Oculis Appoints Katie Kazem as Chief Legal Officer

ZUG, Switzerland, Feb. 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

• Ms. Kazem brings extensive and global expertise in corporate governance and securities law, drawing on a distinguished track record as external legal counsel to leading life sciences companies
• Chief Legal Officer (CLO) appointment enhances leadership capabilities to advance three highly differentiated late-stage assets toward near-term clinical and regulatory milestones

Oculis Holding AG (Nasdaq: OCS / XICE: OCS) (“Oculis”), a global biopharmaceutical company focused on breakthrough innovations to address significant unmet medical needs in neuro-ophthalmology and ophthalmology, today announced the appointment of Katie Kazem as Chief Legal Officer, leading Oculis’ legal, compliance and corporate governance functions. Ms. Kazem brings extensive expertise in corporate and securities law, with a distinguished track record advising public and private life sciences companies on complex transactions and regulatory matters.

Riad Sherif, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Oculis, stated “Katie joins Oculis at an exciting moment, with Privosegtor advancing into the PIONEER program with registrational trials for a novel neuroprotective platform and just ahead of the much‑anticipated DIAMOND Phase 3 topline results for OCS‑01 eye drops in DME, expected in Q2. This significant momentum reinforces our commitment to delivering transformational therapies. I look forward to working alongside Katie as we continue to make rapid progress across our highly differentiated pipeline and prepare for important late‑stage clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones."

Katie Kazem, Chief Legal Officer of Oculis, said “I am honoured to be joining Oculis at such an important stage of the company’s journey to become a global leader in neuro-ophthalmology and ophthalmology. Over the past few years, I have had the privilege of serving as external legal counsel to Oculis since its listing on NASDAQ in March 2023, which allowed me to work closely with its exceptional executive team and board of directors, witness the company’s remarkable progress and unwavering business integrity, and gain deeper insight into its highly promising pipeline. I look forward to continuing this collaboration as we advance the company’s late‑stage assets toward future clinical milestones and commercialization.”

Ms. Kazem brings to Oculis over 15 years of experience representing life sciences companies on US initial public offerings (IPOs), capital raising, M&A and strategic transactions, SEC compliance, and corporate governance. She joins Oculis from Cooley LLP, a leading international law firm, where she was a capital markets partner. At Cooley, she represented dozens of publicly traded life sciences and technology companies in their IPOs, acquisitions, follow-on offerings, and strategic licensing transactions. She has particular expertise in advising dual-listed biotechnology companies across Europe. Her experience spans both company-side and underwriter-side representations across the life sciences and technology sectors. Ms. Kazem earned her JD, magna cum laude, from George Mason University School of Law, a Master’s degree in Public Policy from George Mason University School of Public Policy, and a BA in Government from the College of William & Mary.

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About Oculis

Oculis is a global biopharmaceutical company (Nasdaq: OCS; XICE: OCS) focused on breakthrough innovations to address significant unmet medical needs in neuro-ophthalmology and ophthalmology. Oculis’ highly differentiated late-stage clinical pipeline includes three core product candidates: Privosegtor, a breakthrough neuroprotective candidate in the PIONEER program which consists of studies intended to support registration plans for treatment in optic neuropathies like optic neuritis (ON) and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), with potentially broad clinical applications in various other neuro-ophthalmic and neurological diseases; OCS-01, an eye drop in pivotal registration studies, aiming to become the first non-invasive topical treatment for diabetic macular edema (DME); and Licaminlimab, a novel, topical anti-TNFα in Phase 2, which is being developed with a genotype-based approach to drive precision medicine in dry eye disease (DED). Headquartered in Switzerland with operations in the U.S. and Iceland, Oculis is led by an experienced management team with a successful track record and supported by leading international healthcare investors.

For more information, please visit: 

Oculis Contact

Ms. Sylvia Cheung, CFO

Investor Relations

LifeSci Advisors

Corey Davis, Ph.D.

Media Relations

ICR Healthcare

Amber Fennell / David Daley / Sean Leous

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and information. For example, statements regarding the potential benefits of the Company’s product candidates, the initiation, timing, progress and results of current and future clinical trials, Oculis’ research and development programs, regulatory and business strategy, including planned interactions with the FDA; Oculis’ future development plans; the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals; statements about market opportunity, and the Company’s expected financial position and cash runway, are forward-looking. All forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Oculis and its management, are inherently uncertain and are inherently subject to risks, variability, and contingencies, many of which are beyond Oculis’ control. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by an investor as, a guarantee, assurance, prediction or definitive statement of a fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected and/or those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of Oculis, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of Oculis’ annual report on Form 20-F and any other documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Copies of these documents are available on the SEC’s website, Oculis undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.