Oorja Bio, a Houston-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has launched with USD 30 million in Series A financing from founding investor Westlake BioPartners, disclosing plans to initiate a Phase II clinical trial in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis this year with its lead asset, ORJ-001.
The sole investor in the round is Westlake BioPartners, whose founding managing director, Beth Seidenberg, M.D., is quoted in the company's launch announcement. No additional investors were disclosed. Oorja Bio said the capital will fund clinical advancement of ORJ-001 and support the build-out of a broader pipeline targeting fibrotic and cardiopulmonary diseases through an in-licensing strategy.
ORJ-001 is a subcutaneously administered peptide therapeutic and, according to the company, a first-in-class agonist of β1 integrin, a transmembrane protein that regulates the function of alveolar epithelial type 2 cells within the lung. The company said the asset is designed to restore AEC2 cell function, promote alveolar repair, and reduce the inflammatory and fibrotic signaling that drives pulmonary fibrosis. In preclinical studies conducted in validated animal models, ORJ-001 reversed established fibrosis and regenerated normal lung and alveolar morphology, and produced positive effects on biomarkers of tissue remodeling; those findings have not yet been replicated in human trials. Oorja Bio has received IND clearance from the US FDA and plans to initiate a Phase II trial in IPF patients before the end of 2026. The company acquired global rights to ORJ-001 through an in-licensing transaction; terms were not disclosed. Alongside the Series A announcement, Oorja also posted Phase I clinical data for ORJ-001, showing the drug demonstrated "therapeutically relevant" exposure and favorable tolerability in healthy volunteers.
Oorja Bio was co-founded by Sujay Kango, who serves as chief executive officer, and Janethe Pena, M.D., Ph.D., who serves as chief medical officer. The two previously worked together at Acceleron Pharma, where Kango served as chief commercial officer and led the commercialization of Reblozyl (luspatercept), and where Pena served as VP of pulmonary medical research. Both were involved in the clinical development and regulatory strategy for sotatercept, the first-in-class biologic approved by the US FDA for pulmonary arterial hypertension — the first PAH approval in a decade. Following Acceleron's acquisition by Merck & Co., Pena continued in a cardiovascular leadership role at Merck and supported the first BLA submission for sotatercept. She also previously served as VP of pulmonary clinical development at Bayer, where she contributed to the pivotal trials supporting approval of Adempas (riociguat) for two types of pulmonary hypertension. Kango most recently served as CEO of Tmunity Therapeutics prior to its acquisition by Gilead, and currently serves on the board of Dianthus Therapeutics (Nasdaq: DNTH). Connie Coulomb joins as chief business officer, bringing 25 years of commercial and business development experience from roles at Amgen, Biogen, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, and Merck & Co.