- European Affiliate, based in Amsterdam, to support upcoming marketing authorization submissions, OCU410 Phase 3 development program, and potential commercialization in Europe
MALVERN, Pa., Oct. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ocugen, Inc. ("Ocugen" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: OCGN), a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing novel gene therapies to address blindness diseases, today announced the appointment of Jolanda Crombach, MSc PharmD, as General Manager of the Company's European affiliate. Ms. Crombach, an accomplished pharmaceutical executive with more than 20 years of industry experience, will lead the Company's newly established European affiliate, headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
"As we advance our three Phase 3 modifier gene therapy programs toward regulatory submissions and potential commercialization, establishing a strong presence in Europe is an important component of our growth strategy," said Shankar Musunuri, PhD, MBA, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Ocugen. "Jolanda is ideally suited to lead this important expansion. Her extensive pharmaceutical leadership experience, deep understanding of the European healthcare environment and track record of building organizations will be invaluable as we develop our European operations and prepare to potentially bring transformative, one-time treatment gene therapies to patients."
Under Ms. Crombach's leadership, the European affiliate will build the team and infrastructure to support Ocugen's three late-stage modifier gene therapy programs addressing major blindness diseases, including OCU400 for retinitis pigmentosa, OCU410 for GA secondary to dry age-related macular degeneration, and OCU410ST for Stargardt disease. All three development programs are in Phase 3, with key data readouts expected in 2027 and 2028, followed by global regulatory submissions, including Marketing Authorization Application submissions in Europe.
Ms. Crombach brings a proven track record of building and leading organizations across the European life sciences sector. Most recently, she served as Managing Director and Board Member of Moderna Netherlands, where she built the company's Netherlands affiliate from the ground up and subsequently led its operations. Prior to Moderna, she held leadership roles spanning commercial, market access, medical, corporate and public affairs at MSD (Merck) and Pfizer. She began her career as a pharmacist and holds a MSc PharmD degree from Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
"I am excited to join Ocugen and contribute to the Company's mission of developing innovative gene therapies for people living with blindness diseases," said Jolanda Crombach, General Manager of European Affiliate, Ocugen. "Ocugen has built an innovative pipeline addressing significant unmet needs in ophthalmology, and I look forward to working with the team to establish a strong European organization and help expand access to these potentially transformative gene therapies for patients across Europe."
About Ocugen, Inc.
Ocugen, Inc. is a pioneering biotechnology company developing gene therapies for blindness diseases. The Company's breakthrough modifier gene therapy platform has the potential to address significant unmet medical needs across large patient populations through a gene-agnostic approach. Unlike traditional gene therapies and gene-editing technologies that target a single gene mutation, Ocugen's modifier gene therapies are designed to address the underlying disease biology by restoring balance across multiple gene networks. The Company is currently advancing programs for inherited retinal diseases and other causes of blindness that affect millions worldwide, including retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease, and geographic atrophy, an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration. Discover more at www.ocugen.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding strategy, business plans and objectives for Ocugen's clinical programs, plans and timelines for the preclinical and clinical development of Ocugen's product candidates, including the therapeutic potential, clinical benefits and safety thereof, expectations regarding timing, success and data announcements of current ongoing preclinical and clinical trials, including the timing of enrollment and data readouts, the ability to initiate new clinical programs, statements regarding qualitative assessments of available data, potential benefits, expectations for ongoing clinical trials, anticipated regulatory filings and anticipated development timelines, statements regarding potential market size and commercial possibilities of Ocugen's product candidates, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. We may, in some cases, use terms such as "predicts," "believes," "potential," "proposed," "continue," "estimates," "anticipates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "may," "could," "might," "will," "should," or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to numerous important factors, risks, and uncertainties that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from our current expectations, including, but not limited to, the risks that preliminary, interim and top-line clinical trial results may not be indicative of, and may differ from, final clinical data; that unfavorable new clinical trial data may emerge in ongoing clinical trials or through further analyses of existing clinical trial data; that earlier non-clinical and clinical data and testing may not be predictive of the results or success of later clinical trials; and that clinical trial data are subject to differing interpretations and assessments, including by regulatory authorities. These and other risks and uncertainties are more fully described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the risk factors described in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the quarterly and annual reports that we file with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements that we make in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this press release whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, after the date of this press release.
Contacts
Investors:
Candice Masse
astr partners
candice.masse@astrpartners.com
Media:
Chris Clark
chris.clark@ocugen.com
