Ocular Therapeutix™ Promotes Michael Goldstein, MD, MBA, to President, Ophthalmology and Appoints Rabia Gurses Ozden, MD as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the formulation, development, and commercialization of innovative therapies for diseases and conditions of the eye, today announced the promotion of Michael Goldstein, MD, MBA, to the newly created position of President, Ophthalmology. Dr. Goldstein will continue to report to Antony Mattessich, Ocular’s President and Chief Executive Officer. With this promotion, Dr. Goldstein will be responsible for clinical operations and in that capacity will maintain his role as Chief Medical Officer. He will also be responsible for commercial operations in alignment with the overall Company strategy. The Company also announced the appointment of Rabia Gurses Ozden, MD, as Senior Vice President (SVP), Clinical Development. As SVP, Clinical Development, Dr. Ozden is responsible for leading the clinical development of Ocular Therapeutix’s current and growing pipeline of indications focusing on the front and back of the eye. The strategic appointments are expected to play a key role in supporting Ocular’s future growth and reflect Ocular’s commitment to developing innovative therapies for diseases and conditions of the eye.

“2020 has been a year of exciting growth for Ocular Therapeutix with the commercial success of DEXTENZA and with the development of our leading ophthalmology pipeline,” said Antony Mattessich, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ocular Therapeutix. "Recognizing the great opportunity to build upon our progress, I am thrilled to be expanding the organization with the promotion of Mike and with the addition of Rabia to our clinical team. Mike has played a key role in our recent successes, and I believe his strong leadership will continue to drive further success and future growth.”

“I am really excited about the work Ocular Therapeutix is doing in ophthalmology and our potential. We aim to keep developing exciting products to fulfill unmet needs in ophthalmology to benefit patients and to continue developing a best-in-class commercial team to deliver those products to market,” said Michael Goldstein, Chief Medical Officer and President, Ophthalmology. “I would also like to welcome Rabia to the Ocular team. We are fortunate to attract a talent like Rabia who brings to Ocular a proven track record and broad therapeutic expertise in ophthalmology with subspecialty training in glaucoma.”

Dr. Ozden has over 15 years of experience in clinical development, clinical operations, and pharmacovigilance in pharmaceutical and medical device programs. Dr. Ozden has had numerous interactions with regulatory agencies for clinical support in product filings, clinical endpoint developments and label negotiation. Prior to joining Ocular, Dr. Ozden most recently served as the Chief Development Officer at Akouos, Inc. Previously, Dr. Ozden served as Chief Medical Officer of Nightstar Therapeutics plc, a gene therapy company focused on rare inherited retinal diseases, which was acquired by Biogen. She has held leadership positions at Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation and GlaxoSmithKline, and earlier in her career held clinical development and operations roles at Quark Pharmaceuticals, Bausch & Lomb Pharmaceuticals and Carl Zeiss Meditec AG. Dr. Ozden received her M.D. from Hacettepe University School of Medicine, completed her ophthalmology residency at Ankara University School of Medicine, and her clinical fellowship in Glaucoma at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary.

About Ocular Therapeutix, Inc.

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the formulation, development, and commercialization of innovative therapies for diseases and conditions of the eye using its proprietary bioresorbable hydrogel-based formulation technology. Ocular Therapeutix’s first commercial drug product, DEXTENZA, is FDA-approved for the treatment of ocular inflammation and pain following ophthalmic surgery. Ocular Therapeutix has also submitted a Supplemental NDA for DEXTENZA to include the treatment of ocular itching associated with allergic conjunctivitis as an additional approved indication. Ocular Therapeutix’s earlier stage development assets currently in Phase 1 clinical trials include OTX-TIC (travoprost intracameral implant) for the reduction of intraocular pressure in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension and OTX-TKI (axitinib intravitreal implant) for the treatment of wet AMD and other retinal diseases. Ocular Therapeutix is currently evaluating OTX-CSI (cyclosporine intracanalicular insert) for the chronic treatment of dry eye disease in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Also, Ocular Therapeutix is currently developing OTX-DED (dexamethasone intracanalicular insert) for the short-term treatment of the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease and, in collaboration with Regeneron, OTX-AFS (aflibercept suprachoroidal injection) as an extended-delivery formulation of aflibercept for the treatment of retinal diseases. Ocular Therapeutix's first product, ReSure® Sealant, is an FDA-approved device to seal corneal incisions following cataract surgery.

Forward Looking Statements

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans, and prospects for the Company, including the commercialization of DEXTENZA®, ReSure® Sealant, or any of the Company’s product candidates; the commercial launch of, and effectiveness of reimbursement codes for, DEXTENZA; the conduct of post-approval studies of DEXTENZA; the development and regulatory status of the Company’s product candidates, such as the Company’s development of and prospects for approvability of DEXTENZA for additional indications including allergic conjunctivitis, OTX-DED for the short-term treatment of the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease, OTX-CSI for the chronic treatment of dry eye disease, OTX-TIC for the treatment of primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension, OTX-TKI for the treatment of retinal diseases including wet AMD, and OTX-AFS as an extended-delivery formulation of the VEGF trap aflibercept for the treatment of retinal diseases including wet AMD; the potential receipt of a target action date under PDUFA; the ongoing development of the Company’s extended-delivery hydrogel depot technology; the size of potential markets for our product candidates; the potential utility of any of the Company’s product candidates; the potential benefits and future operation of the collaboration with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, including any potential future payments thereunder; projected net product revenue and other financial metrics of DEXTENZA; the expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company and its operations; the sufficiency of the Company’s cash resources and other statements containing the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend", "goal," "may", "might," "plan," "predict," "project," "target," "potential," "will," "would," "could," "should," "continue," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s clinical development programs, future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the timing and costs involved in commercializing DEXTENZA, ReSure Sealant or any product candidate that receives regulatory approval, including the conduct of post-approval studies, the ability to retain regulatory approval of DEXTENZA, ReSure Sealant or any product candidate that receives regulatory approval, the ability to maintain reimbursement codes for DEXTENZA, the initiation, timing and conduct of clinical trials, availability of data from clinical trials and expectations for regulatory submissions and approvals, the Company’s scientific approach and general development progress, the availability or commercial potential of the Company’s product candidates, the Company’s ability to generate its projected net product revenue on the timeline expected, if at all, the sufficiency of cash resources, the Company’s existing indebtedness, the ability of the Company’s creditors to accelerate the maturity of such indebtedness upon the occurrence of certain events of default, the outcome of the Company’s ongoing legal proceedings, the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic including its effect on the Company’s and relevant regulatory authorities’ operations, any additional financing needs or other actions and other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section contained in the Company’s quarterly and annual reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company’s views as of the date of this press release. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company’s views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.