Prospectus Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5) (424b5)

Filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration No. 333-258465


PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To prospectus dated August 18, 2021)

LOGO

$40,000,000

Otonomy, Inc.

Common Stock

We have entered into a certain Common Stock Sales Agreement, or sales agreement, with Cowen and Company, LLC, or Cowen, relating to shares of our common stock offered by this prospectus supplement. In accordance with the terms of the sales agreement, we may offer and sell shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $40.0 million from time to time to or through Cowen as agent or principal.

Our common stock is quoted on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “OTIC.” On August 3, 2021, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $1.65 per share.

Sales of our common stock, if any, under this prospectus supplement may be made in sales deemed to be “at the market offerings” as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. Cowen is not required to sell any specific number or dollar amount of securities, but will act as a sales agent using commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices, on mutually agreed terms between Cowen and us. There is no arrangement for funds to be received in any escrow, trust or similar arrangement.

The compensation to Cowen for sales of common stock sold pursuant to the sales agreement will be equal to 3.0% of the gross proceeds of any shares of common stock sold under the sales agreement. In connection with the sale of the common stock on our behalf, Cowen will be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act and the compensation of Cowen will be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts. We have also agreed to provide indemnification and contribution to Cowen with respect to certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.

INVESTING IN OUR SECURITIES INVOLVES SIGNIFICANT RISKS. YOU SHOULD REVIEW CAREFULLY THE “RISK FACTORS” ON PAGE S-6 OF THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT BEFORE INVESTING IN OUR SECURITIES.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or determined if this prospectus supplement is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.


		Cowen

The date of this prospectus supplement is August 18, 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT


	Page
About this Prospectus Supplement		S-1
Prospectus Supplement Summary		S-2
The Offering		S-4
Risk Factors		S-6
Forward-Looking Statements		S-14
Use of Proceeds		S-16
Dilution		S-17
Plan of Distribution		S-19
Legal Matters		S-20
Experts		S-20
Where You Can Find More Information		S-20
Information Incorporated by Reference		S-21

PROSPECTUS


About this Prospectus			1
Prospectus Summary			2
Risk Factors			5
Forward-Looking Statements			6
Use of Proceeds			8
Description of Capital Stock			9
Description of the Depositary Shares			14
Description of the Warrants			17
Description of the Debt Securities			19
Description of Subscription Rights			30
Description of Units			31
Plan of Distribution			32
Legal Matters			36
Experts			36
Where You Can Find More Information			36
Information Incorporated by Reference			37

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

This prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relates to the offering of our common stock. Before buying any of the common stock that we are offering, we urge you to carefully read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering, and the information incorporated by reference as described under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Information Incorporated by Reference” in this prospectus supplement. These documents contain important information that you should consider when making your investment decision.

This document consists of two parts. The first part is this prospectus supplement, which describes the specific terms of this offering and also adds to, and updates information contained in, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The second part, the accompanying prospectus, including the documents incorporated by reference into the accompanying prospectus, provides more general information, some of which may not apply to this offering. Generally, when we refer to this prospectus, we are referring to the combined document consisting of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. In this prospectus supplement, as permitted by law, we “incorporate by reference” information from other documents that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and should be read with the same care. When we make future filings with the SEC to update the information contained in documents that have been incorporated by reference, the information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement is considered to be automatically updated and superseded. In other words, in case of a conflict or inconsistency between information contained in this prospectus supplement and information in the accompanying prospectus or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information contained in the document that was filed later.

You should rely only on the information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, and in any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering. We have not authorized any other person to provide you with different information. We are not making an offer to sell or soliciting an offer to buy our securities in any jurisdiction in which an offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making that offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make an offer or solicitation. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and in any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering, is accurate only as of the date of those respective documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects may have changed since those dates.

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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY

This summary description about us and our business highlights selected information contained elsewhere in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, or incorporated in this prospectus supplement by reference. This summary does not contain all of the information you should consider before buying securities in this offering. You should carefully read this entire prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including each of the documents incorporated herein or therein by reference, before making an investment decision. Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “Otonomy,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” in this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus refer to Otonomy, Inc.

Otonomy, Inc.

Overview

We are a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of innovative therapeutics for neurotology. We pioneered the application of drug delivery technology to the ear and are utilizing that expertise and proprietary position to develop products that achieve sustained drug exposure from a single local administration. Our primary focus is currently on the advancement of three programs in our broad pipeline: OTO-313 in a Phase 2 trial for tinnitus; OTO-413 in a Phase 1/2 expansion trial for hearing loss; and OTO-825, a gene therapy for congenital hearing loss, in investigational new drug (IND)-enabling activities. Additionally, we are conducting preclinical development for OTO-510 in otoprotection and OTO-6XX for severe hearing loss. We estimate, based on an external market report commissioned by us, that approximately 28 million people in the United States suffer from moderate to severe tinnitus or hearing loss.

OTO-313 is a sustained-exposure formulation of gacyclidine, a potent and selective NMDA receptor antagonist, in development for the treatment of tinnitus. In July 2020, we announced positive top-line results from a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of OTO-313 in patients with persistent tinnitus of at least moderate severity. We have initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial for OTO-313, with top-line results expected in mid-2022.

OTO-413 is a sustained-exposure formulation of BDNF in development for the repair of cochlear synaptopathy, an underlying pathology in age-related and noise-induced hearing loss. In December 2020, we announced positive top-line results from a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of OTO-413, demonstrating that a single intratympanic injection of OTO-413 was well-tolerated and showed therapeutic activity across multiple speech-in-noise hearing tests. We have recently initiated an expansion of the Phase 1/2 trial to evaluate a refined study protocol in additional hearing loss patients, with top-line results expected in mid-2022.

OTO-825 is a gene therapy targeting mutations in the GJB2 gene, which is the most common cause of congenital hearing loss. In October 2019, Otonomy and AGTC announced a collaboration to develop an adeno-associated virus (AAV) based gene therapy for patients with hearing loss caused by the GJB2 mutation. Based on preclinical studies including positive results in two proof-of-concept hearing loss models presented at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) Annual Meeting in May 2021, we have selected OTO-825 as a candidate for clinical development. We have completed a Pre-IND meeting with the FDA that provided guidance regarding nonclinical study design, manufacturing requirements and clinical trial considerations. Based on this feedback, we have initiated IND-enabling activities that we expect to support an IND filing in the first half of 2023.

OTO-510 is a product candidate in preclinical development for the prevention of cisplatin-induced hearing loss (CIHL), which routinely occurs in patients undergoing chemotherapy with platinum-based agents. OTO-510 has demonstrated improved otoprotection in preclinical CIHL studies compared to other agents in development, and is being formulated to provide sustained exposure from a single intratympanic injection. The goal of the OTO-510 program is to preserve hearing without protecting the tumor.

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The OTO-6XX program is focused on hair cell repair and regeneration for the treatment of severe hearing loss. In July 2020, we entered into a license agreement with Kyorin that provides us with exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize a novel compound from Kyorin that has demonstrated the ability to induce hair cell regeneration in a nonclinical proof-of-concept model. We are continuing to evaluate the potential of this compound for our OTO-6XX program.

Corporate Information

We were incorporated in the state of Delaware on May 6, 2008. Our principal executive offices are located at 4796 Executive Drive, San Diego, California 92121, and our telephone number is (619) 323-2200. Our website is www.otonomy.com. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, and you should not consider information on our website to be part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.

Otonomy, the Otonomy logo, OTIVIDEX and other trademarks or service marks of Otonomy appearing in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are the property of Otonomy. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and in the prospectus contain additional trade names, trademarks and service marks of other companies. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, these other companies. We have omitted the ^® and ^™ designations, as applicable, for the trademarks used in this prospectus supplement.

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THE OFFERING

Common Stock Offered by Us

Shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $40.0 million.

Manner of Offering

“At the market offering” that may be made from time to time through or to, Cowen, as sales agent or principal. See “Plan of Distribution” on page S-19.

Use of Proceeds

We intend to use the net proceeds, if any, from this offering for general corporate purposes, which may include working capital, capital expenditures, other corporate expenses and acquisitions of complementary products, technologies or businesses. See “Use of Proceeds” on page S-16.

Common Stock to be Outstanding after this Offering

Up to 80,923,739 shares of common stock, assuming sales of 24,242,424 shares in this offering at a public offering price of $1.65 per share, which was the closing price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on August 3, 2021. The actual number of shares issued will vary depending on the sales price under this offering and, in any event, may not exceed the number of authorized and available shares under our certificate of incorporation.

Dividend Policy

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock and do not currently anticipate declaring or paying cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain all of our future earnings, if any, to finance operations. In addition, our Loan and Security Agreement, dated December 31, 2018, as amended, among the Company, Oxford Finance LLC, as collateral agent, and the lenders party thereto from time to time, and future debt instruments we issue may restrict our ability to pay dividends on our common stock. Any future determination relating to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on a number of factors, including future earnings, capital requirements, financial conditions, future prospects, contractual restrictions and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.

Risk Factors

Investing in our common stock involves significant risks. You should read the “Risk Factors” section of this prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus for a discussion of factors to consider before deciding to purchase shares of our common stock.

Nasdaq Global Select Market Symbol

“OTIC”

The number of shares of common stock to be outstanding following this offering is based on 56,681,315 shares of our common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2021, and excludes:

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11,860,751 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding as of June 30, 2021, with a weighted-average exercise price of $4.28 per share;

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809,750 shares of our common stock issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units outstanding as of June 30, 2021;

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2,230,879 shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance as of June 30, 2021 under our 2014 Equity Incentive Plan;

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2,965,869 shares of our common stock reserved for issuance as of June 30, 2021 under our employee stock purchase plan; and

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11,111,110 shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of pre-funded warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2021, with an exercise price of $0.001 per share.

Unless otherwise indicated, all information in this prospectus supplement assumes no exercise of outstanding options or warrants or vesting of outstanding restricted stock units after June 30, 2021.

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Prior to making a decision about investing in our securities, you should carefully consider the specific factors discussed below and discussed under the section titled “Risk Factors” contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2021 and June 30, 2021, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Exchange Act, each of which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus in its entirety, together with all of the other information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, and any related free writing prospectus. The risks and uncertainties we have described are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our operations. The occurrence of any of these known or unknown risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment in the offered securities. See the sections titled “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Information Incorporated by Reference.”

Additional Risks Related to This Offering and Ownership of Our Common Stock

The price of our common stock has been, is, and may continue to be highly volatile, which may make it difficult for stockholders to sell our common stock when desired or at attractive prices.

Our stock is currently traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, but we can provide no assurance that we will be able to maintain an active trading market on the Nasdaq Global Select Market or any other exchange in the future. Moreover, the trading price of our common stock may fluctuate substantially. These price fluctuations may be rapid and severe and may leave investors little time to react. Broad market and industry factors may seriously harm the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. Sharp drops in the market price of our common stock may also expose us to securities class-action litigation.

The stock market in general and the market for pharmaceutical companies in particular have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. The market price of our common stock has been and is likely to continue to be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:

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regulatory or legal developments;

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results from or delays in clinical trials of our product candidates or product candidates of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;

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announcements of regulatory approval or disapproval of our product candidates;

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commercialization of our products, if approved;

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FDA or other regulatory actions affecting us or our industry;

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introductions and announcements of new products or product candidates by us, any commercialization partners or our competitors, and the timing of these introductions and announcements;

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our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;

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changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;

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announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions, licenses, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments;

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market conditions in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical sectors and issuance of securities analysts’ reports or recommendations;

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actual or anticipated quarterly variations in our results of operations or those of our competitors;

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changes in financial estimates or guidance, including our ability to meet our revenue, operating profit or loss and cash balance estimates or guidance;

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sales of substantial amounts of our stock by insiders and large stockholders, or the expectation that such sales might occur;

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general economic, industry and market conditions;

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the impact of any natural disasters or public health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic;

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additions or departures of key personnel;

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intellectual property, product liability or other litigation against us;

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expiration or termination of our potential relationships with strategic partners;

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limited trading volume of our common stock; and

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the other factors described in this “Risk Factors” section, and those contained in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2021 and June 30, 2021.

If securities or industry analysts do not continue to publish research or publish unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will be influenced in part on the research and reports that equity research analysts publish about us and our business. Although certain equity research analysts currently cover us, we do not have any control of the analysts or the content and opinions included in their reports or whether any such analysts will continue to, or whether new analysts will, cover us for any given period of time. The price of our common stock could decline if one or more equity research analysts downgrade our stock or issue other unfavorable commentary or research. If one or more equity research analyst ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public markets, or the perception that such sales might occur, could cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could occur at any time. If our stockholders sell, or the market perceives that our stockholders intend to sell, substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, the market price of our common stock could decline significantly.

In September 2018, our shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-227269) was declared effective by the SEC, pursuant to which we may offer debt securities, preferred stock, common stock and certain other securities from time to time. Additionally, on August 4, 2021, we filed with the SEC a new shelf registration statement on Form S-3, to which this prospectus supplement forms a part, to replace the shelf registration statement filed in September 2018, pursuant to which, subject to the SEC declaring the registration statement effective, we may offer debt securities, preferred stock, common stock and certain other securities from time to time, including shares of our common stock sold pursuant to this offering, up to a maximum aggregate amount of $150,000,000. In July 2020, we sold in a public offering 17,275,000 shares of our common stock, which includes the underwriters’ full exercise of their option to purchase additional shares, and we sold pre-funded warrants to purchase 4,000,000 shares of our common stock. In April 2021, we sold in a public offering 8,298,890 shares of our common stock, which includes the underwriters’ full exercise of their option to purchase additional shares, and we sold pre-funded warrants to purchase 7,111,110 shares of our common stock.

If in the future we issue additional shares of common stock or securities convertible into common stock, our common stockholders would experience additional dilution and, as a result, the market price of our common

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stock may decline. We cannot predict the effect that future sales of our common stock would have on the market price of our common stock. Additionally, investors may be further diluted by the exercise of the pre-funded warrants we have sold.

Claims for indemnification by our directors and officers may reduce our available funds to satisfy successful third-party claims against us and may reduce the amount of money available to us.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that we will indemnify our directors and officers, in each case to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law.

In addition, as permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated bylaws and our indemnification agreements that we have entered into with our directors and officers provide that:

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We will indemnify our directors and officers for serving us in those capacities, or for serving other business enterprises at our request, to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Delaware law provides that a corporation may indemnify such person if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the registrant and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe such person’s conduct was unlawful.

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We may, in our discretion, indemnify employees and agents in those circumstances where indemnification is permitted by applicable law.

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We are required to advance expenses, as incurred, to our directors and officers in connection with defending a proceeding, except that such directors or officers shall undertake to repay such advances if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to indemnification.

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We are not obligated pursuant to our amended and restated bylaws to indemnify a person with respect to proceedings initiated by that person against us or our other indemnitees, except with respect to proceedings authorized by our board of directors or brought to enforce a right to indemnification.

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The rights conferred in our amended and restated bylaws are not exclusive, and we are authorized to enter into indemnification agreements with our directors, officers, employees and agents and to obtain insurance to indemnify such persons.

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We may not retroactively amend our amended and restated bylaw provisions to reduce our indemnification obligations to directors, officers, employees and agents.

To the extent that a claim for indemnification is brought by any of our directors or officers, it would reduce the amount of funds available for use in our business.

Concentration of ownership of our common stock among our existing principal stockholders may effectively limit the voting power of other stockholders.

As of June 30, 2021, our executive officers, directors and current beneficial owners of 5% or more of our common stock, in aggregate, beneficially owned more than 47% of our outstanding common stock. Accordingly, these stockholders, acting together, may significantly influence all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election and removal of directors and any merger or other significant corporate transactions. These stockholders may therefore delay or prevent a change of control, even if such a change of control would benefit our other stockholders. The significant concentration of stock ownership may adversely affect the market price of our common stock due to investors’ perception that conflicts of interest may exist or arise.

Anti-takeover provisions in our corporate charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us more difficult, which could discourage takeover attempts and lead to management entrenchment, and the market price of our common stock may be lower as a result.

Certain provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may make it difficult for a third party to acquire, or attempt to acquire, control of our company, even if a change in control was considered favorable by you and

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other stockholders. For example, our board of directors has the authority to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock. Our board of directors can fix the price, rights, preferences, privileges, and restrictions of the preferred stock without any further vote or action by our stockholders. The issuance of shares of preferred stock may delay or prevent a change in control transaction. As a result, the market price of our common stock and the voting and other rights of our stockholders may be adversely affected. An issuance of shares of preferred stock may result in the loss of voting control to other stockholders.

Our charter documents contain other provisions that could have an anti-takeover effect, including provisions that:

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establish that our board of directors is divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, with each class serving staggered three-year terms;

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provide that vacancies on our board of directors may be filled only by a majority of directors then in office, even though less than a quorum;

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provide that our directors may only be removed for cause;

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eliminate cumulative voting in the election of directors;

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authorize our board of directors to issues shares of preferred stock and determine the price and other terms of those shares, including preferences and voting rights, without stockholder approval;

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provide our board of directors with the exclusive right to elect a director to fill a vacancy or newly created directorship;

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permit stockholders to only take actions at a duly called annual or special meeting and not by written consent;

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prohibit stockholders from calling a special meeting of stockholders;

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require that stockholders give advance notice to nominate directors or submit proposals for consideration at stockholder meetings;

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authorize our board of directors, by a majority vote, to amend the bylaws; and

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require the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% or more of the outstanding shares of common stock to amend many of the provisions described above.

In addition, we are subject to the anti-takeover provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which limits the ability of stockholders owning in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock to merge or combine with us. These provisions may also prevent changes in our management or limit the price that certain investors are willing to pay for our stock.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and the federal district courts of the United States will be the exclusive forums for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for the following:

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any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf;

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any action or proceeding asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of ours to us or our stockholders;

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any action or proceeding asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws; and

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any action or proceeding asserting a claim governed by the internal-affairs doctrine.

This provision would not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the U.S. federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.

Our amended and restated bylaws further provide that the federal district courts of the United States will be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act.

These exclusive-forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to these provisions. There is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provisions, and the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ charter documents has been challenged in legal proceedings.

It is possible that a court could find these types of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable, and if a court were to find either exclusive-forum provision in our amended and restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, which could seriously harm our business.

We may be subject to securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert management attention.

The market price of our common stock has been and will likely continue to be volatile, and in the past companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. This risk is especially relevant for us because biotechnology companies have experienced significant stock price volatility in recent years and we may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.

Because we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation, if any, will be your sole source of gains.

We have not declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock to date and we do not intend to pay dividends on our capital stock in the foreseeable future. The declaration of dividends is subject to the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on various factors, including our operating results, financial condition, future prospects and any other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. You should not rely on an investment in our company if you require dividend income from your investment in our company. We currently intend to retain our future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be your sole source of gain for the foreseeable future. There is no guarantee that our capital stock will appreciate in value or even maintain the price at which you purchased your shares.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes to offset future taxable income or taxes may be subject to certain limitations.

As of December 31, 2020, we had U.S. federal and state net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs, of approximately $382.8 million and $124.8 million, respectively. Of our federal NOLs, approximately $142.2 million were generated in a taxable year beginning after December 31, 2017, and therefore do not expire. Our remaining U.S. federal and state NOLs will expire in various years beginning in 2030, if not utilized. Under the legislation enacted in 2017, commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the Tax Act, as modified by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act, the deductibility of our federal

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NOLs generated in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 will be limited to 80% of taxable income in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020. As of December 31, 2020, we had federal and California research and development tax credit carryforwards of approximately $12.0 million and $5.8 million, respectively. The federal research and development tax credit carryforwards expire in various years beginning in 2030, if not utilized. The California research credit will carry forward indefinitely. Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change federal NOLs and other pre-change tax attributes, such as research tax credits, to offset its post-change income and taxes may be limited. In general, an “ownership change” occurs if there is a cumulative change in our ownership by “5% shareholders” that exceeds 50 percentage points over a rolling three-year period. Similar rules may apply under state tax laws. In addition, at the state level, there may be periods during which the use of net operating loss carryforwards is suspended or otherwise limited, which could accelerate or permanently increase state taxes owed. For example, California imposed limits on the usability of California state net operating losses to offset taxable income in tax years beginning after 2019 and before 2023. We believe we have experienced ownership changes in the past and have reduced our deferred tax assets related to NOLs and research and development tax credit carryforwards accordingly. In the event that it is determined that we have in the past experienced additional ownership changes, or if we experience one or more ownership changes as a result of future transactions in our stock, then we may be further limited in our ability to use our NOLs and other tax assets to reduce taxes owed on the net taxable income that we earn in the event that we attain profitability. Any such limitations on the ability to use our NOLs and other tax assets could adversely impact our business, financial condition and operating results in the event that we attain profitability.

The enactment of tax reform policies could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

New income, sales, use or other tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations or ordinances could be enacted at any time, which could adversely affect our business operations and financial performance. Further, existing tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations or ordinances could be interpreted, changed, modified or applied adversely to us. For example, the Tax Act enacted many significant changes to the U.S. tax laws. Future guidance from the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities with respect to the Tax Act may affect us, and certain aspects of the Tax Act could be repealed or modified in future legislation. For example, the CARES Act modified certain provisions of the Tax Act. In addition, it is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the Tax Act or any newly enacted federal tax legislation. Changes in corporate tax rates, the realization of net deferred tax assets relating to our operations, and the deductibility of expenses under the Tax Act or future reform legislation could have a material impact on the value of our deferred tax assets, could result in significant one-time charges, and could increase our future U.S. tax expense.

We have incurred and will continue to incur costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management has been and will continue to be required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives and corporate governance practices, including maintaining an effective system of internal control over financial reporting.

As a public company listed in the United States, we incur and will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and regulations implemented by the SEC, and the Nasdaq Stock Market may increase legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If, notwithstanding our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards, we fail to comply, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be harmed.

As a public company in the United States, we are required, pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We are also required to

S-11

provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures over financial reporting. We need to disclose any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting, and at any time when we are not a non-accelerated filer, we will need to provide a statement that our independent registered public accounting firm has issued an opinion on our internal control over financial reporting. The controls and other procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file with the SEC, is disclosed accurately and is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms.

Our current controls, and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate because of changes in conditions in our business or the degree of compliance with these policies or procedures may deteriorate and significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting may be discovered. We may err in the design or operation of our controls, and all internal control systems, no matter how well designed and operated, may provide only reasonable assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Because there are inherent limitations in all control systems, there can be no absolute assurance that all control issues have been or will be detected. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls or any difficulties encountered in their implementation could harm our results of operations or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting also could adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that are required to be included in our periodic reports that will be filed with the SEC. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and operating results, which could result in a negative market reaction and effect on the trading price of our common stock.

We are a “smaller reporting company,” and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to smaller reporting companies could make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are a “smaller reporting company,” as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. For as long as we remain a “smaller reporting company,” we are permitted and intend to continue to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “smaller reporting companies.” These exemptions include:

•

being permitted to provide only two years of audited financial statements, in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements, with correspondingly reduced “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” disclosure; and

•

reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation.

We cannot predict whether investors will find our common stock less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and the market price of our common stock may be reduced or more volatile.

Management will have broad discretion as to the use of the proceeds from this offering and may not use the proceeds effectively.

Because we have not designated the amount of net proceeds from this offering to be used for any particular purpose, our management will have broad discretion as to the application of the net proceeds from this offering and could use them for purposes other than those contemplated at the time of the offering. Our management may use the net proceeds for corporate purposes that may not improve our financial condition or market value.

You may experience immediate and substantial dilution.

Because the price per share at which shares of our common stock are sold in this offering may be substantially higher than the net tangible book value per share of our common stock outstanding prior to this offering, you

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may suffer immediate and substantial dilution in the net tangible book value of the common stock you purchase in this offering. The exercise of outstanding stock options or warrants and the vesting of outstanding restricted stock units will result in further dilution of your investment. See the section titled “Dilution” below for a more detailed illustration of the dilution you would incur if you participate in this offering.

You may experience future dilution as a result of future equity offerings.

To the extent that we raise additional funds through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of such securities will result in dilution to our stockholders. We may sell shares or other securities in any other offering at a price per share that is less than the price per share paid by investors in this offering, and investors purchasing shares or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing stockholders. The price per share at which we sell additional shares of our common stock, or securities convertible or exchangeable into common stock, in future transactions may be higher or lower than the price per share paid by investors in this offering.

The common stock offered hereby will be sold in “at the market offerings,” and investors who buy shares at different times will likely pay different prices.

Investors who purchase shares in this offering at different times will likely pay different prices, and so may experience different outcomes in their investment results. We will have discretion, subject to market demand, to vary the timing, prices, and numbers of shares sold, and there is no minimum or maximum sales price. Investors may experience a decline in the value of their shares as a result of share sales made at prices lower than the prices they paid.

The actual number of shares we will issue under the sales agreement, at any one time or in total, is uncertain.

Subject to certain limitations in the sales agreement and compliance with applicable law, we have the discretion to deliver a sales notice to Cowen at any time throughout the term of the sales agreement. The number of shares that are sold by Cowen after delivering a sales notice will fluctuate based on the market price of the common shares during the sales period and limits we set with Cowen. Because the price per share of each share sold will fluctuate based on the market price of our common stock during the sales period, it is not possible at this stage to predict the number of shares that will be ultimately issued.

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents we have filed with the SEC that are incorporated by reference and any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions, that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus, other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, our business strategy and plans, and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “potentially,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “expect” and the negative and plural forms of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements.

These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the following:

•

the size of the market opportunity and the number of patients who suffer from the diseases and disorders we are targeting;

•

our expectations regarding the clinical development of OTO-313, including availability of top-line results from the ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial in tinnitus patients;

•

our expectations regarding the clinical development of OTO-413, including availability of top-line results from the ongoing Phase 1/2 expansion clinical trial in hearing loss patients;

•

our expectations regarding the future development of OTO-825 and our strategic collaboration with AGTC to develop and commercialize a gene therapy for congenital hearing loss;

•

our expectations regarding the potential impacts on our business, preclinical programs and clinical trials due to the COVID-19 pandemic;

•

the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals;

•

our expectations regarding the future development of other product candidates, including but not limited to our development plans for our OTO-510 and OTO-6XX programs;

•

our plans regarding the use of contract manufacturers for the production of our product candidates for clinical trials and, if approved, commercial use;

•

our plans and ability to effectively establish and manage our own sales and marketing capabilities, or seek and establish collaborative partners, to commercialize our products;

•

our ability to advance product candidates into, and successfully complete, clinical trials;

•

the implementation of our business model, strategic plans for our business, product candidates and technology;

•

the initiation, timing, progress and results of future nonclinical studies and clinical trials;

•

the scope of protection we are able to obtain and maintain for intellectual property rights covering our product candidates and technology;

•

estimates of our expenses, future revenue, capital requirements and our needs for additional financing;

•

our expectations regarding the benefits of the loans provided by Oxford Finance LLC;

•

our financial performance;

•

our expectations and statements regarding the benefits, pricing, market size, opportunity and growth potential for OTO-313, OTO-413, OTO-825 and our other product candidates, if approved for commercial use;

S-14

•

our expectations and statements regarding the adoption and use of OTO-313, OTO-413 and OTO-825, if approved;

•

our expectations regarding potential coverage and reimbursement relating to OTO-313, OTO-413 and OTO-825, if approved, or any other approved product candidates;

•

accounting principles, policies and estimates;

•

developments and projections relating to our competitors and our industry;

•

the timing of, and the price and number of shares of common stock sold pursuant to this prospectus supplement, if any; and

•

the intended use of any proceeds from the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus supplement.

These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including but not limited to: delays and disruption resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and governmental responses to the pandemic, including current and future impacts to our operations, our limited operating history and our expectation that we will incur significant losses for the foreseeable future; our ability to obtain additional financing; the advancement of our product candidates, such as OTO-313, OTO-413 and OTO-825 through clinical development to regulatory approval and commercialization, the uncertainties inherent in the clinical drug development process, including, without limitation, our ability to adequately demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates, the nonclinical and clinical results for our product candidates, which may not support further development, and challenges related to patient enrollment in clinical trials; our ability to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates; side effects or adverse events associated with our product candidates; competition in the biopharmaceutical industry; our dependence on third parties to conduct nonclinical studies and clinical trials; our dependence on third parties for the manufacture of our product candidates; our ability to protect our intellectual property related to our product candidates in the United States and throughout the world; expectations regarding potential market size, opportunity and growth; our ability to manage operating expenses; implementation of our business model and strategic plans for our business, product candidates and technology; the risk of the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of promotional or collaboration agreements; the risks of the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could impact our ability to repay or comply with the terms of the loans provided by Oxford Finance LLC; and other risks. These forward-looking statements reflect our beliefs and views with respect to future events and are based on estimates and assumptions as of the date of this prospectus supplement and are subject to risks and uncertainties. We discuss many of these risks in greater detail in the section titled “Risk Factors” included in this prospectus supplement beginning on page S-6 and in the sections titled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make.

Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We qualify all the forward-looking statements in this prospectus supplement by these cautionary statements. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

You should read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents we have filed with the SEC that are incorporated by reference and any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of the forward-looking statements in the foregoing documents by these cautionary statements.

S-15

USE OF PROCEEDS

We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, if any, for general corporate purposes, including working capital, capital expenditures, other corporate expenses and acquisitions of, or strategic transactions in, complementary products, technologies or businesses. We do not have agreements or commitments for any specific acquisitions or strategic transactions at this time.

The timing and amount of our actual expenditures will be based on many factors, including cash flows from operations and the anticipated growth of our business. As of the date of this prospectus supplement, we cannot specify with certainty all of the particular uses for the net proceeds to us from this offering. As a result, our management will have broad discretion regarding the timing and application of the net proceeds from this offering. Pending their ultimate use, we intend to invest the net proceeds in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing instruments.

S-16

DILUTION

If you invest in our common stock, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the price per share of our common stock you pay in this offering and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering.

Our net tangible book value as of June 30, 2021 was approximately $77.7 million, or $1.15 per share. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our total tangible assets, less total liabilities, by the number of shares of our common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2021, including shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of pre-funded warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2021. Dilution in net tangible book value per share represents the difference between the amount per share paid by purchasers of shares of common stock in this offering and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after giving effect to this offering.

After giving effect to the sale of our common stock in the aggregate amount of $40.0 million in this offering at an assumed offering price of $1.65, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on August 3, 2021, and after deducting commissions and estimated aggregate offering expenses payable by us, our as adjusted net tangible book value as of June 30, 2021 would have been approximately $116.0 million, or $1.26 per share. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $0.11 per share to existing stockholders and immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $0.39 per share to new investors purchasing our common stock in this offering.

The following table illustrates this dilution on a per share basis. The as adjusted information is illustrative only and will adjust based on the actual price to the public, the actual number of shares sold and other terms of the offering determined at the time shares of our common stock are sold pursuant to this prospectus supplement. The shares sold in this offering, if any, will be sold from time to time at various prices.


Assumed public offering price per share	$	1.65
Net tangible book value per share as of June 30, 2021	$	1.15
Increase in net tangible book value per share attributable to new investors	$	0.11

As adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering			$	1.26

Dilution per share to investors in this offering			$	0.39

The table above assumes for illustrative purposes that an aggregate of 24,242,424 shares of our common stock are sold during the term of the sales agreement with Cowen at a price of $1.65 per share, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on August 3, 2021, for aggregate gross proceeds of $40.0 million. The shares subject to the sales agreement with Cowen may be sold from time to time at various prices. This information is supplied for illustrative purposes only and may differ based on the actual offering price, the actual number of shares offered and other terms of the offering determined at the time shares of our common stock are sold under the sales agreement.

The foregoing table and calculations (other than net tangible book value) are based on 67,792,425 shares of our common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2021, including the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of pre-funded warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2021, and excludes:

•

11,860,751 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding as of June 30, 2021, with a weighted-average exercise price of $4.28 per share;

•

809,750 shares of our common stock issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units outstanding as of June 30, 2021;

S-17

•

2,230,879 shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance as of June 30, 2021 under our 2014 Equity Incentive Plan; and

•

2,965,869 shares of our common stock reserved for issuance as of June 30, 2021 under our employee stock purchase plan.

Unless otherwise indicated, all information in this prospectus supplement assumes no exercise of outstanding options or vesting of outstanding restricted stock units after June 30, 2021.

To the extent that outstanding options are exercised, investors purchasing our common stock in this offering will experience further dilution. In addition, we may choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of these securities could result in further dilution to our stockholders.

S-18

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We have entered into a sales agreement with Cowen, under which we may issue and sell from time to time up to $40.0 million of our common stock through or to Cowen as our sales agent or principal. Sales of our common stock, if any, will be made at market prices by any method that is deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act.

Cowen will offer our common stock subject to the terms and conditions of the sales agreement on a daily basis or as otherwise agreed upon by us and Cowen. We will designate the maximum amount of common stock to be sold to or through Cowen on a daily basis or otherwise determine such maximum amount together with Cowen. Subject to the terms and conditions of the sales agreement, Cowen will use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell on our behalf all of the shares of common stock requested to be sold by us. We may instruct Cowen not to sell common stock if the sales cannot be effected at or above the price designated by us in any such instruction. Cowen or we may suspend the offering of our common stock being made to or through Cowen under the sales agreement upon proper notice to the other party. Cowen and we each have the right, by giving written notice as specified in the sales agreement, to terminate the sales agreement in each party’s sole discretion at any time.

The aggregate compensation payable to Cowen as sales agent is equal to 3.0% of the gross sales price of the shares sold through it pursuant to the sales agreement. We have also agreed to reimburse Cowen up to $62,500 of Cowen’s actual outside legal expenses incurred by Cowen in connection with this offering, and for certain other expenses. We estimate that the total expenses of the offering payable by us, excluding commissions payable to Cowen under the sales agreement, will be approximately $500,000.

The remaining sales proceeds, after deducting any expenses payable by us and any transaction fees imposed by any governmental, regulatory, or self-regulatory organization in connection with the sales, will equal our net proceeds for the sale of such common stock.

Cowen will provide written confirmation to us following the close of trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on each day in which common stock is sold through it as sales agent under the sales agreement. Each confirmation will include the number of shares of common stock sold through it as sales agent on that day, the volume weighted average price of the shares sold, the percentage of the daily trading volume and the net proceeds to us.

We will report at least quarterly the number of shares of common stock sold through Cowen under the sales agreement, the net proceeds to us and the compensation paid by us to Cowen in connection with the sales of common stock.

Settlement for sales of common stock will occur, unless the parties agree otherwise, on the second business day that is also a trading day following the date on which any sales were made in return for payment of the net proceeds to us. There is no arrangement for funds to be received in an escrow, trust or similar arrangement.

In connection with the sales of our common stock on our behalf, Cowen will be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and the compensation paid to Cowen will be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts. We have agreed in the sales agreement to provide indemnification and contribution to Cowen against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. As sales agent, Cowen will not engage in any transactions that stabilizes our common stock.

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and trades under the symbol “OTIC.” The transfer agent of our common stock is EQ Shareowner Services.

Cowen and/or its affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, various investment banking and other financial services for us for which services they have received and, may in the future receive, customary fees.

S-19

LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus will be passed upon by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C., Palo Alto, California. Certain members of, and investment partnerships comprised of members of, and persons associated with, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C., own an aggregate of 15,707 shares of our common stock. Cowen is being represented in connection with this offering by Duane Morris LLP, New York, New York.

EXPERTS

Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, has audited our financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as set forth in their report which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and elsewhere in the registration statement. Our financial statements are incorporated by reference in reliance on Ernst & Young LLP’s report, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and other reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K, including any amendments to those reports, and other information that we file with or furnish to the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act can also be accessed free of charge through the Internet. These filings will be available as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC.

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement under the Securities Act relating to the offering of these securities. The registration statement, including the attached exhibits, contains additional relevant information about us and the securities. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement and its exhibits. You can obtain a copy of the registration statement, at prescribed rates, from the SEC at the address listed above. The registration statement and the documents referred to below under “Information Incorporated by Reference” are also available on our Internet website, www.otonomy.com. We have not incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus the information contained on or accessible through our Internet website and you should not consider it to be a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, and the inclusion of our website address in this prospectus supplement is an inactive textual reference only.

S-20

INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus certain information we file with it, which means that we can disclose important information by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below that we have previously filed with the SEC (excluding any portions of any Form 8-K that are not deemed “filed” pursuant to the General Instructions of Form 8-K):

our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on February 11, 2021;

the information specifically incorporated by reference into our Annual Report from our definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on April 28, 2021;

our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2021 (filed with the SEC on May 11, 2021) and June 30, 2021 (filed with the SEC on August 4, 2021);

our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 9, 2021, June 3, 2021 and June 24, 2021; and

the description of our common stock contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A as filed with the SEC on August 5, 2014 pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, including any subsequent amendment or any report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

We also incorporate by reference into this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus additional documents (other than current reports furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K and exhibits on such form that are related to such items) that we may file with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the completion or termination of the offering, including all such documents we may file with the SEC after the date of the initial registration statement and prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement, but excluding any information deemed furnished and not filed with the SEC. Any statements contained in a previously filed document incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus is deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus supplement or accompanying prospectus, or in a subsequently filed document also incorporated by reference herein, modifies or supersedes that statement.

This prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus may contain information that updates, modifies or is contrary to information in one or more of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. You should rely only on the information incorporated by reference or provided in this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. We have not authorized anyone else to provide you with different information. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus supplement or accompanying prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date of this prospectus supplement or accompanying prospectus, or the date of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus.

We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus is delivered, upon written or oral request, at no cost to the requester, a copy of any and all of the information that is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus.

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Requests for such documents should be directed to:

Otonomy, Inc.

4796 Executive Drive

San Diego, CA 92121

Attention: Secretary

You may also access the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus through our website at www.otonomy.com. Except for the specific incorporated documents listed above, no information available on or through our website shall be deemed to be incorporated in this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus or the registration statement of which they forms a part.

S-22

PROSPECTUS

LOGO

$150,000,000

Otonomy, Inc.

By this prospectus, Otonomy, Inc. may offer, from time to time:

Common Stock

Preferred Stock

Depositary Shares

Warrants

Debt Securities

Subscription Rights

Units

All of the securities listed above may be sold separately or as units with other securities.

We may offer and sell from time to time, in one or more series or issuances and on terms that we will determine at the time of the offering, any combination of the securities described in this prospectus, either individually or as units comprising one or more of the other classes of securities, up to an aggregate amount of $150,000,000.

We will provide specific terms of any offering in a supplement to this prospectus. Any prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should carefully read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement as well as the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus before you purchase any of the securities offered hereby.

These securities may be offered and sold in the same offering or in separate offerings; to or through underwriters, dealers and agents; or directly to purchasers. The names of any underwriters, dealers or agents involved in the sale of our securities, their compensation and any over-allotment options held by them will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. See the section titled “Plan of Distribution.”

Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “OTIC”. We will provide information in any applicable prospectus supplement regarding any listing of securities other than shares of our common stock on any securities exchange.

INVESTING IN OUR SECURITIES INVOLVES SIGNIFICANT RISKS. YOU SHOULD REVIEW CAREFULLY THE “RISK FACTORS” ON PAGE 5 OF THIS PROSPECTUS AND IN THE APPLICABLE PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT, AS WELL AS OTHER INFORMATION CONTAINED OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE IN THIS PROSPECTUS AND THE APPLICABLE PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT, BEFORE INVESTING IN OUR SECURITIES.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is August 18, 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS


About this Prospectus			1
Prospectus Summary			2
Risk Factors			5
Forward-Looking Statements			6
Use of Proceeds			8
Description of Capital Stock			9
Description of the Depositary Shares			14
Description of the Warrants			17
Description of the Debt Securities			19
Description of Subscription Rights			30
Description of Units			31
Plan of Distribution			32
Legal Matters			36
Experts			36
Where You Can Find More Information			36
Information Incorporated by Reference			37

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may, from time to time, offer and sell any combination of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings up to a total amount of $150,000,000.

This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we sell securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also add to, update or change information contained in the prospectus and, accordingly, to the extent inconsistent, information in this prospectus is superseded by the information in the prospectus supplement.

The prospectus supplement to be attached to the front of this prospectus may describe, as applicable: the terms of the securities offered; the initial price to the public; the price paid for the securities; net proceeds; and the other specific terms related to the offering of the securities.

You should only rely on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus relating to a particular offering. No person has been authorized to give any information or make any representations in connection with this offering other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus in connection with the offering described herein and therein, and, if given or made, such information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by us. Neither this prospectus nor any prospectus supplement nor any related free writing prospectus shall constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy offered securities in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful for such person to make such an offering or solicitation. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For a more complete understanding of the offering of the securities, you should refer to the registration statement, including its exhibits.

You should read the entire prospectus and any prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, as well as the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus, before making an investment decision. Neither the delivery of this prospectus or any prospectus supplement or any free writing prospectus nor any sale made hereunder shall under any circumstances imply that the information contained or incorporated by reference herein or in any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus is correct as of any date subsequent to the date hereof or of such prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, as applicable. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any document incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the applicable documents, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of securities. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary description about us and our business highlights selected information contained elsewhere in this prospectus or incorporated in this prospectus by reference. This summary does not contain all of the information you should consider before buying securities in this offering. You should carefully read this entire prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, including each of the documents incorporated herein or therein by reference, before making an investment decision. Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “Otonomy,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” in this prospectus refer to Otonomy, Inc., and its subsidiaries.

Otonomy, Inc.

Overview

Corporate Information

We were incorporated in the State of Delaware in May 2008. Our principal executive offices are located at 4796 Executive Drive, San Diego, California 92121, and our telephone number is (619) 323-2200. Our website is www.otonomy.com. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider information on our website to be part of this prospectus.

Otonomy, the Otonomy logo, OTIVIDEX and other trademarks or service marks of Otonomy appearing in this report are the property of Otonomy. This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein contain additional trade names, trademarks and service marks of other companies. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, these other companies. We have omitted the ^® and ^™ designations, as applicable, for the trademarks used in this prospectus.

The Securities We May Offer

We may offer up to $150,000,000 of common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares, warrants, debt securities, subscription rights and units in one or more offerings and in any combination.

Common Stock

Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide for cumulative voting rights. Subject to preferences that may apply to any shares of preferred stock outstanding at the time, the holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends out of funds legally available if our board of directors, in its discretion, determines to issue dividends and then only at the times and in the amounts that our board of directors may determine. If we become subject to a liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, the assets legally available for distribution to our stockholders would be distributable ratably among the holders of our common stock and any participating preferred stock outstanding at that time, subject to prior satisfaction of all outstanding debt and liabilities and the preferential rights of and the payment of liquidation preferences, if any, on any outstanding shares of preferred stock.

Preferred Stock and Depositary Shares

Our board of directors has the authority, subject to limitations prescribed by Delaware law, to issue preferred stock in one or more series, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each series, and to fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each series and any of its qualifications, limitations or restrictions, in each case without further vote or action by our stockholders.

We may also issue fractional shares of preferred stock that will be represented by depositary shares and depositary receipts.

Each series of preferred stock, depositary shares or depositary receipts, if issued, will be more fully described in the particular prospectus supplement that will accompany this prospectus, including redemption provisions,

rights in the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, voting rights and rights to convert into common stock. We have no present plans to issue any shares of preferred stock, depositary shares or depositary receipts nor are any shares of our preferred stock, depositary shares or depositary receipts presently outstanding.

Warrants

We may issue warrants for the purchase of common stock, preferred stock or debt securities. We may issue warrants independently or together with other securities.

Debt Securities

We may offer secured or unsecured obligations in the form of one or more series of senior or subordinated debt. The senior debt securities and the subordinated debt securities are together referred to in this prospectus as the “debt securities.” The subordinated debt securities generally will be entitled to payment only after payment of our senior debt. Senior debt generally includes all debt for money borrowed by us, except debt that is stated in the instrument governing the terms of that debt to be not senior to, or to have the same rank in right of payment as, or to be expressly junior to, the subordinated debt securities. We may issue debt securities that are convertible into shares of our common stock.

The senior and subordinated debt securities we may issue under separate indentures between us and a trustee to be specified in an accompanying prospectus supplement. We have summarized the general features of the debt securities to be governed by the indentures. These indentures have been filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. We encourage you to read these indentures. Instructions on how you can get copies of these documents are provided in the section titled “Where You Can Find More Information.”

Subscription Rights

Units

We may issue units comprising one or more of the other classes of securities issued by us as described in this prospectus in any combination. Each unit will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each security included in the unit.

RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. The prospectus supplement applicable to each offering of our securities will contain a discussion of the risks applicable to an investment in our securities. Prior to making a decision about investing in our securities, you should carefully consider the specific factors discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” in the applicable prospectus supplement, together with all of the other information contained or incorporated by reference in the prospectus supplement or appearing or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You should also consider the risks, uncertainties and assumptions discussed in “Part I—Item 1A—Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and “Part II—Item 1A—Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, each as may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by other reports we file with the SEC in the future, all of which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus in their entirety, together with other information in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, including any information incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein or therein, that we may authorize for use in connection with a particular offering. The risks and uncertainties we have described are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our operations. See the sections titled “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Information Incorporated by Reference.”

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus, and any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, including any information incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein or therein, may contain certain statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.

Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

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the size of the market opportunity and the number of patients who suffer from the diseases and disorders we are targeting;

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our expectations regarding the clinical development of OTO-313, including availability of top-line results from the ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial in tinnitus patients;

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our expectations regarding the clinical development of OTO-413, including availability of top-line results from the ongoing Phase 1/2 expansion clinical trial in hearing loss patients;

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our expectations regarding the future development of OTO-825 and our strategic collaboration with AGTC to develop and commercialize a gene therapy for congenital hearing loss;

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our expectations regarding the potential impacts on our business, preclinical programs and clinical trials due to the COVID-19 pandemic;

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the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals;

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our expectations regarding the future development of other product candidates, including but not limited to our development plans for our OTO-510 and OTO-6XX programs;

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our plans regarding the use of contract manufacturers for the production of our product candidates for clinical trials and, if approved, commercial use;

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our plans and ability to effectively establish and manage our own sales and marketing capabilities, or seek and establish collaborative partners, to commercialize our products;

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our ability to advance product candidates into, and successfully complete, clinical trials;

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the implementation of our business model, strategic plans for our business, product candidates and technology;

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the initiation, timing, progress and results of future nonclinical studies and clinical trials;

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the scope of protection we are able to obtain and maintain for intellectual property rights covering our product candidates and technology;

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estimates of our expenses, future revenue, capital requirements and our needs for additional financing;

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our expectations regarding the benefits of the loans provided by Oxford Finance LLC;

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our financial performance;

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our expectations and statements regarding the adoption and use of OTO-313, OTO-413 and OTO-825, if approved;

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our expectations regarding potential coverage and reimbursement relating to OTO-313, OTO-413 and OTO-825, if approved, or any other approved product candidates;

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accounting principles, policies and estimates; and

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developments and projections relating to our competitors and our industry.

The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “potentially,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “goal,” “expect” and the negative and plural forms of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. Those statements may appear in this prospectus, and any accompanying prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, including any information incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein or therein, particularly in the sections titled “Prospectus Summary,” “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Business,” and include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and management that are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions.

This prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the information incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement also contain statements that are based on the current expectations of our Company and management. You are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.

In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this prospectus, and although we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted a thorough inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information.

Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you should not unduly rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the risks set forth in “Part II—Item 1A—Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 and in our other filings with the SEC. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States and the rules and regulations of the SEC, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein after we distribute this prospectus, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise.

USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement, we anticipate that the net proceeds from the sale of securities that we may offer under this prospectus will be used for general corporate purposes, which may include funding research and development of our product candidates, working capital, capital expenditures, other general corporate expenses and acquisitions of complementary products, technologies or businesses. However, we do not have agreements or commitments for any specific acquisitions at this time. The timing and amount of our actual expenditures will be based on many factors, including cash flows from operations and the anticipated growth of our business, the progress of our development and commercialization efforts and the status and results of our clinical trials, as well as any collaborations that we may enter into with third parties and any unforeseen cash needs. As a result, unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, our management will have broad discretion to allocate the net proceeds of the offerings. Pending their ultimate use, we may invest the net proceeds in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing instruments.

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

General

The following description summarizes the most important terms of our capital stock as set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws. This summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws. For a complete description of our capital stock, you should refer to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and to the applicable provisions of Delaware law. Our authorized capital stock consists of 200,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share, and 10,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share.

Common Stock

Outstanding Shares

As of June 30, 2021, there were 56,681,315 shares of common stock outstanding. Our board of directors is authorized, without stockholder approval, to issue additional shares of our capital stock.

Dividend Rights and Policy

Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any then outstanding convertible preferred stock, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by our board of directors out of legally available funds.

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on any of our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings, if any, for the operation and expansion of our business and, therefore, we do not anticipate declaring or paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future. In addition, we may become subject to covenants under future debt arrangements that place restrictions on our ability to pay dividends. The payment of dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our results of operations, capital requirements, financial condition, prospects, contractual arrangements, any limitations on payment of dividends present in our future debt agreements, and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.

Voting Rights

Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, each holder of our common stock is entitled to one vote for each share on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders; provided, however, that, except as otherwise required by law, holders of our common stock, as such, shall not be entitled to vote on any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relates solely to the terms of one or more outstanding series of preferred stock if the holders of such affected series are entitled, either separately or together with the holders of one or more other such series, to vote thereon pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, corporate actions can generally be taken by a majority of our board and/or stockholders holding a majority of our outstanding shares, except as otherwise indicated in the section titled “—Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law and Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws,” where certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws require the vote of at least two-thirds of our then outstanding voting securities. Additionally, our stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors. Accordingly, holders of a plurality of the votes cast at a meeting of stockholders will be able to elect all of the directors then standing for election.

Right to Receive Liquidation Distributions

In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of our common stock are entitled to share ratably in the net assets legally available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of all of our debts and

other liabilities and the satisfaction of any liquidation preference granted to the holders of any then outstanding shares of preferred stock.

Rights and Preferences

Holders of our common stock have no preemptive, conversion, subscription or other rights, and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of our common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of shares of any series of our preferred stock that we may designate in the future.

Fully Paid and Nonassessable

All of our outstanding shares of common stock are, and the shares of common stock to be issued pursuant to this offering, when paid for, will be fully paid and nonassessable.

Preferred Stock

Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our stockholders, to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions thereof. These rights, preferences and privileges could include dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences, sinking fund terms and the number of shares constituting any series or the designation of such series, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of common stock. The issuance of preferred stock by us could adversely affect the voting power of holders of common stock and the likelihood that such holders will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation. In addition, the issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of our company or other corporate action. No shares of preferred stock are outstanding, and we have no present plan to issue any shares of preferred stock.

Pre-funded Warrants

As of June 30, 2021, there were approximately 11,111,110 shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding pre-funded warrants, at an exercise price of $0.001 per share.

Stock Options

As of June 30, 2021, there were approximately 11,860,751 shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options, at a weighted-average exercise price of $4.28 per share, under our 2014 Equity Incentive Plan.

Restricted Stock Units

As of June 30, 2021, there were approximately 809,750 shares of our common stock issuable upon vesting of our restricted stock units under our 2014 Equity Incentive Plan.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

As of June 30, 2021, 2,965,869 shares of our common stock were available for sale under our 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

Exclusive Jurisdiction

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for:

(1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of us; (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders; (3) any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws; or (4) any action or proceeding asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine. In addition, our amended and restated bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States are the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Nothing in our amended and restated bylaws precludes stockholders that assert claims under the Exchange Act from bringing such claims in state or federal court, subject to applicable law.

Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in any of our securities is deemed to have notice of and consented to these exclusive forum provisions. Although we believe these provisions benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law for the specified types of actions and proceedings, these provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum of its choosing for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against us or our directors, officers, and other employees. We note that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce these provisions and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law and Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

Certain provisions of Delaware law and certain provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws may have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another person from acquiring control of our company. These provisions, which are summarized below, may have the effect of discouraging takeover bids. They are also designed, in part, to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to negotiate first with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with an unfriendly or unsolicited acquirer outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging a proposal to acquire us because negotiation of these proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.

Delaware Law

We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law regulating corporate takeovers. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly-held Delaware corporation from engaging, under certain circumstances, in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date the person became an interested stockholder unless:

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prior to the date of the transaction, the board of directors approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;

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upon completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding, but not for determining the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder, (1) voting stock owned by persons who are directors and also officers, and (2) voting stock owned by employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or

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at or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder.

Generally, a business combination includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. An interested stockholder is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns or, within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status, did own 15% or more of a corporation’s outstanding voting stock. These provisions may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in our control.

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaw Provisions

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws include a number of provisions that could deter hostile takeovers or delay or prevent changes in control of our management team, including the following:

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Board of directors vacancies. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws authorize only our board of directors to fill vacant directorships, including newly created seats. In addition, the number of directors constituting our board of directors is permitted to be set only by a resolution adopted by our board of directors. These provisions prevent a stockholder from increasing the size of our board of directors and then gaining control of our board of directors by filling the resulting vacancies with its own nominees. This makes it more difficult to change the composition of our board of directors but promotes continuity of management.

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Classified board. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that our board is classified into three classes of directors. A third party may be discouraged from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us as it is more difficult and time consuming for stockholders to replace a majority of the directors on a classified board of directors.

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Stockholder action; special meeting of stockholders. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our stockholders may not take action by written consent, but may only take action at annual or special meetings of our stockholders. As a result, a holder controlling a majority of our capital stock is not be able to amend our amended and restated bylaws or remove directors without holding a meeting of our stockholders called in accordance with our amended and restated bylaws. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws further provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by a majority of our board of directors, the Chairman of our Board of Directors, our Chief Executive Officer or our President (in the absence of a Chief Executive Officer), thus prohibiting a stockholder from calling a special meeting. These provisions might delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or for stockholders controlling a majority of our capital stock to take any action, including the removal of directors.

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Advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals and director nominations. Our amended and restated bylaws provide advance notice procedures for stockholders seeking to bring business before our annual meeting of stockholders or to nominate candidates for election as directors at our annual meeting of stockholders. Our amended and restated bylaws also specify certain requirements regarding the form and content of a stockholder’s notice. These provisions might preclude our stockholders from bringing matters before our annual meeting of stockholders or from making nominations for directors at our annual meeting of stockholders if the proper procedures are not followed. We expect that these provisions may also discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company.

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No cumulative voting. The Delaware General Corporation Law provides that stockholders are not entitled to the right to cumulate votes in the election of directors unless a corporation’s certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide for cumulative voting.

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Directors removed only for cause. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that stockholders may remove directors only for cause.

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Amendment of charter provisions. Any amendment of the above provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require approval by a majority of our board of directors and the holders of at least two-thirds of our then outstanding voting securities.

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Issuance of undesignated preferred stock. Our board of directors will have the authority, without further action by the stockholders, to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock with rights and preferences, including voting rights, designated from time to time by our board of directors. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock would enable our board of directors to render more difficult or to discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or other means.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is EQ Shareowner Services. The transfer agent and registrar’s address is EQ Shareowner Services, 1110 Centre Pointe Curve, Suite 101, Mendota Heights, MN 55120-4101. Our shares of common stock are issued in uncertificated form only, subject to limited circumstances.

Market Listing

Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “OTIC”.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DEPOSITARY SHARES

General

At our option, we may elect to offer fractional shares of preferred stock, rather than full shares of preferred stock. If we do elect to offer fractional shares of preferred stock, we will issue receipts for depositary shares and each of these depositary shares will represent a fraction of a share of a particular series of preferred stock, as specified in the applicable prospectus supplement. Each owner of a depositary share will be entitled, in proportion to the applicable fractional interest in shares of preferred stock underlying that depositary share, to all rights and preferences of the preferred stock underlying that depositary share. These rights may include dividend, voting, redemption and liquidation rights.

The shares of preferred stock underlying the depositary shares will be deposited with a bank or trust company selected by us to act as depositary, under a deposit agreement by and among us, the depositary and the holders of the depositary receipts. The depositary will be the transfer agent, registrar and dividend disbursing agent for the depositary shares.

The depositary shares will be evidenced by depositary receipts issued pursuant to the depositary agreement. Holders of depositary receipts agree to be bound by the deposit agreement, which requires holders to take certain actions such as filing proof of residence and paying certain charges.

The summary of terms of the depositary shares contained in this prospectus is not complete, and is subject to modification in any prospectus supplement for any issuance of depositary shares. You should refer to the forms of the deposit agreement, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the certificate of designation that are, or will be, filed with the SEC for the applicable series of preferred stock. The prospectus supplement relating to a particular issue of depositary shares will include, if applicable, a discussion of material U.S. federal income tax considerations.

Dividends

The depositary will distribute cash dividends or other cash distributions, if any, received in respect of the series of preferred stock underlying the depositary shares to the record holders of depositary receipts in proportion to the number of depositary shares owned by those holders on the relevant record date. The relevant record date for depositary shares will be the same date as the record date for the preferred stock.

In the event of a distribution other than in cash, the depositary will distribute property received by it to the record holders of depositary receipts that are entitled to receive the distribution, unless the depositary determines that it is not feasible to make the distribution. If this occurs, the depositary, with our approval, may adopt another method for the distribution, including selling the property and distributing the net proceeds to the holders.

Liquidation Preference

If a series of preferred stock underlying the depositary shares has a liquidation preference, in the event of our voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of depositary shares will be entitled to receive the fraction of the liquidation preference accorded each share of the applicable series of preferred stock, as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Redemption

If a series of preferred stock underlying the depositary shares is subject to redemption, the depositary shares will be redeemed from the proceeds received by the depositary resulting from the redemption, in whole or in part, of the preferred stock held by the depositary. Whenever we redeem any preferred stock held by the depositary, the

depositary will redeem, as of the same redemption date, the number of depositary shares representing the preferred stock so redeemed. The depositary will mail the notice of redemption to the record holders of the depositary receipts promptly upon receiving the notice from us and not fewer than 20 or more than 60 days, unless otherwise provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, prior to the date fixed for redemption of the preferred stock.

Voting

Upon receipt of notice of any meeting at which the holders of preferred stock are entitled to vote, the depositary will mail the information contained in the notice of meeting to the record holders of the depositary receipts underlying the preferred stock. Each record holder of those depositary receipts on the record date will be entitled to instruct the depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights pertaining to the amount of preferred stock underlying that holder’s depositary shares. The record date for the depositary will be the same date as the record date for the preferred stock. The depositary will, to the extent practicable, vote the preferred stock underlying the depositary shares in accordance with these instructions. We will agree to take all action that may be deemed necessary by the depositary in order to enable the depositary to vote the preferred stock in accordance with these instructions. The depositary will not vote the preferred stock to the extent that it does not receive specific instructions from the holders of depositary receipts.

Withdrawal of Preferred Stock

Owners of depositary shares will be entitled to receive upon surrender of depositary receipts at the principal office of the depositary and payment of any unpaid amount due to the depositary, the number of whole shares of preferred stock underlying their depositary shares.

Partial shares of preferred stock will not be issued. Holders of preferred stock will not be entitled to deposit the shares under the deposit agreement or to receive depositary receipts evidencing depositary shares for the preferred stock.

Amendment and Termination of the Deposit Agreement

The form of depositary receipt evidencing the depositary shares and any provision of the deposit agreement may be amended by agreement between the depositary and us. However, any amendment which materially and adversely alters the rights of the holders of depositary shares, other than fee changes, will not be effective unless the amendment has been approved by at least a majority of the outstanding depositary shares. The deposit agreement may be terminated by the depositary or us only if:

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all outstanding depositary shares have been redeemed; or

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there has been a final distribution of the preferred stock in connection with our dissolution and such distribution has been made to all the holders of depositary shares.

Charges of Depositary

We will pay all transfer and other taxes and governmental charges arising solely from the existence of the depositary arrangement. We will also pay charges of the depositary in connection with:

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the initial deposit of the preferred stock;

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the initial issuance of the depositary shares;

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any redemption of the preferred stock; and

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all withdrawals of preferred stock by owners of depositary shares.

Holders of depositary receipts will pay transfer, income and other taxes and governmental charges and other specified charges as provided in the deposit agreement for their accounts. If these charges have not been paid, the depositary may:

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refuse to transfer depositary shares;

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withhold dividends and distributions; and

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sell the depositary shares evidenced by the depositary receipt.

Miscellaneous

The depositary will forward to the holders of depositary receipts all reports and communications we deliver to the depositary that we are required to furnish to the holders of the preferred stock. In addition, the depositary will make available for inspection by holders of depositary receipts at the principal office of the depositary, and at such other places as it may from time to time deem advisable, any reports and communications we deliver to the depositary as the holder of preferred stock.

Neither the depositary nor we will be liable if either the depositary or we are prevented or delayed by law or any circumstance beyond the control of either the depositary or us in performing our respective obligations under the deposit agreement. Our obligations and the depositary’s obligations will be limited to the performance in good faith of our or the depositary’s respective duties under the deposit agreement. Neither the depositary nor we will be obligated to prosecute or defend any legal proceeding in respect of any depositary shares or preferred stock unless satisfactory indemnity is furnished. The depositary and we may rely on:

•

written advice of counsel or accountants;

•

information provided by holders of depositary receipts or other persons believed in good faith to be competent to give such information; and

•

documents believed to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or parties.

Resignation and Removal of Depositary

The depositary may resign at any time by delivering a notice to us. We may remove the depositary at any time. Any such resignation or removal will take effect upon the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment. The successor depositary must be appointed within 60 days after delivery of the notice for resignation or removal. The successor depositary must be a bank and trust company having its principal office in the United States of America and having a combined capital and surplus of at least $50,000,000.

U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences

Owners of the depositary shares generally will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as if they were owners of the preferred stock underlying the depositary shares. As a result, owners will recognize for U.S. federal income tax purposes income and deductions to which they would be entitled if they were holders of such preferred stock. No gain or loss will be recognized for U.S. federal income tax purposes upon the withdrawal of preferred stock in exchange for depositary shares. The aggregate tax basis of the shares of preferred stock received by an exchanging owner of depositary shares will, upon such exchange, be the same as the aggregate tax basis of the depositary shares exchanged therefor. The holding period for preferred stock in the hands of an exchanging owner of depositary shares will include the period during which such person owned such depositary shares.

DESCRIPTION OF THE WARRANTS

General

We may issue warrants for the purchase of our debt securities, preferred stock or common stock, or any combination thereof. Warrants may be issued independently or together with our debt securities, preferred stock or common stock and may be attached to or separate from any offered securities. Each series of warrants will be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and a bank or trust company, as warrant agent. The warrant agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the warrants. The warrant agent will not have any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders or beneficial owners of warrants. This summary of certain provisions of the warrants is not complete. For the terms of a particular series of warrants, you should refer to the prospectus supplement for that series of warrants and the warrant agreement for that particular series.

Debt Warrants

The prospectus supplement relating to a particular issue of warrants to purchase debt securities will describe the terms of the debt warrants, including the following:

•

the title of the debt warrants;

•

the offering price for the debt warrants, if any;

•

the aggregate number of the debt warrants;

•

the designation and terms of the debt securities, including any conversion rights, purchasable upon exercise of the debt warrants;

•

if applicable, the date from and after which the debt warrants and any debt securities issued with them will be separately transferable;

•

the principal amount of debt securities that may be purchased upon exercise of a debt warrant and the exercise price for the warrants, which may be payable in cash, securities or other property;

•

the dates on which the right to exercise the debt warrants will commence and expire;

•

if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of the debt warrants that may be exercised at any one time;

•

whether the debt warrants represented by the debt warrant certificates or debt securities that may be issued upon exercise of the debt warrants will be issued in registered or bearer form;

•

information with respect to book-entry procedures, if any; the currency or currency units in which the offering price, if any, and the exercise price are payable;

•

if applicable, a discussion of material U.S. federal income tax considerations;

•

the antidilution provisions of the debt warrants, if any;

•

the redemption or call provisions, if any, applicable to the debt warrants;

•

any provisions with respect to the holder’s right to require us to repurchase the warrants upon a change in control or similar event; and

•

any additional terms of the debt warrants, including procedures, and limitations relating to the exchange, exercise and settlement of the debt warrants.

Debt warrant certificates will be exchangeable for new debt warrant certificates of different denominations. Debt warrants may be exercised at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or any other office indicated in the prospectus supplement. Prior to the exercise of their debt warrants, holders of debt warrants will not have any of the rights of holders of the debt securities purchasable upon exercise and will not be entitled to payment of principal or any premium, if any, or interest on the debt securities purchasable upon exercise.

Equity Warrants

The prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of warrants to purchase our common stock or preferred stock will describe the terms of the warrants, including the following:

•

the title of the warrants;

•

the offering price for the warrants, if any;

•

the aggregate number of warrants;

•

the designation and terms of the common stock or preferred stock that may be purchased upon exercise of the warrants;

•

if applicable, the designation and terms of the securities with which the warrants are issued and the number of warrants issued with each security;

•

if applicable, the date from and after which the warrants and any securities issued with the warrants will be separately transferable;

•

the number of shares of common stock or preferred stock that may be purchased upon exercise of a warrant and the exercise price for the warrants;

•

the dates on which the right to exercise the warrants shall commence and expire;

•

if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of the warrants that may be exercised at any one time;

•

the currency or currency units in which the offering price, if any, and the exercise price are payable;

•

if applicable, a discussion of material U.S. federal income tax considerations;

•

the antidilution provisions of the warrants, if any;

•

the redemption or call provisions, if any, applicable to the warrants;

•

any provisions with respect to the holder’s right to require us to repurchase the warrants upon a change in control or similar event; and

•

any additional terms of the warrants, including procedures, and limitations relating to the exchange, exercise and settlement of the warrants.

Holders of equity warrants will not be entitled:

•

to vote, consent or receive dividends;

•

receive notice as stockholders with respect to any meeting of stockholders for the election of our directors or any other matter; or

•

exercise any rights as stockholders of us.

The descriptions of the warrants in this prospectus and in any prospectus supplement are summaries of the material provisions of the applicable warrants. These descriptions do not restate those warrants in their entirety and may not contain all the information that you may find useful. We urge you to read the applicable warrants because they, and not the summaries, define your rights as holders of the warrants. For more information, please review the forms of the relevant warrants, which will be filed with the SEC promptly after the offering of warrants and will be available as described in the section titled “Where You Can Find More Information.”

DESCRIPTION OF THE DEBT SECURITIES

The debt securities may be either secured or unsecured and will either be our senior debt securities or our subordinated debt securities. The debt securities will be issued under one or more separate indentures between us and a trustee to be specified in an accompanying prospectus supplement. Senior debt securities will be issued under a senior indenture and subordinated debt securities will be issued under a subordinated indenture. Together, the senior indenture and the subordinated indenture are called indentures in this description. This prospectus, together with the applicable prospectus supplement, will describe the terms of a particular series of debt securities.

The following is a summary of selected provisions and definitions of the indentures and debt securities to which any prospectus supplement may relate. The summary of selected provisions of the indentures and the debt securities appearing below is not complete and is subject to, and qualified entirely by reference to, all of the provisions of the applicable indenture and certificates evidencing the applicable debt securities. For additional information, you should look at the applicable indenture and the certificate evidencing the applicable debt security that is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes the prospectus. In this description of the debt securities, the words “we,” “us,” or “our” refer only to Otonomy, Inc. and not to any of our subsidiaries, unless we expressly state or the context otherwise requires.

The following description sets forth selected general terms and provisions of the applicable indenture and debt securities to which any prospectus supplement may relate. Other specific terms of the applicable indenture and debt securities will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. If any particular terms of the indenture or debt securities described in a prospectus supplement differ from any of the terms described below, then the terms described below will be deemed to have been superseded by that prospectus supplement.

General

Debt securities may be issued in separate series without limitation as to aggregate principal amount. We may specify a maximum aggregate principal amount for the debt securities of any series.

We are not limited as to the amount of debt securities we may issue under the indentures. Unless otherwise provided in a prospectus supplement, a series of debt securities may be reopened to issue additional debt securities of such series.

The prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of debt securities will set forth:

•

whether the debt securities are senior or subordinated;

•

the offering price;

•

the title;

•

any limit on the aggregate principal amount;

•

the person who shall be entitled to receive interest, if other than the record holder on the record date;

•

the date or dates the principal will be payable;

•

the interest rate or rates, which may be fixed or variable, if any, the date from which interest will accrue, the interest payment dates and the regular record dates, or the method for calculating the dates and rates;

•

the place where payments may be made;

•

any redemption provisions at our option and any applicable redemption prices associated with these provisions;

•

any obligation by us to redeem or repurchase any debt securities pursuant to any sinking fund or similar provision or any redemption or repurchase at the option of the holder and any applicable redemption or repurchase terms and conditions and prices associated with these provisions;

•

if issued other than in denominations of U.S. $1,000 or any multiple of U.S. $1,000, the denominations in which the debt securities shall be issuable;

•

if applicable, the method for determining how the principal, premium, if any, or interest will be calculated by reference to an index or formula;

•

if other than U.S. currency, the currency or currency units in which principal, premium, if any, or interest will be payable and whether we or a holder may elect payment to be made in a different currency;

•

if the principal, premium or interest on debt securities is payable at our option or the option of any holder thereof in one or more currencies or currency units other than those in which debt securities are payable, the currency or currency units in which the principal, premium or interest on the debt securities as to which such election is made shall be payable on the terms and conditions associated with these provisions;

•

the percentage of the principal amount at which the debt securities may be issued, and if other than the entire amount, the portion of the principal amount that will be payable upon acceleration of maturity;

•

if the principal amount payable at stated maturity will not be determinable as of any date prior to stated maturity, the amount or method for determining the amount which will be deemed to be the principal amount;

•

if applicable, whether the debt securities shall be subject to the defeasance provisions described below under “Satisfaction and Discharge; Defeasance” or such other defeasance provisions specified in the applicable prospectus supplement for the debt securities;

•

any conversion or exchange provisions;

•

whether the debt securities will be issuable in the form of a global security, the depositary for any such global security, the form of legends for any global security and the terms for exchanging any such global security into a definitive registered debt security;

•

the deletion, addition or change in any event of default, and any change in the right of the trustee or the requisite percentage of holders to declare the principal amount due and payable;

•

any change or modification to the subordination provisions applicable to the subordinated debt securities if different from those described below under “Subordinated Debt Securities;”

•

any deletion, addition or change in the covenants set forth in Article 10 of the indentures;

•

any paying agents, authenticating agents, security registrars or other agents for the debt securities, if other than the trustee;

•

any provisions relating to any security provided for the debt securities, including any provisions regarding the circumstances under which collateral may be released or substituted;

•

any provisions relating to guaranties for the debt securities and any circumstances under which there may be additional obligors;

•

any provisions granting special rights to holders when a specified event occurs;

•

any provision with respect to any special interest premium or other premium;

•

any special tax provisions that apply to the debt securities;

•

with respect to the debt securities that do not bear interest, the dates for any required reports to the applicable trustee;

•

any and all additional, eliminated or changed terms that will apply to the debt securities; and

•

any other terms of such debt securities.

Unless otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement, the debt securities will be registered debt securities. Debt securities may be sold at a substantial discount below their stated principal amount, bearing no interest or interest at a rate which at time of issuance is below market rates. The U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to debt securities sold at a discount will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Exchange and Transfer

Debt securities may be transferred or exchanged at the office of the security registrar or at the office of any transfer agent designated by us.

We will not impose a service charge for any transfer or exchange, but we may require holders to pay any tax or other governmental charges associated with any transfer or exchange.

In the event of any partial redemption of debt securities of any series, we will not be required to:

•

issue, register the transfer of, or exchange, any debt security of that series during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of mailing of a notice of redemption and ending at the close of business on the day of the mailing; or

•

register the transfer of or exchange any debt security of that series selected for redemption, in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion of the debt security being redeemed in part.

We will appoint the trustee as the initial security registrar. Any transfer agent, in addition to the security registrar initially designated by us, will be named in the prospectus supplement. We may designate additional transfer agents or change transfer agents or change the office of the transfer agent. However, we will be required to maintain a transfer agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of each series.

Global Securities

The debt securities of any series may be represented, in whole or in part, by one or more global securities. Each global security will:

•

be registered in the name of a depositary, or its nominee, that we will identify in a prospectus supplement;

•

be deposited with the depositary or nominee or custodian; and

•

bear any required legends.

No global security may be exchanged in whole or in part for debt securities registered in the name of any person other than the depositary or any nominee unless:

•

the depositary has notified us that it is unwilling or unable to continue as depositary or has ceased to be qualified to act as depositary;

•

an event of default is continuing with respect to the debt securities of the applicable series; or

•

any other circumstance described in a prospectus supplement has occurred permitting or requiring the issuance of any such security.

As long as the depositary, or its nominee, is the registered owner of a global security, the depositary or nominee will be considered the sole owner and holder of the debt securities represented by the global security for all purposes under the indentures. Except in the above limited circumstances, owners of beneficial interests in a global security will not be:

•

entitled to have the debt securities registered in their names;

•

entitled to physical delivery of certificated debt securities; or

•

considered to be holders of those debt securities under the indenture.

Payments on a global security will be made to the depositary or its nominee as the holder of the global security. Some jurisdictions have laws that require that certain purchasers of securities take physical delivery of such securities in definitive form. These laws may impair the ability to transfer beneficial interests in a global security.

Institutions that have accounts with the depositary or its nominee are referred to as “participants.” Ownership of beneficial interests in a global security will be limited to participants and to persons that may hold beneficial interests through participants. The depositary will credit, on its book-entry registration and transfer system, the respective principal amounts of debt securities represented by the global security to the accounts of its participants.

Ownership of beneficial interests in a global security will be shown on and effected through records maintained by the depositary, with respect to participants’ interests, or any participant, with respect to interests of persons held by participants on their behalf.

Payments, transfers and exchanges relating to beneficial interests in a global security will be subject to policies and procedures of the depositary. The depositary policies and procedures may change from time to time. Neither any trustee nor we will have any responsibility or liability for the depositary’s or any participant’s records with respect to beneficial interests in a global security.

Payment and Paying Agents

Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement, the provisions described in this paragraph will apply to the debt securities. Payment of interest on a debt security on any interest payment date will be made to the person in whose name the debt security is registered at the close of business on the regular record date. Payment on debt securities of a particular series will be payable at the office of a paying agent or paying agents designated by us. However, at our option, we may pay interest by mailing a check to the record holder. The trustee will be designated as our initial paying agent.

We may also name any other paying agents in a prospectus supplement. We may designate additional paying agents, change paying agents or change the office of any paying agent. However, we will be required to maintain a paying agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of a particular series.

All moneys paid by us to a paying agent for payment on any debt security that remain unclaimed for a period ending the earlier of:

•

10 business days prior to the date the money would be turned over to the applicable state; or

•

at the end of two years after such payment was due,

will be repaid to us thereafter. The holder may look only to us for such payment.

No Protection in the Event of a Change of Control

Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement with respect to a particular series of debt securities, the debt securities will not contain any provisions that may afford holders of the debt securities protection in the event we have a change in control or in the event of a highly-leveraged transaction, whether or not such transaction results in a change in control.

Covenants

Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement with respect to a particular series of debt securities, the debt securities will not contain any financial or restrictive covenants.

Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets

Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement with respect to a particular series of debt securities, we may not consolidate with or merge into any other person (other than one of our subsidiaries), in a transaction in which we are not the surviving corporation, or convey, transfer or lease our properties and assets substantially as an entirety to, any person (other than to one or more of our subsidiaries), unless:

•

the successor entity, if any, is a U.S. corporation, limited liability company, partnership, trust or other business entity;

•

the successor entity assumes our obligations on the debt securities and under the indentures;

•

immediately after giving effect to the transaction, no default or event of default shall have occurred and be continuing; and

•

certain other conditions specified in the applicable indenture are met.

Events of Default

Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement, the following will be events of default for any series of debt securities under the indentures:

(1)

we fail to pay principal of or any premium or the redemption price on any debt security of that series when due;

(2)

we fail to pay any interest on any debt security of that series for 30 days after it becomes due;

(3)

we fail to deposit any sinking fund payment when due;

(4)

we default or breach any covenant or warranty in the applicable indenture and such failure continues for 90 days after we are given the notice required in the indentures; and

(5)

certain events involving our bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization.

Additional or different events of default applicable to a series of debt securities may be described in a prospectus supplement. An event of default of one series of debt securities is not necessarily an event of default for any other series of debt securities.

The trustee may withhold notice to the holders of any default, except defaults in the payment of principal, premium, if any, interest, any sinking fund installment on, or with respect to any conversion right of, the debt securities of such series. However, the trustee must consider it to be in the interest of the holders of the debt securities of such series to withhold this notice.

Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement, if an event of default, other than an event of default described in clause (5) above, shall occur and be continuing with respect to any series of debt securities, either the trustee or the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding securities of that series may declare the principal amount and premium, if any, of the debt securities of that series, or if any debt securities of that series are original issue discount securities, such other amount as may be specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, in each case together with accrued and unpaid interest thereon, if any, to be due and payable immediately.

Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement, if an event of default described in clause (5) above shall occur, the principal amount and premium, if any, of all the debt securities of that series, or if any debt securities of that series are original issue discount securities, such other amount as may be specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, in each case together with accrued and unpaid interest thereon, if any, will automatically become immediately due and payable. Any payment by us on the subordinated debt securities following any such acceleration will be subject to the subordination provisions described below under “Subordinated Debt Securities.”

Notwithstanding the foregoing, each indenture will provide that we may, at our option, elect that the sole remedy for an event of default relating to our failure to comply with our obligations described under the section entitled “Reports” below or our failure to comply with the requirements of Section 314(a)(1) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, or the Trust Indenture Act, will for the first 360 days after the occurrence of such an event of default consist exclusively of the right to receive additional interest on the relevant series of debt securities at an annual rate equal to (1) 0.25% of the principal amount of such series of debt securities for the first 180 days after the occurrence of such event of default and (2) 0.50% of the principal amount of such series of debt securities from the 181^st day to, and including, the 360th day after the occurrence of such event of default, which we call “additional interest.” If we so elect, the additional interest will accrue on all outstanding debt securities from and including the date on which such event of default first occurs until such violation is cured or waived and shall be payable on each relevant interest payment date to holders of record on the regular record date immediately preceding the interest payment date. On the 361^st day after such event of default (if such violation is not cured or waived prior to such 361^st day), the debt securities will be subject to acceleration as provided above. In the event we do not elect to pay additional interest upon any such event of default in accordance with this paragraph, the debt securities will be subject to acceleration as provided above.

In order to elect to pay the additional interest as the sole remedy during the first 360 days after the occurrence of any event of default relating to the failure to comply with the reporting obligations in accordance with the preceding paragraph, we must notify all holders of debt securities and the trustee and paying agent of such election prior to the close of business on the first business day following the date on which such event of default occurs. Upon our failure to timely give such notice or pay the additional interest, the debt securities will be immediately subject to acceleration as provided above.

After acceleration, the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding securities of that series may, under certain circumstances, rescind and annul such acceleration if all events of default, other than the non-payment of accelerated principal, or other specified amounts or interest, have been cured or waived.

Other than the duty to act with the required care during an event of default, the trustee will not be obligated to exercise any of its rights or powers at the request of the holders unless the holders shall have offered to the trustee reasonable indemnity. Generally, the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee.

A holder of debt securities of any series will not have any right to institute any proceeding under the indentures, or for the appointment of a receiver or a trustee, or for any other remedy under the indentures, unless:

(1)

the holder has previously given to the trustee written notice of a continuing event of default with respect to the debt securities of that series;

(2)

the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series have made a written request and have offered reasonable indemnity to the trustee to institute the proceeding; and

(3)

the trustee has failed to institute the proceeding and has not received direction inconsistent with the original request from the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series within 60 days after the original request.

Holders may, however, sue to enforce the payment of principal, premium or interest on any debt security on or after the due date or to enforce the right, if any, to convert any debt security (if the debt security is convertible) without following the procedures listed in (1) through (3) above.

We will furnish the trustee an annual statement from our officers as to whether or not we are in default in the performance of the conditions and covenants under the applicable indenture and, if so, specifying all known defaults.

Modification and Waiver

Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement, the applicable trustee and we may make modifications and amendments to an indenture with the consent of the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding securities of each series affected by the modification or amendment.

We may also make modifications and amendments to the indentures for the benefit of holders without their consent, for certain purposes including, but not limited to:

•

to evidence the succession of another person to our company, or successive successions, and the assumption by any such successor of our covenants in the indentures in compliance with the indentures;

•

adding covenants for the benefit of holders or surrendering any right or power conferred upon us;

•

adding events of default for the benefit of holders of all or any series of debt securities;

•

making certain changes to facilitate the issuance of the debt securities in bearer form, registrable or not registrable as to the principal, with or without interest coupons, or to permit or facilitate the issuance of debt securities in uncertificated form;

•

to add to, change or eliminate any of the provisions of the indentures or one or more series of debt securities, provided that any such addition, change or elimination (1) shall neither (a) apply to any security of any series created prior to the execution of such supplemental indenture and entitled to the benefit of such provision nor (b) modify the rights of the holder of any such security with respect to such provision or (2) shall become effective only when there is no such debt security outstanding;

•

securing the debt securities, including provisions regarding the circumstances under which collateral may be released and substituted;

•

providing for guaranties of, or adding additional obligors on, the debt securities;

•

to establish the form or term of debt securities as permitted by the indentures;

•

providing for a successor trustee or additional trustees;

•

conforming the indentures to the description of the debt securities set forth in this prospectus or the accompanying prospectus supplement;

•

curing any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency or to make any other provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the indentures;

•

supplementing any of the provisions of the indentures to such extent as shall be necessary to permit or facilitate the defeasance and discharge of the debt securities, provided that such action shall not adversely affect the interest of the holders in any material respect;

•

make such other provisions in regard to matters or questions arising under the indentures or under any supplemental indentures as our board of directors may deem necessary or desirable, and which does not in each case adversely affect the interests of the holders of the debt securities of a series; and

•

comply with requirements of the SEC in order to effect or maintain the qualifications of the indentures under the Trust Indenture Act.

However, neither the trustee nor we may make any modification or amendment without the consent of the holder of each outstanding security of that series affected by the modification or amendment if such modification or amendment would:

•

change the stated maturity of the principal of, or any installment of principal or interest on, any debt security;

•

reduce the principal, premium, if any, or interest on any debt security or any premium payable upon redemption or repurchase, whether at our option or the option of any holder, or reduce the amount of any sinking fund payments;

•

reduce the principal of an original issue discount debt security or any other debt security payable on acceleration of maturity;

•

change the place of payment or the currency in which any debt security is payable;

•

impair the right to enforce any payment after the stated maturity (or in the case of redemption, on or after the redemption date);

•

if subordinated debt securities, modify the subordination provisions in a materially adverse manner to the holders;

•

adversely affect the right to convert any debt security if the debt security is a convertible debt security; or

•

change the provisions in the indentures that relate to modifying or amending the indentures.

Satisfaction and Discharge; Defeasance

We may be discharged from our obligations on the debt securities, subject to limited exceptions, of any series that have matured or will mature or be redeemed within one year if we deposit enough money with the trustee to pay all the principal, interest and any premium due to the stated maturity date or redemption date of the debt securities.

Each indenture contains a provision that permits us to elect either or both of the following:

•

we may elect to be discharged from all of our obligations, subject to limited exceptions, with respect to any series of debt securities then outstanding. If we make this election, the holders of the debt securities of the series will not be entitled to the benefits of the indenture, except for the rights of holders to receive payments on debt securities or the registration of transfer and exchange of debt securities and replacement of lost, stolen or mutilated debt securities.

•

we may elect to be released from our obligations under some or all of any financial or restrictive covenants applicable to the series of debt securities to which the election relates and from the consequences of an event of default resulting from a breach of those covenants.

To make either of the above elections, we must irrevocably deposit in trust with the trustee enough money to pay in full the principal, interest and premium on the debt securities. This amount may be made in cash and/or U.S. government obligations or, in the case of debt securities denominated in a currency other than U.S. dollars, cash in the currency in which such series of securities is denominated and/or foreign government obligations. As a condition to either of the above elections, for debt securities denominated in U.S. dollars we must deliver to the trustee an opinion of counsel that the holders of the debt securities will not recognize income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a result of the action.

With respect to debt securities of any series that are denominated in a currency other than United States dollars, “foreign government obligations” means:

•

direct obligations of the government that issued or caused to be issued the currency in which such securities are denominated and for the payment of which obligations its full faith and credit is pledged, or, with respect to debt securities of any series which are denominated in Euros, direct obligations of certain members of the European Union for the payment of which obligations the full faith and credit of such members is pledged, which in each case are not callable or redeemable at the option of the issuer thereof; or

•

obligations of a person controlled or supervised by or acting as an agency or instrumentality of a government described in the bullet above the timely payment of which is unconditionally guaranteed as a full faith and credit obligation by such government, which are not callable or redeemable at the option of the issuer thereof.

Notices

Notices to holders will be given by mail to the addresses of the holders in the security register.

Governing Law

The indentures and the debt securities will be governed by, and construed under, the laws of the State of New York.

No Personal Liability of Directors, Officers, Employees and Stockholders

No incorporator, stockholder, employee, agent, officer, director or subsidiary of ours will have any liability for any obligations of ours, or because of the creation of any indebtedness under the debt securities, the indentures or supplemental indentures. The indentures provide that all such liability is expressly waived and released as a condition of, and as a consideration for, the execution of such indentures and the issuance of the debt securities.

Regarding the Trustee

The indentures limit the right of the trustee, should it become our creditor, to obtain payment of claims or secure its claims.

The trustee will be permitted to engage in certain other transactions with us. However, if the trustee acquires any conflicting interest, and there is a default under the debt securities of any series for which it is trustee, the trustee must eliminate the conflict or resign.

Subordinated Debt Securities

The following provisions will be applicable with respect to each series of subordinated debt securities, unless otherwise stated in the prospectus supplement relating to that series of subordinated debt securities.

The indebtedness evidenced by the subordinated debt securities of any series is subordinated, to the extent provided in the subordinated indenture and the applicable prospectus supplement, to the prior payment in full, in cash or other payment satisfactory to the holders of senior debt, of all senior debt, including any senior debt securities.

Upon any distribution of our assets upon any dissolution, winding up, liquidation or reorganization, whether voluntary or involuntary, marshalling of assets, assignment for the benefit of creditors, or in bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership or other similar proceedings, payments on the subordinated debt securities will be subordinated in right of payment to the prior payment in full in cash or other payment satisfactory to holders of senior debt of all senior debt.

In the event of any acceleration of the subordinated debt securities of any series because of an event of default with respect to the subordinated debt securities of that series, holders of any senior debt would be entitled to payment in full in cash or other payment satisfactory to holders of senior debt of all senior debt before the holders of subordinated debt securities are entitled to receive any payment or distribution.

In addition, the subordinated debt securities will be structurally subordinated to all indebtedness and other liabilities of our subsidiaries, including trade payables and lease obligations. This occurs because our right to receive any assets of our subsidiaries upon their liquidation or reorganization, and your right to participate in those assets, will be effectively subordinated to the claims of that subsidiary’s creditors, including trade creditors, except to the extent that we are recognized as a creditor of such subsidiary. If we are recognized as a creditor of that subsidiary, our claims would still be subordinate to any security interest in the assets of the subsidiary and any indebtedness of the subsidiary senior to us.

We are required to promptly notify holders of senior debt or their representatives under the subordinated indenture if payment of the subordinated debt securities is accelerated because of an event of default.

Under the subordinated indenture, we may not make payment on the subordinated debt securities if:

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a default in our obligations to pay principal, premium, if any, interest or other amounts on our senior debt occurs and the default continues beyond any applicable grace period, which we refer to as a payment default; or

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any other default occurs and is continuing with respect to designated senior debt that permits holders of designated senior debt to accelerate its maturity, which we refer to as a non-payment default, and the trustee receives a payment blockage notice from us or some other person permitted to give the notice under the subordinated indenture.

We will resume payments on the subordinated debt securities:

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in case of a payment default, when the default is cured or waived or ceases to exist, and

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in case of a non-payment default, the earlier of when the default is cured or waived or ceases to exist or 179 days after the receipt of the payment blockage notice.

No new payment blockage period may commence on the basis of a non-payment default unless 365 days have elapsed from the effectiveness of the immediately prior payment blockage notice. No non-payment default that existed or was continuing on the date of delivery of any payment blockage notice to the trustee shall be the basis for a subsequent payment blockage notice.

As a result of these subordination provisions, in the event of our bankruptcy, dissolution or reorganization, holders of senior debt may receive more, ratably, and holders of the subordinated debt securities may receive less, ratably, than our other creditors. The subordination provisions will not prevent the occurrence of any event of default under the subordinated indenture.

The subordination provisions will not apply to payments from money or government obligations held in trust by the trustee for the payment of principal, interest and premium, if any, on subordinated debt securities pursuant to the provisions described under the section entitled “Satisfaction and Discharge; Defeasance,” if the subordination provisions were not violated at the time the money or government obligations were deposited into trust.

If the trustee or any holder receives any payment that should not have been made to them in contravention of subordination provisions before all senior debt is paid in full in cash or other payment satisfactory to holders of senior debt, then such payment will be held in trust for the holders of senior debt.

Senior debt securities will constitute senior debt under the subordinated indenture.

Additional or different subordination provisions may be described in a prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of debt securities.

Definitions

“Designated senior debt” means our obligations under any particular senior debt in which the instrument creating or evidencing the same or the assumption or guarantee thereof, or related agreements or documents to which we are a party, expressly provides that such indebtedness shall be designated senior debt for purposes of the subordinated indenture. The instrument, agreement or other document evidencing any designated senior debt may place limitations and conditions on the right of such senior debt to exercise the rights of designated senior debt.

“Indebtedness” means the following, whether absolute or contingent, secured or unsecured, due or to become due, outstanding on the date of the applicable indenture for such series of securities or thereafter created, incurred or assumed:

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our indebtedness evidenced by a credit or loan agreement, note, bond, debenture or other written obligation;

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all of our obligations for money borrowed;

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all of our obligations evidenced by a note or similar instrument given in connection with the acquisition of any businesses, properties or assets of any kind,

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our obligations:

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as lessee under leases required to be capitalized on the balance sheet of the lessee under generally accepted accounting principles, or

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as lessee under leases for facilities, capital equipment or related assets, whether or not capitalized, entered into or leased for financing purposes;

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all of our obligations under interest rate and currency swaps, caps, floors, collars, hedge agreements, forward contracts or similar agreements or arrangements;

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all of our obligations with respect to letters of credit, bankers’ acceptances and similar facilities, including reimbursement obligations with respect to the foregoing;

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all of our obligations issued or assumed as the deferred purchase price of property or services, but excluding trade accounts payable and accrued liabilities arising in the ordinary course of business;

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all obligations of the type referred to in the above clauses of another person, the payment of which, in either case, we have assumed or guaranteed, for which we are responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, jointly or severally, as obligor, guarantor or otherwise, or which are secured by a lien on our property; and

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renewals, extensions, modifications, replacements, restatements and refundings of, or any indebtedness or obligation issued in exchange for, any such indebtedness or obligation described in the above clauses of this definition.

“Senior debt” means the principal of, premium, if any, and interest, including all interest accruing subsequent to the commencement of any bankruptcy or similar proceeding, whether or not a claim for post-petition interest is allowable as a claim in any such proceeding, and rent payable on or in connection with, and all fees and other amounts payable in connection with, our indebtedness. However, senior debt shall not include:

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any debt or obligation if its terms or the terms of the instrument under which or pursuant to which it is issued expressly provide that it shall not be senior in right of payment to the subordinated debt securities or expressly provide that such indebtedness is on the same basis or “junior” to the subordinated debt securities; or

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debt to any of our subsidiaries, a majority of the voting stock of which is owned, directly or indirectly, by us.

“Subsidiary” means a corporation more than 50% of the outstanding voting stock of which is owned, directly or indirectly, by us or by one or more of our other subsidiaries or by a combination of us and our other subsidiaries. For purposes of this definition, “voting stock” means stock or other similar interests which ordinarily has or have voting power for the election of directors, or persons performing similar functions, whether at all times or only so long as no senior class of stock or other interests has or have such voting power by reason of any contingency.

DESCRIPTION OF SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS

We may issue subscription rights to purchase our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities. These subscription rights may be offered independently or together with any other security offered hereby and may or may not be transferable by the stockholder receiving the subscription rights in such offering. In connection with any offering of subscription rights, we may enter into a standby arrangement with one or more underwriters or other purchasers pursuant to which the underwriters or other purchasers may be required to purchase any securities remaining unsubscribed for after such offering.

The prospectus supplement relating to any subscription rights we offer, if any, will, to the extent applicable, include specific terms relating to the offering, including some or all of the following:

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the price, if any, for the subscription rights;

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the exercise price payable for our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities upon the exercise of the subscription rights;

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the number of subscription rights to be issued to each stockholder;

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the number and terms of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities which may be purchased per each subscription right;

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the extent to which the subscription rights are transferable;

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any other terms of the subscription rights, including the terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the subscription rights;

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the date on which the right to exercise the subscription rights shall commence, and the date on which the subscription rights shall expire;

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the extent to which the subscription rights may include an over-subscription privilege with respect to unsubscribed securities or an over-allotment privilege to the extent the securities are fully subscribed; and

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if applicable, the material terms of any standby underwriting or purchase arrangement which may be entered into by us in connection with the offering of subscription rights.

The description in the applicable prospectus supplement of any subscription rights we offer will not necessarily be complete and will be qualified in its entirety by reference to the applicable subscription rights certificate, which will be filed with the SEC if we offer subscription rights. We urge you to read the applicable subscription rights certificate and any applicable prospectus supplement in their entirety.

DESCRIPTION OF UNITS

We may issue units comprising one or more of the other classes of securities described in this prospectus in any combination. Each unit will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each security included in the unit. Thus, the holder of a unit will have the rights and obligations of a holder of each included security. The units may be issued under unit agreements to be entered into between us and a unit agent, as detailed in the prospectus supplement relating to the units being offered. The prospectus supplement will describe:

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the designation and terms of the units and of the securities comprising the units, including whether and under what circumstances the securities comprising the units may be held or transferred separately;

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a description of the terms of any unit agreement governing the units;

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a description of the provisions for the payment, settlement, transfer or exchange of the units;

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a discussion of material U.S. federal income tax considerations, if applicable; and

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whether the units if issued as a separate security will be issued in fully registered or global form.

The descriptions of the units in this prospectus and in any prospectus supplement are summaries of the material provisions of the applicable unit agreements. These descriptions do not restate those unit agreements in their entirety and may not contain all the information that you may find useful. We urge you to read the applicable unit agreements because they, and not the summaries, define your rights as holders of the units. For more information, please review the forms of the relevant unit agreements, which will be filed with the SEC promptly after the offering of units and will be available as described in the section titled “Where You Can Find More Information.”

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We may sell the securities offered through this prospectus (1) to or through underwriters or dealers, (2) directly to purchasers, including our affiliates, (3) through agents, or (4) through a combination of any of these methods. The securities may be distributed at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed, market prices prevailing at the time of sale, prices related to the prevailing market prices, or negotiated prices. The prospectus supplement will include the following information:

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the terms of the offering;

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the names of any underwriters or agents;

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the name or names of any managing underwriter or underwriters;

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the purchase price of the securities;

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the net proceeds from the sale of the securities;

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any delayed delivery arrangements;

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any underwriting discounts, commissions or agency fees, and other items constituting underwriters’ or agents’ compensation;

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any initial price to the public;

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any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and

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any commissions paid to agents.

We may engage in at the market offerings into an existing trading market in accordance with Rule 415(a)(4) in the manner described below under “—At the Market Offerings.”

We may issue to the holders of our common stock, on a pro rata basis for no consideration, subscription rights to purchase shares of our common stock or preferred stock. These subscription rights may or may not be transferable by stockholders. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the specific terms of any offering of our common or preferred stock through the issuance of subscription rights, including the terms of the subscription rights offering, the terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the subscription rights and, if applicable, the material terms of any standby underwriting or purchase arrangement entered into by us in connection with the offering of common or preferred stock through the issuance of subscription rights.

Sale through Underwriters or Dealers

If underwriters are used in the sale, the underwriters will acquire the securities for their own account, including through underwriting, purchase, security lending or repurchase agreements with us. The underwriters may resell the securities from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions. Underwriters may sell the securities in order to facilitate transactions in any of our other securities (described in this prospectus or otherwise), including other public or private transactions and short sales. Underwriters may offer securities to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by one or more managing underwriters or directly by one or more firms acting as underwriters. Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the securities will be subject to certain conditions, and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all the offered securities if they purchase any of them (other than any securities purchased upon exercise of any option to purchase additional securities). In connection with any offering of common stock pursuant to this prospectus, underwriters may have an option to purchase additional shares of common stock from us. We will provide information regarding any such option to purchase additional

shares of common stock from us in the applicable prospectus supplement. The underwriters may change from time to time any initial price to the public and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers. The prospectus supplement will include the names of the principal underwriters the respective amount of securities underwritten, the nature of the obligation of the underwriters to take the securities and the nature of any material relationship between an underwriter and us.

Some or all of the securities that we offer through this prospectus may be new issues of securities with no established trading market. Any underwriters to whom we sell securities for public offering and sale may make a market in those securities, but they will not be obligated to do so and they may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. Accordingly, we cannot assure you of the liquidity of, or continued trading markets for, any securities offered pursuant to this prospectus.

If dealers are used in the sale of securities offered through this prospectus, we will sell the securities to them as principals. They may then resell those securities to the public at varying prices determined by the dealers at the time of resale. The prospectus supplement will include the names of the dealers and the terms of the transaction.

Direct Sales and Sales through Agents

We may sell the securities offered through this prospectus directly. In this case, no underwriters or agents would be involved. Such securities may also be sold through agents designated from time to time. The prospectus supplement will name any agent involved in the offer or sale of the offered securities and will describe any commissions payable to the agent by us. Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, any agent will agree to use its reasonable best efforts to solicit purchases for the period of its appointment.

We may sell the securities directly to institutional investors or others who may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act with respect to any sale of those securities. The terms of any such sales will be described in the prospectus supplement.

Delayed Delivery Contracts

If the prospectus supplement indicates, we may authorize agents, underwriters or dealers to solicit offers from certain types of institutions to purchase securities at the public offering price under delayed delivery contracts. These contracts would provide for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. The contracts would be subject only to those conditions described in the prospectus supplement. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the commission payable for solicitation of those contracts.

At the Market Offerings

To the extent that we make sales through one or more underwriters or agents in at the market offerings, we will do so pursuant to the terms of a sales agency financing agreement or other at the market offering arrangement between us, on one hand, and the underwriters or agents, on the other. If we engage in at the market sales pursuant to any such agreement, we will issue and sell our securities through one or more underwriters or agents, which may act on an agency basis or a principal basis. During the term of any such agreement, we may sell securities on a daily basis in exchange transactions or otherwise as we agree with the underwriters or agents. Any such agreement will provide that any securities sold will be sold at prices related to the then prevailing market prices for our securities. Therefore, exact figures regarding proceeds that will be raised or commissions to be paid cannot be determined as of the date of this prospectus. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, we may agree to sell, and the relevant underwriters or agents may agree to solicit offers to purchase, blocks of our common stock or other securities. The terms of any such agreement will be set forth in more detail in the applicable prospectus or prospectus supplement.

Market Making, Stabilization and Other Transactions

Unless the applicable prospectus supplement states otherwise, each series of offered securities will be a new issue and will have no established trading market. We may elect to list any series of offered securities on an exchange. Any underwriters that we use in the sale of offered securities may make a market in such securities, but may discontinue such market making at any time without notice. Therefore, we cannot assure you that the securities will have a liquid trading market.

Any underwriter may also over-allot or engage in stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Rule 104 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Over-allotment or short sales involve sales by persons participating in the offering of more securities than were sold to them. In these circumstances, these persons would cover such over-allotments or short positions by making purchases in the open market or by exercising their over-allotment option, if any. Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase the underlying security in the open market for the purpose of pegging, fixing or maintaining the price of the securities. Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the securities in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions.

Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the securities originally sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions. These transactions may cause the price of the securities to be higher than it would be in the absence of the transactions. The underwriters may, if they commence these transactions, discontinue them at any time.

Derivative Transactions and Hedging

We, the underwriters or other agents may engage in derivative transactions involving the securities. These derivatives may consist of short sale transactions and other hedging activities. The underwriters or agents may acquire a long or short position in the securities, hold or resell securities acquired and purchase options or futures on the securities and other derivative instruments with returns linked to or related to changes in the price of the securities. In order to facilitate these derivative transactions, we may enter into security lending or repurchase agreements with the underwriters or agents. The underwriters or agents may effect the derivative transactions through sales of the securities to the public, including short sales, or by lending the securities in order to facilitate short sale transactions by others. The underwriters or agents may also use the securities purchased or borrowed from us or others (or, in the case of derivatives, securities received from us in settlement of those derivatives) to directly or indirectly settle sales of the securities or close out any related open borrowings of the securities.

Electronic Auctions

We may also make sales through the Internet or through other electronic means. Since we may from time to time elect to offer securities directly to the public, with or without the involvement of agents, underwriters or dealers, utilizing the Internet or other forms of electronic bidding or ordering systems for the pricing and allocation of such securities, you should pay particular attention to the description of that system we will provide in a prospectus supplement.

Such electronic system may allow bidders to directly participate, through electronic access to an auction site, by submitting conditional offers to buy that are subject to acceptance by us, and which may directly affect the price or other terms and conditions at which such securities are sold. These bidding or ordering systems may present to each bidder, on a so-called “real-time” basis, relevant information to assist in making a bid, such as the clearing spread at which the offering would be sold, based on the bids submitted, and whether a bidder’s individual bids would be accepted, prorated or rejected. For example, in the case of a debt security, the clearing spread could be indicated as a number of “basis points” above an index treasury note. Of course, many pricing methods can and may also be used.

Upon completion of such an electronic auction process, securities will be allocated based on prices bid, terms of bid or other factors. The final offering price at which securities would be sold and the allocation of securities among bidders would be based in whole or in part on the results of the Internet or other electronic bidding process or auction.

General Information

Agents, underwriters, and dealers may be entitled, under agreements entered into with us, to indemnification by us against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Our agents, underwriters, and dealers, or their affiliates, may engage in transactions with, or perform services for us in the ordinary course of business.

LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the securities offered by this prospectus will be passed upon by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation, Palo Alto, California. Certain members of, and investment partnerships comprised of members of, and persons associated with, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation, own an aggregate of 15,707 shares of our common stock. Additional legal matters may be passed on for us, or any underwriters, dealers or agents, by counsel that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement.

EXPERTS

Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, has audited our financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as set forth in their report, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement. Our financial statements are incorporated by reference in reliance on Ernst & Young LLP’s report, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. These documents can also be accessed free of charge on our Internet website, www.otonomy.com. These filings will be available as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. We have not incorporated by reference into this prospectus the information contained on or accessible through our Internet website and you should not consider it to be a part of this prospectus, and the inclusion of our website address in this prospectus is an inactive textual reference only.

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-3, including exhibits, under the Securities Act relating to the securities being offered by this prospectus. The registration statement, including the attached exhibits, contains additional relevant information about us and the securities. This prospectus, which constitutes part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement and its exhibits. For further information with respect to us and the securities offered by this prospectus, we refer you to the registration statement and its exhibits. Statements contained in this prospectus as to the contents of any contract or any other document referred to are not necessarily complete and, in each instance, we refer you to the copy of the contract or other document filed as an exhibit to the registration statement. Each of these statements is qualified in all respects by this reference.

INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference into this prospectus certain information we file with it, which means that we can disclose important information by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede information contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below that we have previously filed with the SEC (excluding any portions of any Form 8-K that are not deemed “filed” pursuant to the General Instructions of Form 8-K):

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our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on February 11, 2021;

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the information specifically incorporated by reference into our Annual Report from our definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on April 28, 2021;

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our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2021 (filed with the SEC on May 11, 2021) and June 30, 2021 (filed with the SEC on August 4, 2021);

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our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 9, 2021, June 3, 2021 and June 24, 2021; and

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We also incorporate by reference into this prospectus additional documents that we may file with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the completion or termination of the offering, including all such documents we may file with the SEC after the date of the initial registration statement and prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement. Any statements contained in a previously filed document incorporated by reference into this prospectus is deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus, or in a subsequently filed document also incorporated by reference herein, modifies or supersedes that statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we are not incorporating by reference any documents, portions of documents, exhibits or other information that is deemed to have been furnished to, rather than filed with, the SEC.

This prospectus may contain information that updates, modifies or is contrary to information in one or more of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You should rely only on the information incorporated by reference or provided in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone else to provide you with different information. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date of this prospectus or the date of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus.

We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom this prospectus is delivered, upon written or oral request, at no cost to the requester, a copy of any and all of the documents that have been or may be incorporated by reference in this prospectus (excluding certain exhibits to the documents).

Requests for such documents should be directed to:

Otonomy, Inc.

4796 Executive Drive

San Diego, California 92121

Attention: Secretary

You may also access the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus through our website at www.otonomy.com. Except for the specific incorporated documents listed above, no information available on or through our website shall be deemed to be incorporated into this prospectus or the registration statement of which it forms a part.

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