Biotechnology firm Ocugen, Inc. has entered a critical phase in its development, marked by a key executive appointment and recent clinical progress. The Pennsylvania-based company announced on February 9 that it has named Rita Johnson-Greene as its Chief Financial Officer, bringing decades of specialized healthcare experience to its leadership team.
Johnson-Greene is set to assume the role of Principal Financial Officer immediately following the filing of the company’s annual report for fiscal year 2025. Her arrival coincides with Ocugen preparing to submit the first of three planned Biologics License Applications (BLAs) within the next two years, a move that signals a shift toward potential commercialization.
A Track Record in Commercializing Breakthrough Therapies
The new CFO’s background is particularly relevant to Ocugen’s pipeline. She possesses over two decades in the healthcare sector, with direct expertise in bringing gene therapies to market. Most recently, she served as Chief Operating Officer at the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), where she oversaw operations, finance, and global expansion for the cell and gene therapy industry organization.
Her prior roles include building and leading commercial teams at Genetix Biotherapeutics (formerly bluebird bio) to support the launches of the gene therapy brands ZYNTEGLO and SKYSONA. Johnson-Greene also held leadership positions at Spark Therapeutics during the commercialization of LUXTURNA, one of the first FDA-approved gene therapies for an inherited retinal disease. Earlier in her career, she held various finance, operations, and sales roles at AstraZeneca across North and South America.
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Momentum from a Busy Start to the Year
This leadership change follows several significant early-2026 developments for Ocugen:
- Capital Raise: On January 23, 2026, the company completed an equity financing round, raising $22.5 million through the sale of 15 million shares at $1.50 per share.
- Clinical Data: Positive interim Phase 2 data for its modifier gene therapy candidate, OCU410, showed a 46% reduction in lesion growth after twelve months in approximately 50% of evaluated patients, compared to the control group. OCU410 is being developed for geographic atrophy secondary to dry age-related macular degeneration.
- Phase 1 Results: The company also released data from its GARDian1 study for OCU410ST in patients with Stargardt disease.
Steering Through a Transformative Period
Dr. Shankar Musunuri, Ocugen’s Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder, described Johnson-Greene’s appointment as occurring at a “transformative time” for the company. With the first BLA submission targeted for this year, Ocugen is navigating toward crucial regulatory milestones.
In the company’s announcement, Johnson-Greene expressed confidence in the potential of Ocugen’s modifier gene therapy platform to address unmet medical needs in serious eye diseases. The coming months will be decisive as the company works to execute its regulatory strategy and advance its late-stage clinical programs.
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