iSTAR Medical Adds Glaucoma Pioneer Prof. Michael Belkin, MD, to Scientific Advisory Board

Isnes, Belgium (April 29, 2014) – iSTAR Medical SA (iSTAR), a medical device company specializing in ophthalmic implants, announced today the addition of Prof. Michael Belkin, MD, to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Prof. Belkin is professor emeritus of Ophthalmology at Tel-Aviv University where he is the director of the Ophthalmic Technologies Laboratory at the university’s Eye Research Institute, located at the Sheba Medical Center, Israel, and serves as senior advisor to the Singapore Eye Research Institute.

Prof. Belkin has been involved in the establishment of over 15 medical start-ups in ophthalmology and other fields. Among his noted contributions in the glaucoma surgery field is the invention of the Ex-PRESS® Glaucoma Filtration Device developed in 1998. In 2010, Israeli-based Optonol, manufacturer of the Ex-PRESS, was acquired by Alcon, the global leader in eye care, for over $160m.

Prof. Belkin was the first full-time director of the Tel Aviv University Eye Research Institute, Chairman of the Tel-Aviv University Department of Ophthalmology and President of the Israel Society of Eye and Vision Research of which he wasa co-founder. He is the author of over 200 scientific publications and holds over 20 patents, received an MA in Science from Cambridge University, England, and an MD in Medicine from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.