Tina Guanting Qiu, MD PhD, EMBA

Tina Guanting Qiu, MD, PhD, EMBA, is a visionary biotech entrepreneur, retinal surgeon, and stem cell transplant biologist with over 25 years of experience in ophthalmology and more than 16 years of global leadership in therapeutic innovation. As the Founder and CEO of Ophthalmic Therapeutic Innovation (OTI), she is the inventor of first pathway-based therapy for glaucoma, discovered the rate limiting root cause of glaucoma, spearheads the development of OTI-2024, a patented, dual action therapy targeting both intraocular pressure and neural protection for glaucoma. Her work is aimed at delivering the first curative eye drop for treating glaucoma neural degeneration and refractory glaucoma, leveraging a robust 20-year intellectual property estate, Phase 2 clinical data, and a de-risked regulatory pathway under the FDA’s 505(b)(2) designation.

Throughout her career, Tina has collaborated with biotech CEOs, boards, CSOs, and pharma partners to shape regulatory frameworks, develop high-value delivery platforms, and navigate first-in-class programs through clinical and commercial inflection points. Her advisory and leadership contributions include setting FDA precedents in retinal gene therapy, designing sustained-release ophthalmic portfolios, and pioneering a “reverse” path from clinic-to-bench drug discovery programs. Notably, her guidance on Lineage Cell Therapeutics’ OpRegen program contributed to the successful $670M Roche-Lineage deal in 2021. She has also led critical strategic initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic, influencing global treatment strategies through her work on inhaled therapeutics and clinical trial design.
Dr. Qiu earned her MD with honors from Nanchang University and completed a PhD in Clinical Ophthalmology at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, affiliated with National Sun Yat-sen University, with her PhD research conducted in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on stem cell transplant and retinal regenerative medicine. She completed postdoctoral training at Boston University and USC’s Doheny Eye Institute and is an elected member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. She also obtained EMBA from Quantic School of Business & Technology (Washington D.C).