Sling Therapeutics Inc, a US-based biopharmaceutical company focused on late-stage development of linsitinib, an oral small molecule for the treatment of thyroid eye disease (TED), announced on Friday that it has named Raymond Douglas, MD, PhD as its new chief scientific officer.

In the new role, Dr Douglas is to head activities to further explore linsitinib's potential for expansion to additional indications, and engage the broader scientific and medical community around the company's progress in TED.

Dr Douglas has more than 15 years of clinical and developmental experience in oculoplastic diseases. He heads his own practice in Beverly Hills, California and also served as a professor at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, California, where he held the position of a director of the orbital and TED programs.

Dr Douglas said: "I am thrilled to be joining Sling Therapeutics as part of the leadership team to develop an accessible treatment option for TED. TED is a debilitating disease where physical changes are pronounced and painful. Though aesthetic surgery is a path forward for some patients, there continues to be a market for those who desire a non-surgical option to improve their quality of life. I look forward to engaging with the TED scientific and medical community to bring awareness to Sling's work with linsitinib. I am excited to be advancing linsitinib through clinical development and its potential approval for TED, as well as continuing the development of linsitinib to address additional indications."