophthalmology stems from diverse Leadership roles across Commercial, Business Development, Medical Affairs and Venture Backed Startups. He brings deep relationships with Key Opinion Leaders and comprehensive knowledge of the ophthalmic ecosystem. Most recently, Robert served as the Chief Executive Officer for TearClear where he accelerated the business and commercial strategies which led to several value inflection points including a successful Series B financing and positive FDA engagements. His amplification of the innovative platform put TearClear on the map in Ophthalmics. Prior to that, he served as the Global Head of Ophthalmology at Shire, then Takeda, responsible for one of the top 10 largest biopharma M&A deals in 2019. The divestiture of Takeda’s lead Ophthalmic asset, Xiidra® (lifitegrast ophthalmic solution) 5%, to Novartis in June 2019 represented a transaction for up to $5.3B from Shire’s initial investment of ~$165M in 2013. Under Robert’s leadership, Shire successfully acquired four companies to accelerate the value creation of the franchise through the addition of innovative early, mid and late-stage pipeline candidates. He has been instrumental with successful early-stage venture capital and strategic fundraising activities as a Board member and advisor to multiple Ophthalmology companies. Additionally, his philanthropic engagement includes serving as Chairman of The Holland Foundation for Sight Restoration and as Co-Director of the Corporate & Surgeon Partners Program for SightLife. He holds a Master’s in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.