25 April 2019 - - US-based biopharmaceutical company Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCUL) has nominated Seung Suh (Stanley) Hong, Ph.D. to the board of directors of the company.

Hong brings over 35 years of industrial experience in the development of biopharmaceutical products and since March 2019 has served as a consultant to a number of biopharmaceutical companies.

From April 2002 to January 2019, he served in various capacities at Celltrion Inc., a South Korean-based biopharmaceutical company, including as president of Celltrion Healthcare Japan and Senior Advisor from January 2016 to January 2019; as president and chief executive officer of Celltrion Healthcare Co., Ltd. from November 2014 to December 2015; and as president of Research and Development from April 2002 to November 2014.

Hong's team at Celltrion led the successful development of REMSIMA, the world's first biosimilar monoclonal antibody, and helped gain approval for the product in Korea, Japan, Canada, the European Union, and the United States.

Overall, Hong has been involved in the commercialisation of eight biosimilar monoclonal antibodies and other recombinant proteins as well as four new biopharmaceutical products.

Dr. Hong studied Enzymology and Biochemical Engineering at Seoul National University in Korea, and received a Ph.D from the same institution in 1990.

He spent two years at the University of Wisconsin as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Bacteriology and the School of Pharmacy. Dr. Hong has published more than 40 papers, and holds more than 120 Korean patents and 20 international patents.

Hong's nomination is part of a broader realignment of the board of directors. In March, the company announced that Leslie J. Williams had been elected to the board.

More recently, W. James O'Shea notified the company in April of his resignation from the board, effective upon the conclusion of the 2019 annual meeting of Stockholders.

Finally, Hong has been nominated for election as a Class II director to assume the board seat currently occupied by Jaswinder (Jassi) Chadha, whose term as a director is scheduled to expire at the 2019 annual meeting of Stockholders in June.

Upon the conclusion of the meeting, the company expects the board to reduce its size from nine to eight directors.

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the formulation, development, and commercialisation 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 pain following ophthalmic surgery.

OTX-TP (intracanalicular travoprost insert) is an intracanalicular insert in Phase 3 clinical development for the reduction of intraocular pressure in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension.

The company's earlier stage assets include OTX-TIC, an extended-delivery intracameral travoprost implant for the reduction of intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma and ocular hypertension, as well as sustained release intravitreal implants for the treatment of retinal diseases.

These intravitreal implants include OTX-TKI, containing a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and, in collaboration with Regeneron, OTX-IVT, an extended-delivery protein-based anti-vascular endothelial growth factor trap.

Ocular Therapeutix's first product, ReSure Sealant, is FDA-approved to seal corneal incisions following cataract surgery.