OccuRx

01 / WHAT IT BUILT

What the company did

OccuRx was a Melbourne, Australia-based biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of drugs to prevent the health burden of fibrosis. Founded in 2014 and led by CEO Darren Kelly, a professor at the University of Melbourne, it was spun off from Uniseed and launched in May 2015 with up to AU$6.5 million in staged venture funding from the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF), Brandon Capital Partners, and Uniseed, with preclinical proof of concept for its lead anti-fibrotic compound in ocular inflammation and fibrosis. Its primary focus was ophthalmic disorders associated with retinal fibrosis, later expanding to chronic kidney disease with the oral lead compound OCX-063 — in September 2022 it raised $16 million (led by Brandon BioCatalyst and Uniseed, plus a $1.5 million CUREator grant) to advance the CKD program after a successful healthy-volunteer Phase I trial. It was subsequently acquired by privately-held Certa Therapeutics, a fellow Australian biotech developing precision therapies for fibrotic diseases with a shared focus on GPR68, a master switch of fibrosis.

03 / EVENT HISTORY

Events in the structured record

1. 2014
   Founded

   OccuRx was founded in Melbourne, spun off from Uniseed, to develop anti-fibrotic drugs for ocular and renal disorders.

2. 2015
   Launched with AU$6.5M

   In May 2015, OccuRx launched with up to AU$6.5 million in staged funding from MRCF, Brandon Capital, and Uniseed, with preclinical proof of concept for its lead compound in ocular fibrosis.

3. 2022
   Raised $16M

   In September 2022, OccuRx raised $16 million to advance its oral lead compound OCX-063 into a chronic kidney disease clinical program after a successful Phase I trial.

4. 2024
   Acquired by Certa

   OccuRx was acquired by Certa Therapeutics, a fellow Australian fibrotic-diseases biotech with a shared focus on GPR68.