Ochre Bio, addressing the complexities of liver disease

Ochre Bio was born out of two enduring passions: a fascination with liver disease that began during my early work in South Africa, and a deep belief in the power of big human data. I first began exploring genetic susceptibility traits in alcoholism, which led me to the liver. Then, the completion of the Human Genome Project sparked a lifelong obsession with digitising human 

biology. After 20 years of working with human data in liver disease – and seeing very little progress in chronic liver disease – I decided it was time to do things differently. 

Tell us about the business – what it is, what it aims to achieve, who you work with, how you reach customers and so on? 

Ochre exists for a single reason - to make therapies that do away with the need for liver transplants. All chronic liver disease results in scarring and cirrhosis, and there is no treatment for cirrhosis but a transplant. We do things a little differently, by focusing on getting around key R&D bottlenecks. For example, we have built the world’s largest human liver dataset and human liver labs. We even study donor human livers that we keep alive on machines. There is AI in there, but the most important ingredient is the vast amounts of human data we’re generating, that we believe supersedes anything that’s been done before. 

How has the business evolved since its launch?

We started Ochre in 2019 with a small team and a big idea: that studying human liver tissue directly could shortcut traditional failures in drug discovery. Since then, we’ve grown into a global company with teams in Oxford, New York, and Taipei – because doing human-focused science means going where the work can be done. Recently, we’ve also made a major scientific pivot: shifting focus from early-stage disease to late-stage conditions like fibrosis and liver regeneration. It’s been a big change – one that’s meant evolving our platform, team, and partnerships – but it brings us closer to the patients who need solutions most. 

Tell us about the working culture at Ochre Bio? 

Biotech is built on failure. Progress often means failing a thousand times before getting it right – and that can be tough. That’s why we’ve built a culture around resilience in failure. From day one, we’ve lived by three laws that guide how we work. Clarke’s Law: stay ambitious, don’t fear failure. Murphy’s Law: things will go wrong, you will fail - so build systems that bounce back fast. Wheaton’s Law: don’t be a d*ck when others fail you. Implicit in the last law is zero tolerance for tribalism between our teams, and a focus on diversity as an important part of our resilience. 

How are you funded? 

We’ve raised over $110M to date – that includes $40M in equity from a mix of deep tech and biotech investors like Khosla Ventures, Hermes-Epitek, and LifeForce Capital, and more than $70M in non-dilutive funding through strategic partnerships.

Two of our key collaborations are with GSK and Boehringer Ingelheim, and both go well beyond traditional funding. 

With GSK, we’re working on a multi-year data license agreement where they can access our computational biology, cellular, and human organ platforms. Together, we’re generating data from real human livers to help improve AI models and refine drug target selection. 

With Boehringer Ingelheim, the focus is on regenerative medicine for late-stage liver disease, especially cirrhosis – an area where no approved therapies exist. It’s a multi-target, multi-year partnership that could ultimately exceed $1B in value. 

What has been your biggest challenge so far and how have you overcome this?

Our biggest challenge? The pivot. In 2024, we fundamentally shifted our focus from early-stage liver disease to tackling fibrosis and regeneration in late-stage disease. It meant rebuilding our R&D strategy, restructuring how we fund the work, and supporting the team through significant change. It wasn’t easy – we changed a third of the company – but it was the right call. Now we’re operating with more clarity, momentum, and alignment than ever before. 

What’s in store for the future? 

Everything we’re doing right now is about getting to the clinic. We’ve built the platform, validated the science, and formed the right partnerships – now it’s time to deliver medicines. Ochre has always been about making therapies, not just data. That’s the future we’re building. 

What one piece of advice would you give other founders or future founders?

Be careful with advice. It’s easy to fall into outsourced thinking – assuming someone else knows better. But what worked for them might not work for you. One of our investors, Vinod Khosla, often says the best founders learn how best to ignore advice. That might sound arrogant, but I think he’s right. It takes conviction to trust your instincts – and even more to keep going when people think you’re wrong. That’s what separates direction from drift. 

And finally, a more personal question! What’s your daily routine and the rules you’re living by at the moment? 

I like a slow start when I can get away with it. There’s a Scottish phrase, ‘hurkle-durkling’, which means “to lie in bed or lounge about when one should be up and about, essentially embracing a slower, more relaxed start to the day”. I work hard and often late, but I find mornings are hell. I am categorically not a morning person. It doesn’t matter how comfy the bed is – letting the world into my brain when I wake up feels like a cosmic insult. So, a good Saturday morning for me involves staying in bed, reading, and recharging. 

My rule these days is simple, don’t confuse movement with progress. In science – and startups – it’s dangerously easy to look busy while going nowhere. I try to stay focused on what actually matters.

Quin Wills is the founder and CSO at Ochre Bio.