NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- jCyte., a biotech company dedicated to improving the lives of patients with retinal degenerative diseases, today announced the further expansion of the company’s executive management team with the appointment of John Sholar as General Counsel. Mr. Sholar brings to jCyte more than 20 years of industry experience, serving as the head of North American legal for a large publicly traded pharmaceutical company, in private practice as a law firm partner focused on intellectual property development and pharmaceutical patent licensing and litigation, and in the military as a Naval Officer leading teams in new mission areas around the globe.

Prior to becoming an in-house counsel, Sholar was a partner at Husch Blackwell, LLP, an AmLaw 100 firm, where he led trial teams in patent disputes and counseled numerous multinational brand and generic pharmaceutical clients on FDA regulatory issues surrounding product launches and intellectual property exclusivities. He subsequently joined Santen Pharmaceuticals as the head of North American legal, while simultaneously serving as global head of legal and Corporate Secretary for Santen’s early-stage biotechnology investment vehicle, Santen Ventures, where he helped analyze the intellectual property estates of clinical stage biotech companies and execute licensing deals and equity investments. At Santen, he also supported the global research and development organization, overseeing all legal issues surrounding clinical trials and product launches in the Americas region. John is a past editor of the licensing and valuation chapter of a treatise on intellectual property law and has taught academic and continuing education courses on intellectual property and trial law. John earned his juris doctorate magna cum laude from the University of Illinois where he served as an editor of the Law Review and subsequently completed a federal appellate court clerkship in Washington, D.C.

“The addition of Mr. Sholar brings to jCyte a skilled, business savvy attorney with unique experience advising both high growth and established companies developing and commercializing innovative pharmaceutical products. Of particular note is John’s significant experience on the intellectual property front, where his expertise representing both large multinational brand and generic pharmaceutical companies and his prior work shaping biotech patent law at the Federal Circuit will provide jCyte with unique insight into how to protect and further develop our valuable global intellectual property estate. He joins a group of highly skilled professionals with decades of experience to ensure we successfully deliver our transformative cell therapy to the many patients in desperate need who currently have no treatment options,” said Dr. Shannon Blalock, Chief Executive Officer, jCyte.

jCell is a first-in-class investigational treatment for RP which has received FDA Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation. In addition to RMAT designation, jCell has received Orphan Drug designation from the FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

About jCyte, Inc.

jCyte, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing its first-in-class regenerative cell therapy, jCell, for retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and other retinal degenerative disorders. The treatment is minimally invasive and given as an intravitreal injection. There are currently no FDA approved therapies for RP. The Company is pioneering a new era of regenerative therapies to address the significant unmet medical needs of patients suffering from a broad set of retinal degenerative diseases. For more information, visit www.jcyte.com.

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