Ollin Biosciences announces its official launch

Ollin Biosciences has announced its official launch, with an initial $100 million in financing led by ARCH Venture Partners, Mubadala Capital, and Monograph Capital.

The company states it is “assembling a robust pipeline of both clinical and late-stage preclinical programs, building upon validated biologies to better address unmet treatment needs in ophthalmology.”

Jason Ehrlich, MD, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Ollin, commented on the company’s official launch, saying, “Ollin is a purpose-built, asset-centric biotech with core expertise in ophthalmology drug development, bringing together a strong focus on operational execution, market-informed clinical development strategies, and cutting-edge data science and imaging tools. We believe our first bispecific programs present a tremendous opportunity to improve patient care with medicines that target more than one pathway, given the multi-factorial nature of many eye diseases.”

The company’s lead clinical-stage program, OLN324, is a higher potency, higher molar dose VEGF/Ang2 bispecific antibody currently in phase 1b clinical development for patients with either wet (neovascular) age-related macular degeneration (wAMD) or diabetic macular edema (DME). The company has completed enrollment of over 150 patients with wAMD or DME in the JADE study.

OLN324 is being tested at higher molar doses than faricimab for greater target coverage and the potential for extended treatment durability, according to the company.

The JADE study is a phase 1b proof-of-concept clinical trial, based in the US, designed to evaluate OLN324 versus faricimab for potential areas of anatomic and durability differentiation.

Charles C. Wykoff, MD, PhD, chairman of research at Retina Consultants of America, commented on the trial, saying, “Ollin’s Phase 1b study explores the potential for differentiation of OLN324 versus faricimab from the outset, indicating a strategy to leverage validated biologies and clear regulatory pathways to accelerate therapeutic development.”

Topline results from the study are expected in the first quarter of 2026.

An already completed single- and multiple-dose escalation phase 1 trial of OLN324 in DME conducted in China demonstrated “promising vision and anatomic improvements along with a favorable safety profile,” according to the company.

The company’s second program is OLN102, a first-in-class, TSHR/IGF-1R bispecific antibody for treatment of thyroid eye disease (TED), as well as the underlying autoimmune condition of Graves’ disease. The company notes that by inhibiting both the TSHR and IGF-1R receptors, OLN102 may offer TED patients improved safety and efficacy compared to existing medicines through more precise tissue targeting and a wider therapeutic index.

OLN102, discovered by and being developed in collaboration with VelaVigo, is expected to enter clinical development in 2026.

Who is in charge?

According to the company, it has assembled a “world-class team with proven success in end-to-end ophthalmic drug development and commercialization.” Furthermore, the company says its approach “integrates scientific insights with deep commercial market understanding and utilizes advanced ophthalmic image analysis tools to accelerate drug development and maximize therapeutic impact for patients.”

Leadership Team:

• Jason Ehrlich, MD, PhD, co-founder and CEO
• Andrew Peterson, PhD, senior vice president, biology
• Florence Lorget, PharmD, PhD, senior vice president, development sciences
• Will Liu, MHA, vice president, portfolio and program
• Varun Malhotra, MD, MBA, vice president, clinical development
• Pam Henderson, RN, BSN, vice president, clinical operations
• Jonathan Kim, MBA, vice president, corporate development
• Brian Cuneo, JD, CXO/CLO and senior partner, ARCH Venture Partners

Board of Directors:

• Jason Ehrlich, MD, PhD, board member, co-founder and CEO
• Paul Berns, board chair and managing director, ARCH Venture Partners
• Jason Coloma, PhD, co-founder, board member and CEO, Maze Therapeutics
• Alaa Halawa, board member and head of healthcare, Mubadala Ventures
• Fred Cohen, MD, DPhil, board member and founder of Monograph Capital
• Travis Murdoch, MD, co-founder, independent board member, CEO of Braveheart Bio and former CEO, HI-Bio

Scientific Advisory Board:

• Arshad M. Khanani, MD, MA, FASRS, managing partner, director of clinical research, and director of fellowship at Sierra Eye Associates and clinical professor at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine
• Atul Dandekar, chief strategy and business officer of Maze Therapeutics and Ollin co-founder
• Charles C. Wykoff, MD, PhD, director of research at Retina Consultants of Texas; chairman of research, Retina Consultants of America and deputy chair of ophthalmology for the Blanton Eye Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital
• David Eichenbaum, MD, FASRS, partner and director of research at Retina Vitreous Associates of Florida
• Margaret Chang, MD, MS, senior partner, Retinal Consultants of Sacramento; member, Medical Leadership Board of Retinal Consultants of America
• Rishi Singh, MD, staff surgeon, Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland Clinic and professor of ophthalmology at the Lerner College of Medicine in Cleveland Ohio; incoming chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at Mass General Brigham
• Veeral Sheth, MD, MBA, FASRS, partner and director of clinical trials, University Retina; clinical assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago

References:

1. Ollin Biosciences Launches with Mission to Accelerate Best-in-class Therapies in Ophthalmology. Published September 17, 2025. Accessed September 17, 2025. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250916836730/en/Ollin-Biosciences-Launches-with-Mission-to-Accelerate-Best-in-class-Therapies-in-Ophthalmology