EyePoint swaps out CEOs ahead of its Northbridge facility expansion

EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, a Watertown-based company launching manufacturing facilities in Northbridge, has promoted its chief operating officer and president to the position of CEO. New CEO Dr. Jay Duker has also been appointed to the company’s board of directors, effective Monday.

The previous CEO, Nancy Lurker, has transitioned from the role to executive vice chair of the board of directors, according to a Tuesday press release from EyePoint.

The company develops and commercializes treatments for serious eye disorders. 

Duker joined EyePoint as chief strategic scientific officer in 2020 before becoming COO in November 2021. From 2016 to 2020, he was an independent member of EyePoint’s board of directors. Before joining the pharmaceutical company, he was the director of the New England Eye Center and chair of ophthalmology at Tufts Medical Center and the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. Duker co-founded startups including Hemera Biosciences, a gene therapy company that was acquired by Janssen, in addition to two other startups. 

After the announcement of Duker’s appointment to CEO, EyePoint’s stock increased on Monday morning from $8.04 to $9.56 per share on the NASDAQ, an 18.9% increase. 

Duker earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.