Dr. Michael Tolentino

Dr. Michael J Tolentino

Deerfield Academy
Brown University Honors Bachelor’s degree in computer science and organizational behavior from
University of Massachusetts Medical degree.
Nanjing University in China.
Harvard Medical School at the Schepens Eye Research Insitute in his fathers laboratory.
National Eye Institute to develop an imaging system to monitor cataract formation for purposes of clinical trials.

Post-doctoral angiogenesis research fellowship at the Harvard Medical School with Dr. Judah Folkman, Anthony Adamis (Senior VP Global head of Ophthalmology Roche), Joan Miller (Chair Harvard Medical School Ophthalmology), Patricia D’Amore ( Director of SERI).
Ophthalmology residency at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary/Harvard Medical, He then moved to Philadelphia where he finished a vitreo-retinal surgical fellowship while joining the ophthalmology and molecular biology faculty at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Tolentino earned numerous awards and received several prestigious grants while at UPenn including the Heed/Knapp, AOS, Ron Michels, AUPO fellowships as well as RPB and K08 NEI research grants. His research focused on gene, cellular and stem cell therapies.

With these inventions Dr. Tolentino co-founded and served as the initial CEO for Acuity Pharmaceuticals where he raised 3 million dollars from friends and family and helped raise 21 million in venture funding (Psilos, Mitsubishi and J&J Development). He guided the company from invention, start up, clinical trials to exit. After the successful phase II trial of Bevasiranib for macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, Acuity pharmaceuticals merged with a publically traded company Exegenic, owned completely by the Frost Gamma private equity group, to form OPKO health (NYSE: OPK) a publically traded biopharmaceutical company. This deal was valued at over 200 million. OPKO’s current market cap is over 3 Billion.


Dr. Tolentino is currently the director and founder of the clinical research program at the Center for Retina and Macular Disease. The center is now one of the largest retinal clinical trial centers in the world with over 100 retinal clinical trials in the last 7 years. He has been the top enrolling principal investigator for Phase I to III FDA registration and Phase IV trials for drugs such as Eylea, Lucentis, Verteporfrin, Macugen, Iluvien, Jetrea AREDS II, Psvidia, and SphingoMAB and has been involved in the approval process for several of these drugs. He has been involved in the early development of novel molecules such as eyedrops for AMD (GSK, Panoptica, Bayer), anti-PDGF (Ophthotech, Regeneron), Anti-Complement antibodies (Novartis. Ophthotech, Genentech, Pfizer), TIE-2 manipulators (Aerpio,Regeneron), siRNA-VEGF(OPKO), Esbatech Molecule(Alcon), siRNA (Quark), AntiSense (I-Cos) Anti-Amyloid(Pfizer), Squalamine, Sirolimus (Santen), Anti-Inflammatory(Xoma) and anti- C2/C5 (Pfizer) He has also helped develop devices such as the Foresee Home and microinfusion of anti-VEGF.

Dr. Tolentino is a frequent international lecturer on anti-angiogenic, retinal and macular therapies. He is currently lecturing on preventative strategies for delaying macular degeneration. He is also co-authoring a book for the general audience on health and wellness called Body of Fire soon to be published.
Dr. Tolentino has served on several scientific advisory panels and is or has been a consultant, advisor or speaker for several pharmaceutical companies including Bayer, Regeneron, Pfizer, Novartis, Genentech, Allergan, Eyetech, QLT, Bausch and Lomb/Valeant, Theravance, Thrombogenics and Glaxo Smith Kline. He served as the Chief Medical Officer for a stem cell company Cryotooth. He also served as founding CEO of Altiok Oncosystems a spin off Company from the Moffitt Cancer Center. He has also served as advisor to several biotech, device and startup companies including, Promedior, Eyelten, Ophthotech, LPath, Alimera, Eyesolutions, Panoptica, Sequenom, Arctic DX, Optherion, Occulogix, Clanotech, Asahi Medical, Sightpath, Theravance, Esight Eyewear and Notal Vision.

He has started the Tolentino Eye Research Foundation focused on promoting novel eye research and entrepeneurship in eye research and on the board of Restoring Sight International.

He is currently an Associate Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at University of Central Florida.