Investment intended to fuel advancement of novel Platelet-derived Regenerative Biologic therapy for Sjogren’s disease dry eye and other ocular surface diseases
WATERTOWN, Mass., Jan. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Stellular Bio, the pioneer of Platelet-derived Regenerative Biologic (PRB) therapeutics, is pleased to announce the closing of its Series 1 financing round.
Led by Ziff Capital Partners and joined by Cockrell Interests and others, the round will help advance Stellular’s lead candidate, STLR-201, into clinical testing as a treatment for Sjogren’s disease dry eye.
Sjogren’s disease (SjD) is a complex multisystem autoimmune disorder affecting roughly 4 million patients in the United States alone.1 75 percent of SjD patients say the eye dryness and irritation that is a hallmark of the disease has a major or moderate impact on their lives2. Left untreated, SjD and other severe ocular surface diseases can lead to corneal damage and vision loss.
Derived from platelet-progenitor stem cells, STLR-201 is designed to simultaneously modulate the multiple cell and tissue types that are affected in ocular surface disease. This approach is inspired by a robust body of research3 demonstrating the efficacy of autologous blood products, such as platelet-rich plasma, in treating ocular conditions. These treatments, however, must be manufactured separately for each patient from a sample of their own blood — a process that can be cumbersome, inconsistent, and expensive.
STLR-201 and other PRB therapeutics, on the other hand, have the potential to offer a consistent, scalable, off-the-shelf option with the quality standards of approved medicines.
“PRBs are Goldilocks-like treatments that combine the regenerative potential and inherent polypharmacology of plasma and cell therapies with the reproducibility and economy of scale of traditional biologics,” says Stellular CEO Derek Adams. “We believe they will enable us to offer important new options for a large number of patients with multifaceted conditions like ocular surface disease, chronic wounds, osteoarthritis, and more.”
About Stellular Bio
Stellular Bio is dedicated to expanding the reach of regenerative medicine with its pioneering platelet-derived regenerative biologic (PRB) therapy. PRB harnesses the same regenerative potential that underlies bespoke autologous treatments such as platelet-rich plasma, but in the form of a mass-manufactured therapeutic that is standardized, off-the-shelf, and lower cost, with the potential to reach a broad range of patients. Stellular has demonstrated the efficacy of PRB in animal models and has established scalable manufacturing methods to enable clinical trials and commercial production. Stellular is pursuing initial clinical proof of concept in Sjogren’s disease dry eye and aims to subsequently expand into the broader ocular surface disease market and beyond. For more information, visit stellularbio.com.
2) Sjögren’s Foundation Living with Sjögren’s patient survey
3) Avila et al, Br J Opthamol, 2019; Allam, I.Y., Delta Journal of Ophthalmology 2021, 22:251–258; Wróbel-Dudzinska et al., J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12, 3126; Sanchez-Avila et al., J. Ocular Pharm. and Ther. 2017
Contact
info@stellularbio.com
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SOURCE Stellular Bio
