The title of article is “OBM1701 Alleviates Choroidal Neovascularization in Experimental Animals Via Suppressing the Expression of HIF-1α in Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells”. Article can be found from the website of https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12369909/.

Results not only demonstrate the mechanism of actions (MOA) of how OBM1701 works but also shows topically applied OBM1701 can effectively diffuse into and residue in the retina without the need being injected into vitreous cavity of the eye. All of the current approved anti-wet-AMD drugs require to be repeatedly administrated by intravitreal injection that can cause some side effects, such as temporary discomfort, redness, and increased floaters in the vision.

The superior advantages of possible route of administration by giving with eye drops of OBM1701 over the current drugs strongly further indicates its tremendously high commercial value of developing OBM1701 into a novel therapeutic for wet-AMD patients and provide better care to the patients.

SP is one of the most active corporate law firms, advising Australian public and private companies in the area of capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, corporate compliance, mining and resources, technology, biotechnology and life sciences.

OBM has engaged SP to assist the company for reviewing the current corporate structure and status, advising the legal requirement for capital raising and preparing for IPO.  It is OBM’s plan to explore the opportunities to become a public-listed company on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) to accelerate the development of OBM’s leading projects to provide eye disease-related patients and society with advanced and favourable ways of treatment.

ACRO Biomedical’s Chairman & CEO Dr Hsieh (left) & OBM’s CSO Dr Jiang (right) met for business discussion at 2025 BioAsia Taiwan Conference.

ACRO Biomedical’s Chairman & CEO Dr Hsieh (middle right) & CT Group Chairman Tran Kim Chung (middle left) sign a licensing deal during the 2025 BioAsia Taiwan Conference.

Bio-Asia Taiwan Conference is the Asia’s largest biotech conference and networking event.  OBM again attended this event and its CSO, Dr Jiang, was invited to the section, Australia-Taiwan Clinical Trials Forum on 23^rd July2025 chaired by Australian Office in Taiwan, MTP Connect, BPIPO and Taiwan BioIndustry Organization.  Dr Jiang met with Dr Hsieh, the Chairman & CEO of ACRO Biomedical CO., Inc. (“ACRO”), at the conference and discussed how to further strengthen the partnership between two companies.

During the conference, OBM’s partner, ACRO Biomedical CO., Inc. also held a press conference on 24^th July 2025 and announced that ACRO has signed a licensing deal with Vietnam’s CT Group for the market rights in 10 ASEAN countries for its biocompatible artificial cornea product.  Established in Ho Chi Minh City in 1992, CT Group is one of the Vietnam’s leading technology and innovation corporations which was.  This is a second such agreement followed by the similar one previously signed with OBM for Australian market and other territories.

Professor Mark Daniell is an ophthalmic surgeon and is working to develop a tissue-engineered cornea. He leads the corneal research team at the Centre Eye Research Australia (CERA) as the Head of Corneal Research.  He is also a senior consultant at Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, serving as Head of the Corneal Service since 2011, and overseeing a team of surgeons performing corneal transplantation for Victoria.

Professor Mark Daniell is the Founding Chair of the ANZ Corneal Society and Medical Director of the Lions Eye Bank.  He is the former President of RANZCO (2017-2018), the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists, and served on the RANZCO board for 12 years, with roles including Vice President and Treasurer. He was Chair of the Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia from 2005 to 2011. He is President of the World Ophthalmology Congress in 2022.

Professor Mark Daniell has participated various research projects, including development of a tissue-engineered cornea, investigation of the cellular basis of corneal graft rejection and a principal investigator of an international phase 3 clinical trial on a drug candidate in patients with pterygium, a non-cancerous, fleshy growth of tissue on the eye’s surface that starts at the clear part of the white of the eye (conjunctiva) and can grow onto the cornea.

Our strategic partner and major shareholder, ACRO Biomedical Co., Ltd., a public listed company on Taiwan Stock Exchange and one of the Taiwan’s leading biomedical companies, receives the approval for its biocompatible artificial cornea, ABCcolla Collagen Ophthalmic Matrix, from Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), with registration number MOHW Medical Device No. 008155 (Picture). Following years of rigorous clinical trials, this collagen ophthalmic matrix is now approved for use in corneal reconstruction procedures, benefiting patients suffering from corneal melting, trauma, infections, and other severe corneal injuries. It can be used as a corneal graft substitute in a variety of transplant and reconstruction surgeries.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 20 million people worldwide suffer from corneal blindness due to injury or infection. However, only about 100,000 corneal transplants are performed annually, leaving a massive gap between supply and demand. A report from Global Market Insights, Inc. estimates that the global corneal transplant market will reach $500 million in 2024, with a projected growth to $1 billion by 2033, driven by a 7.59% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2025 to 2033.

This novel biocompatible artificial cornea provides a safe and effective alternative to common human donor corneas.  Though the number of donor corneas may be sufficient for the need by patients in most of the developed countries, it is required to consider and better prepare for any possible sudden abruption of donation by unexpected incident, such as the COVID-19 outbreak.

OBM owns the market rights of a certain territories, including Australia, for ACRO’s biocompatible artificial cornea product.  This approval in Taiwan paves a road for OBM to seek approvals from its licensed territories by properly completing the required regulatory steps and enable OBM to become a clinical-stage biopharma company with commercial product in sight.

Roger has more than 30 years’ experience as a CPA in senior finance roles including CFO and Company Secretarial services for both listed and unlisted entities across a variety of industries including pharmaceutical and biotech.

Prior to joining Oculus, Roger was CFO and Company Secretary for a number of SME’s both listed and unlisted including Bio-Gene Technology Ltd and Patrys Ltd.  In these roles he was responsible for all financial affairs and corporate administration as well as assisting in investor relations activities.

OBM recently attended Australias premier biotechnology conference in Brisbane – represented by CEO Andrew Coloretti & Non-Executive Director Michelle Gallaher. The conference included valuable one-on-one private meetings with industry executives and service providers. Importantly it was an opportunity to build brand awareness, network with delegates and exchange information about OBM.

The project aims to develop a less-invasive anti-VEGF therapy “SwitchGene” that patients can self-administer through eye drop to treat diabetic eye diseases. Existing anti-VEGF therapeutic paradigms require ongoing intraocular injections, which are costly and carry the risk of injury and infection. This causes undue stress and discomfort to patients and places a strain on public healthcare systems. To address the clinically unmet needs for managing diabetic eye disease, the project has pioneered a strategy to install an anti-VEGF gene in the back of the eye through adeno-associated virus (AAV) that can be initiated (“switched on”) on demand via an easy-to-use eye drop.

The collaboration aims to validate the “SwitchGene” technology in clinically relevant animal models of diabetic retinopathy and related retinal neovascularization.

CERA Managing Director Professor Keith Martin said “the partnership with Oculus BioMed would accelerate the pace of research by CERA’s Genetic Engineering team, led by Associate Professor Rick Liu, to develop ‘next generation’ gene therapies that deliver tailored treatments to people living with eye disease”.

“This new collaboration will enable us to further refine our technology in the lab and move closer toward our goal of taking the therapy to clinical trial.’’

OBM CEO Andrew Coloretti said “We are extremely excited to enter into this collaboration developing a safe and targeted approach for eye gene therapy.” This is a world leading initiative and compliments our existing diversified ophthalmic portfolio” said.

Both parties will jointly fund the project with a steering committee of equal representation established to oversee the research, risk management and intellectual property development and protection.

 Michelle, is an award-winning medical technology and digital health entrepreneur with a focus in applying artificial intelligence and big data in the development of novel software for the clinical trials industry. With more than 25 years of experience in biotechnology and MedTech, Michelle has led and founded a number of private and publicly listed companies.

As the previous CEO of the ASX-listed biotechnology industry association in Victoria, Australia, Michelle also has extensive experience in government affairs at an international, national and state level.