BEDFORD, Mass., April 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL, "Ocular" or the "Company")), an integrated biopharmaceutical company committed to redefining the retina experience, today announced that it has granted inducement awards to six newly hired non-executive employees and to Mr. Jerome M. Gangitano, the Company's new SVP, CMC Technical Operations. The awards were made as an inducement material to each recipient's acceptance of employment with Ocular under Ocular's 2019 Inducement Stock Incentive Plan in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

The inducement equity awards were granted to the six newly hired non-executive employees effective as of April 8, 2026, and to Mr. Gangitano effective as of April 13, 2026. In the case of the non-executive employees, the awards consist of non-statutory stock option awards to purchase up to an aggregate of 46,425 shares of Ocular's common stock and restricted stock unit awards representing the right to receive an aggregate of 15,275 shares of Ocular's common stock. These stock option awards have an exercise price of $8.42 per share, equal to the closing price of Ocular's common stock on The Nasdaq Global Market on the effective date of grant. In the case of Mr. Gangitano, the awards consist of a non-statutory stock option award to purchase up to 300,000 shares of Ocular's common stock and restricted stock unit awards representing the right to receive an aggregate of 100,000 shares of Ocular's common stock. Mr. Gangitano's stock option award has an exercise price of $8.86 per share, equal to the closing price of Ocular's common stock on The Nasdaq Global Market on the effective date of grant. Each of the stock option awards has a ten-year term and vest over four years, with 25% of the original number of shares vesting on the one-year anniversary of the date of grant, and the remainder vesting in equal monthly installments over the three years after such date, subject to the recipient's continued service to Ocular through the applicable vesting dates. Each of the restricted stock unit awards vest over three years, in equal annual installments on the first, second and third anniversaries of the date of grant, subject to the recipient's continued service to Ocular through the applicable vesting dates.

The inducement equity awards are subject to the terms and conditions of the award agreements covering the grants and Ocular's 2019 Inducement Stock Incentive Plan.

About Ocular Therapeutix, Inc.

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. is an integrated biopharmaceutical company committed to redefining the retina experience. AXPAXLI™ (also known as OTX-TKI), Ocular's investigational product candidate for retinal disease, is an axitinib intravitreal hydrogel 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), and diabetic retinal disease, including non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR).

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 in adults and pediatric patients and ocular itching associated with allergic conjunctivitis in adults and pediatric patients aged two years or older, and in its investigational product candidate OTX-TIC, which is a travoprost intracameral hydrogel that has completed a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Ocular is currently evaluating next steps for the OTX-TIC program.

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DEXTENZA^® is a registered trademark of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. The Ocular Therapeutix logo, AXPAXLI™, ELUTYX™, and Ocular Therapeutix™ are trademarks of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc.

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Ocular Therapeutix, Inc.

Bill Slattery

Vice President, Investor Relations

bslattery@ocutx.com

Ocular Therapeutix™ Reports Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)