Jason Herod.
FAR HILLS, N.J.—Samsara Vision, a privately-held, specialty medical device company focused on the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of proprietary implantable ophthalmic devices and technologies, has announced the promotion of Jason Herod to president and chief executive officer, effective April 28, 2026. Herod joined Samsara Vision in 2021 and was appointed chief commercial officer in 2024, a role in which he was responsible for executing the commercialization of the company’s flagship product, the Smaller-Incision New-Generation Implantable Miniature Telescope (SING IMT) for late-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Herod replaces Thomas Ruggia, the company’s previous president and CEO, who has since left the company for a new opportunity, Samsara Vision advised.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead Samsara Vision, particularly during a time of immense growth,” said Herod. “In CE Referenced countries, where the SING IMT is approved for use, we have seen tremendous excitement and uptake of our device for late-stage AMD, where it has been implanted in over 550 patients in 19 countries. We are also looking forward to the start of the PERSPECTIVE study, our recently announced European clinical trial that will evaluate SING IMT outcomes in patients with pseudophakic eyes in the hopes that we can reach even more patients impacted by late-stage AMD.”
In making the announcement, Samsara Vision lauded Herod’s more than 29 years of ophthalmic medical device, pharmaceutical, and OTC business experience. He joined Samsara Vision after 15 years with Alcon, where he served as global senior director, presbyopia correcting IOLs, surgical. Prior to that, he held commercial and marketing roles of increasing responsibility in general management, country, regional and global marketing, and as the franchise head for Europe, Middle East, Africa, Russia. Herod earned his bachelor’s degree in commerce from Saint Mary’s University in Canada and a masters in business administration from the University of Toronto in Canada.
In addition to Herod’s promotion, Samsara Vision announced the following leadership changes:
- Faustino Vidal Aroca, Ph.D., has assumed the role of global vice president, clinical and medical affairs.
- Syed Rashid has assumed the role of global vice president, market access and Europe commercial.
- Zubair Hussain, Ph.D. joins the company as global vice president, regulatory affairs and quality.
- Pedro Gonçalves joins the company as global vice president of marketing.
The PERSPECTIVE study is designed to assess outcomes in pseudophakic eyes within a controlled, multinational setting. The inclusion of pseudophakic patients (those having had previous cataract surgery) is clinically significant because this major subgroup represents a large proportion of individuals affected by late-stage AMD who are not eligible for any other interventions, the company advised. The primary endpoints will assess safety, visual outcomes, patient selection criteria, and rehabilitation strategies, the announcement said.
