Ocular Therapeutix Appoints Daniel Bollag, Ph.D., As Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance And Quality

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ocular Therapeutix™, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCUL), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative therapies for diseases and conditions of the eye, today announced the appointment of Daniel Bollag, Ph.D., as Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance and Quality, effective immediately. In his role, Mr. Bollag will be responsible for leading and optimizing the Company’s strategic regulatory efforts, quality system and process controls.

“We are excited a professional of Dan’s caliber will be joining us at Ocular,” said Antony Mattessich, Chief Executive Officer of Ocular Therapeutix. “Dan brings a proven track record of complex global regulatory management and accomplishments in both large and small pharmaceutical company settings. He is a key part of our evolution into a true biopharmaceutical company. Dan’s expertise will be critical as we work towards resubmitting our new drug application (NDA) for DEXTENZA™ while continuing to advance our additional development programs.”

Dr. Bollag brings over 25 years of R&D and executive regulatory leadership experience to Ocular Therapeutix, having most recently served as Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance & Quality at Ariad Pharmaceuticals. During his tenure at Ariad, his responsibilities included the regulatory oversight of Iclusig® (ponatinib), from Phase 1 clinical development through accelerated approvals in the US, EU and Japan. Prior to joining Ariad, Dr. Bollag served as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Genzyme where he led the global development team responsible for regulatory submissions and approval of Mozobil®. Before Genzyme, Dr. Bollag served as Associate Vice President and Global Regulatory Domain Head at Sanofi-Aventis and held regulatory and project management positions of increasing responsibility at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck & Co.

Eric Ankerud, Executive Vice President, Regulatory, Quality and Compliance, will transition out of his current role and remain with the Company as a Senior Advisor and consultant as he devotes additional time to building his business consulting practice. Mr. Ankerud will continue to provide Ocular Therapeutix with his time, input, and expertise to facilitate the transition as the Company executes on its plan to resubmit the NDA for DEXTENZA.

“We would like to thank Eric for his many contributions to Ocular Therapeutix as a member of our executive team over the last 10 years,” stated Amar Sawhney, Ph.D., Executive Chairman. “We are pleased Eric will continue to advise the Company in a consulting role and believe Dr. Bollag’s appointment will further strengthen our regulatory and quality teams, leaving Ocular well-positioned to advance its broad portfolio of product candidates that have the potential to improve outcomes for patients with diseases and conditions of the eye.”

About Ocular Therapeutix, Inc.
Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative therapies for diseases and conditions of the eye using its proprietary hydrogel platform technology. Ocular Therapeutix’s lead product candidate, DEXTENZA™ (dexamethasone insert) 0.4 mg for intracanalicular use has completed Phase 3 clinical development for the treatment of ocular pain and inflammation following ophthalmic surgery. OTX-TP (travoprost insert) is in Phase 3 clinical development for glaucoma and ocular hypertension. Ocular Therapeutix is also evaluating injectable drug delivery depots for back-of-the-eye diseases. Ocular Therapeutix’s first product, ReSure® Sealant, is FDA-approved 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 development and regulatory status of the Company’s product candidates, such as the Company’s expectations and plans regarding product development efforts and regulatory submissions for and the timing and conduct of clinical trials of DEXTENZA for the treatment of post-surgical ocular inflammation and pain and OTX-TP for the treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension, the ongoing development of the Company’s sustained release intravitreal depot technology, the potential utility of any of the Company’s product candidates, potential commercialization of the Company’s product candidates, 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, those related to the timing and costs involved in commercializing ReSure® Sealant or any product candidate that receives regulatory approval, the initiation and conduct of clinical trials, availability of data from clinical trials and expectations for regulatory submissions and approvals, the Company’s manufacturing operations, the Company’s scientific approach and general development progress, the availability or commercial potential of the Company’s product candidates, the availability of cash resources and need for additional financing 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 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. 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 release.