National recognition comes as Daré Bioscience advances a multi-product women’s health strategy across commercialization, clinical development and first-in-category innovation

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daré Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ: DARE), a purpose-driven health biotech company solely focused on closing the gap in women's health between promising science and real-world solutions, today announced that its President and Chief Executive Officer, Sabrina Martucci Johnson, has been named to the Forbes 2026 “50 Over 50: Innovation” list, recognizing women who are making significant professional impact later in their careers.

The recognition places Ms. Johnson among a distinguished group of innovators and entrepreneurs recognized by Forbes and underscores what Daré Bioscience believes is an increasingly important story for patients, the healthcare industry and investors alike: women’s health is emerging as a major category for healthcare innovation, and Daré Bioscience has spent more than a decade building specifically for that opportunity.

Sabrina Martucci Johnson

Ms. Johnson founded Daré Bioscience in 2015 with a singular mission: to identify, develop and bring to market differentiated healthcare solutions addressing persistent gaps in women’s health. Today, that vision has grown into a portfolio of assets spanning contraception, sexual health, menopause, vaginal health, fertility and infectious disease and includes commercial products and development programs ranging from pivotal Phase 3 to preclinical stage.

“Being recognized by Forbes is deeply meaningful, but what excites me most is what this recognition represents,” said Sabrina Martucci Johnson, President and CEO of Daré Bioscience. “For too long, enormous unmet needs in women’s health were accepted as simply the status quo. We built Daré Bioscience because we believed those gaps represented both an obligation to women and an opportunity for innovation. After more than a decade of building, 2026 is increasingly demonstrating what that conviction can become.”

Ms. Johnson’s recognition comes during a potentially transformative period for Daré as the company works to evolve from a predominantly clinical-stage biotechnology company into a multi-product women’s health company with commercial revenue opportunities alongside a differentiated development pipeline. Among the programs and initiatives driving that evolution:

DARE to PLAY™ Sildenafil Cream*

Daré is pursuing a novel topical approach to addressing female sexual arousal challenges. The company has developed a clinically studied sildenafil cream formulation designed specifically for women and is pursuing a dual-path strategy that includes commercial availability as a Section 503B compounded product while advancing the formulation toward a potential FDA regulatory pathway.

Flora Sync LF5™

Commercial availability began in July 2026 through Daré’s direct-to-consumer platform, establishing a new consumer revenue stream and expanding the company beyond traditional biotechnology development into direct commercialization.

Ovaprene^®

Daré’s investigational hormone-free, monthly intravaginal contraceptive is currently being evaluated in a pivotal Phase 3 clinical study. The study has received two independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) reviews of interim safety data, with the DSMB recommending in each instance that the study continue without modification. If successfully developed and approved, Ovaprene could potentially become the first FDA-approved monthly hormone-free intravaginal contraceptive.

DARE-HPV

An investigational program designed to address persistent high-risk human papillomavirus infection, the leading cause of cervical cancer, is advancing with non-dilutive government funding.

Together with additional programs addressing menopause, contraception and other underserved areas of women’s health, these initiatives reflect the portfolio strategy Johnson has championed since Daré’s formation.

FROM SCIENTIST TO PUBLIC-COMPANY CEO

Johnson’s career has crossed science, operations, finance and entrepreneurship - an unusually broad background for a biotechnology chief executive.

She began her biotechnology career as a research scientist working on recombinant Factor VIII and subsequently held commercial, operational and financial leadership positions across the life sciences industry.

Before founding Daré, Johnson served in senior leadership roles at WomanCare Global and previously served as Chief Financial Officer and later Chief Operating Officer of publicly traded Cypress Bioscience through its acquisition.

She holds degrees in biomedical engineering and biochemical engineering as well as a graduate degree in international management.

That combination of scientific understanding, financial discipline and operating experience ultimately led to the formation of Daré Bioscience around a thesis that was still far from mainstream a decade ago: Women’s health deserved a biotechnology company built exclusively around solving its unmet needs.

Today, investor, pharmaceutical and healthcare interest in the category has expanded significantly.

“Women’s health is no longer a conversation happening at the margins of healthcare,” Ms. Johnson said. “The opportunity is increasingly being recognized by clinicians, innovators, policymakers, strategic partners and investors. Daré has been building for this moment for more than ten years.”

BUILDING MORE THAN A SINGLE-ASSET BIOTECH

For investors, Daré Bioscience believes an important distinction is the breadth of its strategy.

Rather than depending exclusively on the outcome of one clinical program, Daré Bioscience has assembled a portfolio with assets at multiple stages of development and multiple potential paths to value creation including direct commercialization, strategic partnerships, regulatory approvals and externally funded development programs.

The company’s portfolio includes the FDA-approved bacterial vaginosis treatment XACIATO™ (clindamycin phosphate) vaginal gel, 2%, partnered with Organon; Phase 3-stage Ovaprene; commercial-stage women’s health offerings; and earlier-stage development programs targeting significant unmet needs. That portfolio approach is intended to create multiple potential catalysts while allowing Daré Bioscience to build infrastructure and expertise that can support successive women’s health products.

“Daré was never intended to be a one-product story,” Ms. Johnson continued. “We are building a women’s health company. Every program we advance, every commercial channel we establish and every collaboration we enter into adds to a platform designed to bring better solutions to women while creating multiple potential pathways to long-term shareholder value.”

A DECADE-LONG BET ON AN UNDERSERVED MARKET

Forbes’ recognition of Johnson comes as the broader healthcare industry increasingly acknowledges the historical underinvestment in women’s health innovation. For Daré, that shift represents validation of a strategy established years before women’s health became a major investment theme.

The company’s focus remains unchanged in identifying meaningful gaps in care, applying rigorous science to them, and creating practical pathways capable of moving innovations from development into the hands of women who need them.

Ms. Johnson’s inclusion in the Forbes 2026 50 Over 50: Innovation list recognizes the leadership behind that mission and comes as Daré enters what may be one of the most consequential periods in its history.

One company. One focus. Multiple opportunities to transform women’s health.

About Sabrina Martucci Johnson

Sabrina Martucci Johnson is the founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Daré Bioscience. She founded Daré Bioscience in 2015 and has served as President and CEO since its inception and following its 2017 business combination with Cerulean Pharma, when the publicly traded company was renamed Daré Bioscience.

Ms. Johnson's career spans scientific research, finance, operations, commercialization and public-company leadership in biotechnology and women’s reproductive healthcare. She has received numerous recognitions for leadership and innovation in life sciences and women’s health.

ABOUT DARÉ BIOSCIENCE, INC.

Daré Bioscience (NASDAQ: DARE) is a purpose-driven health biotech company solely focused on closing the gap in women’s health between promising science and real-world solutions. Every innovation Daré advances is based in advanced science and backed by rigorous, peer-reviewed research. From contraception to menopause, sexual health to fertility, vaginal health to infectious disease, Daré is working to close critical gaps in care using science that serves her needs. For decades, women have been told to “wait it out” or “live with it,” while innovations that could improve their quality of life languish in the regulatory or funding pipeline. With growing awareness around menopause, sexual health, and vaginal health, the conversation is shifting. However, access to proven solutions is lagging. Daré is working to change that. Learn more at darebioscience.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Daré cautions you that all statements, other than statements of historical facts, contained in this press release, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, in some cases, can be identified by terms such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “design,” “intend,” “expect,” “could,” “plan,” “potential,” “prepare,” “progress,” “seek,” “should,” “would,” “build” or the negative version of these words and similar expressions.

In this press release, forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to: Daré’s multi-product and commercial strategy and plans; the capabilities of Daré’s commercial infrastructure; the potential for “first-in-category” products; Ovaprene’s potential to be the first FDA-approved monthly hormone-free intravaginal contraceptive; the market opportunity for Daré’s products and ability to gain market acceptance; potential commercial portfolio expansion; the potential impact of the products that Daré brings to market for women and the company; development and regulatory pathway plans and expectations regarding Daré’s product candidates, including clinical development strategies, clinical trial design, timelines, costs, milestones, and results, regulatory strategy; timing and outcome of FDA communications, submissions and review of applications; the potential for Daré’s portfolio approach to create multiple potential value-driving catalysts, provide a pipeline of differentiated products and build infrastructure and expertise to support successive women’s health products; the sufficiency of non-dilutive grant and other financial award funding to advance development of specified product candidates or programs; expectations regarding existing collaborations and plans for future collaborations; and Daré’s ability to create meaningful long-term value for women and shareholders.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Daré’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release, including, without limitation, risks and uncertainties related to: Daré’s ability to raise additional capital when and as needed to execute its business strategy and continue as a going concern; potential suspension and delisting of Daré’s common stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market; Daré’s dependence on grants and other financial awards from governmental entities and a private foundation; Daré’s reliance on Section 503B-registered outsourcing facilities and other third parties to bring DARE to PLAY Sildenafil Cream and other solutions to market as compounded drugs or as consumer health products and facilitate access to such products and the risk that those third parties do not perform as expected; difficulties in establishing and sustaining relationships with third-party collaborators; the risk that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could stop permitting Section 503B-registered outsourcing facilities to compound the drug substances in the proprietary formulations Daré intends to bring or brings to market or changes the conditions under which those drug substances may be used in compounding or the compounded products may be distributed; the ability of outsourcing facilities for Daré’s compounded products to maintain their registration with the FDA under Section 503B; the timing of establishing, and ability to maintain, state-required licensure or registration to enable fulfillment of prescriptions for DARE to PLAY Sildenafil Cream and other solutions brought to market via the Section 503B pathway; Daré’s inexperience, as a company, in and limited infrastructure for commercializing products; the degree of market demand and acceptance for the products Daré brings to market; competitive product launches; greater than expected costs to bring compounded drug products to market and marketing costs; shifts in consumer spending or behavior; Daré’s reliance on third parties to manufacture and conduct clinical trials and preclinical studies of its product candidates and commercialize XACIATO™ (clindamycin phosphate) vaginal gel 2% and future FDA-approved products, if any; the risk that the FDA’s 505(b)(2) pathway for drug product approval in the U.S. is not available for a product candidate as Daré anticipates**; Daré’s ability to develop, obtain FDA or foreign regulatory approval for, and commercialize its product candidates and to do so on communicated timelines; failure or delay in starting, conducting and completing clinical trials of a product candidate and the inherent uncertainty of outcomes of clinical trials; Daré’s ability to design and conduct successful clinical trials, to enroll a sufficient number of patients, to meet established clinical endpoints, to avoid undesirable side effects and other safety concerns, and to demonstrate sufficient safety and efficacy of its product candidates; decisions not to make clinical study design modifications recommended by the FDA; Daré’s dependence on third parties to conduct clinical trials and manufacture and supply clinical trial material and commercial product; the risks that positive findings in early clinical and/or nonclinical studies of a product candidate may not be predictive of success in subsequent clinical and/or nonclinical studies of that candidate and that interim data or results from a particular clinical study do not necessarily predict the final results for that study; the risk that the FDA, other regulatory authorities, members of the scientific or medical communities or investors may not accept or agree with Daré’s interpretation of or conclusions regarding data from clinical studies of its product candidates; the risk that even if a pivotal clinical study achieves its primary efficacy endpoint, the FDA may determine the data package is not sufficient to support a favorable benefit-risk determination in a future marketing application; the risk that development of a product candidate requires more clinical or nonclinical studies than Daré anticipates, or that the duration of a study or number of study subjects must be significantly greater than anticipated; the loss of, or inability to attract, key personnel; product pricing and coverage and reimbursement from third-party payors; Daré’s ability to retain its licensed rights to develop and commercialize a product or product candidate; Daré’s ability to satisfy the monetary obligations and other requirements in connection with its exclusive, in-license agreements covering the critical patents and related intellectual property related to its product and product candidates; Daré’s ability to adequately protect or enforce its, or its licensor’s, intellectual property rights; disputes or other developments concerning Daré’s intellectual property rights; the lack of patent protection for the active ingredients in certain of Daré’s product candidates which could expose its products to competition from other formulations using the same active ingredients; product liability claims; governmental investigations or actions relating to Daré’s products or product candidates or the business activities of Daré, its commercial collaborators or other third parties on which Daré relies; changes in healthcare, pharmaceutical, consumer protection or privacy laws and regulatory policies; increased scrutiny from regulators; global trends toward health care cost containment; the effects of macroeconomic conditions, geopolitical events, and major changes and disruptions in U.S. government policies and operations on Daré’s ability to raise additional capital or on Daré’s operations, financial results and condition, and ability to achieve current plans and objectives; and cybersecurity incidents or similar events that compromise Daré’s technology systems and/or significantly disrupt Daré’s business or those of third parties on which it relies.

Daré’s forward-looking statements are based upon its current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. For a detailed description of Daré’s risks and uncertainties, you are encouraged to review its documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including Daré’s recent filings on Form 8-K, Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they were made. Daré undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law.

*The term DARE to PLAY describes a 503B compounded drug product. Compounded drug products are not approved by the FDA. The FDA does not evaluate compounded drug products for safety, effectiveness, or quality. References to Section 503B, 503B, 503B compounding, 503B compounded product, and similar terms refer to Section 503B of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and the production and supply of compounded drugs by Section 503B-registered outsourcing facilities without patient-specific prescriptions in accordance with Section 503B. Section 503B-registered outsourcing facilities are subject to FDA inspection and required to compound drug products under current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations to ensure quality, strength and consistency.

**The term FDA 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway refers to Section 505(b)(2) of the FDCA, which enables an applicant to rely, in part, on the FDA’s prior findings of safety and efficacy data for an existing product, or published literature, in support of the applicant’s new drug application (NDA), providing an alternate path to FDA approval for new or improved formulations or new uses of previously approved drugs.

Contact:
Daré Bioscience Investor Relations
innovations@darebioscience.com
Source: Daré Bioscience, Inc.

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DARÉ Bioscience CEO Sabrina Martucci Johnson Named to Forbes 2026 “50 Over 50: Innovation” List