Ocular Therapeutix™ Appoints Namrata Saroj, OD, as Chief Business Officer

BEDFORD, Mass., Nov. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCUL, “Ocular”, the “Company”), a biopharmaceutical company committed to improving vision in the real world through the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for retinal diseases and other eye conditions, today announced that Namrata Saroj, OD, has joined the Company on a full-time basis as Chief Business Officer (CBO). Dr. Saroj previously served as Development Strategy Consultant to Ocular since February 2024.

“I am thrilled to further strengthen and enrich Ocular’s senior leadership team with the appointment of Namrata as Chief Business Officer. She brings a unique perspective to the role of CBO based on her track record in clinical development, launch preparation, and commercialization. Namrata has contributed to the success of multiple major FDA-approved drugs for ophthalmic diseases and has meaningfully enhanced the effective execution of our ongoing registrational program for AXPAXLI™ in wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD),” said Pravin U. Dugel, MD, Executive Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ocular Therapeutix. “I am confident that Namrata’s broad retina community connections and keen understanding of the commercial landscape will be extremely valuable to our future success and a significant asset to her work as CBO as we seek to fulfill our vision of being a leading retina company.”

Namrata Saroj, OD, Chief Business Officer of Ocular Therapeutix commented, “Advancing innovative treatments for patients has been the focus of my entire career. I joined Ocular to apply my expertise in ophthalmology drug development to advance AXPAXLI in wet AMD and beyond. Having worked as a consultant to Ocular, I have been fortunate to participate in the assembly of this top-notch team of retina experts, and I am excited to now dedicate my time to the organization going forward. In my new role as Chief Business Officer, I am delighted to have the opportunity to leverage my experience in clinical execution, market strategy, and pipeline expansion to contribute to Ocular’s growth and support the Company’s mission of improving vision for patients.”

Dr. Saroj brings over 20 years of experience focusing on global development and commercialization of drugs and technologies advancing ophthalmic care. Her extensive understanding of the ophthalmology clinical and commercial landscapes is founded on her diverse experiences working across multiple programs. She has collaborated with several companies across various stages from early-stage start-ups to late-stage development and commercialization. In this capacity, she has effectively helped these companies with strategic partnerships, clinical development, trial enrollment, launch preparation, and commercialization support.

Dr. Saroj has been a major contributor towards the development and commercialization of LUCENTIS^® and EYLEA^®, two of the most successful products in this sector. She is well recognized in the retina community for her work in clinical development collaboration with investigators and industry experts on clinical trial designs and execution. She has co-authored seminal peer-reviewed publications in the management of retinal diseases.

Dr. Saroj is also the co-founder of Clinical Trials Resource Group, a CRO focused on executing ophthalmology clinical trials. Previously, she led the Ophthalmology Medical Affairs team as an Executive Director at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Saroj has previously held positions at Genentech, Inc. and Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital. Dr. Saroj is the President of Association for Macular Diseases, a non-profit organization offering support to individuals, their families, friends, and the professional community.

Dr. Saroj earned her Doctor of Optometry from the University of California, Berkeley. She received a Bachelor of Science in Optometry from the University of California, Berkeley and Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry, magna cum laude with distinction from Whittier College.

About Ocular Therapeutix, Inc.

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company committed to improving vision in the real world through the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for retinal diseases and other eye conditions. AXPAXLI™ (axitinib intravitreal implant, also known as OTX-TKI), Ocular’s product candidate for retinal disease, is based on its ELUTYX™ proprietary bioresorbable hydrogel-based formulation technology. AXPAXLI is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials for wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD).

Ocular’s pipeline also leverages the ELUTYX technology in its commercial product DEXTENZA®, an FDA-approved corticosteroid for the treatment of ocular inflammation and pain following ophthalmic surgery and ocular itching associated with allergic conjunctivitis, and in its product candidate PAXTRAVA™ (travoprost intracameral implant or OTX-TIC), which is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

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The Ocular Therapeutix logo and DEXTENZA® are registered trademarks of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. AXPAXLI™, PAXTRAVA™, ELUTYX™, and Ocular Therapeutix™ are trademarks of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc.

LUCENTIS® is a registered trademark of Genentech, Inc., a member of the Roche Group.

EYLEA® is a registered trademark of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans, and prospects for the Company, including the development and regulatory status of the Company’s product candidates; the Company’s plans to advance the development of AXPAXLI and its other product candidates; the potential utility of any of the Company’s product candidates; the Company’s objective to become a leader in retinal care; 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 preclinical and 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 any product or product candidate that receives regulatory approval; the ability to retain regulatory approval of any product or product candidate that receives regulatory approval; the initiation, design, timing, conduct and outcomes of ongoing and planned clinical trials; the risk that the FDA will not agree with the Company’s interpretation of the written agreement under the Special Protocol Assessment for the SOL-1 trial; the risk that the FDA may not agree that the protocol and statistical analysis plan of SOL-R or the data generated by the SOL-1 and SOL-R trials support marketing approval, even if the trials are successful; uncertainty as to whether the data from earlier clinical trials will be predictive of the data of later clinical trials, particularly later clinical trials that have a different design or utilize a different formulation than the earlier trials, whether preliminary or interim data from a clinical trial will be predictive of final data from such trial, or whether data from a clinical trial assessing a product candidate for one indication will be predictive of results in other indications; availability of data from clinical trials and expectations for regulatory submissions and approvals; the Company’s scientific approach and general development progress; uncertainties inherent in estimating the Company’s cash runway, future expenses and other financial results, including its ability to fund future operations, including clinical trials; the Company’s existing indebtedness and the ability of the Company’s creditors to accelerate the maturity of such indebtedness upon the occurrence of certain events of default; the Company’s ability to enter into strategic alliances or generate additional funding on a timely basis, on favorable terms, or at all; 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 may 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, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, 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.

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