NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 10, 2025--
Eyexora announced today its launch as the first company founded to accelerate innovation in ophthalmology using a hub-and-spoke model. The company is building a global portfolio starting with collaborations in Singapore and Europe, with its initial assets in-licensed from the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI).
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Eyexora’s seed financing was led by life sciences investor ClavystBio, with participation from leading ophthalmology experts. The company’s mission is to advance a diversified portfolio of anterior and posterior segment therapeutics, as well as ophthalmic devices, in a $50 billion global market serving more than two billion patients.
Eyexora overcomes the inefficiencies of traditional drug development by centralizing scientific, clinical, regulatory, and commercial expertise in a shared operational “hub” that deploys across its subsidiaries. Each subsidiary houses a distinct therapeutic or technology program, enabling scalable growth while reducing risk.
The model is designed to balance validated mechanisms with high impact “moonshots,” replenished with clinic-ready assets sourced from global clinician-scientists and academic incubators. Eyexora is headquartered in the U.S. with plans to open global subsidiaries to best support its business model.
Eyexora was co-founded by ophthalmology leaders with decades of combined industry experience. Bill Link, PhD, Chairman of Eyexora, is a renowned ophthalmology investor and entrepreneur, having founded Versant Ventures, AMO, and Flying-L Partners. Vice Chair, CEO and Co-Founder Theresa Heah, MD, MBA, has held senior leadership positions at Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Kriya, AGTC, Sanofi-Fovea, and Bayer, and is recognized for her proven track record in late-stage ophthalmic drug development.
“Traditional ophthalmology drug development has been dominated by single-asset pipelines, making innovation slow, costly, and high-risk,” said Dr. Theresa Heah, CEO, Eyexora. “Eyexora is built to change that by bringing the right structure, global partnerships, and deep domain expertise together to deliver transformative treatments faster, smarter, and at scale.”
“We are delighted to partner with Eyexora to advance innovative ophthalmic therapies on a global scale,” said Professor Jod S. Mehta, Executive Director of the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI). “This collaboration reflects SERI’s commitment to translating cutting-edge science into clinical solutions and underscores Singapore’s role as a hub for world-class translational eye research.”
“Ophthalmology has no shortage of brilliant science, but the industry is ripe for a new structure to optimize the translation of science into patient impact,” said Dr. Bill Link, Chairman of Eyexora. “With the right team, partners, and science, Eyexora is positioned to change the innovation curve for patients globally.”
Dr. Heah will be introducing Eyexora during a presentation at the Ophthalmology Futures Forum. Dr. Link is an invited panelist, and Eyexora will host the Forum’s official evening reception on September 11, 2025, at the Hotel d’Angleterre in Copenhagen.
About Eyexora
Eyexora is a global ophthalmology company pioneering a hub-and-spoke model to accelerate innovation in eye care. By centralizing scientific, clinical, regulatory, and commercial expertise, Eyexora advances a diversified pipeline of therapies and devices through focused subsidiaries, to reduce risk, improve efficiency, and scale impact. Founded by leaders with decades of ophthalmology experience and a track record of more than 30 successful company and product launches, Eyexora partners with clinician-scientists and research institutes worldwide to bring transformative eye care solutions to patients faster and smarter. For more information, visit www.eyexora.com.
About Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI)
Established in 1997, the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) is Singapore's national research institute for ophthalmic and vision research, with a mission to conduct high-impact eye research that prevents blindness, low vision and major eye diseases common to Singaporeans and Asians. Over the past decade, SERI has conducted landmark research projects leading to tangible outcomes and patient benefits, paving the way for significant improvements in how eye diseases are treated and prevented globally. The institute has grown from a founding team of five in 1997 to a faculty of more than 250 staff, including clinician scientists, researchers, PhD students and support staff, making it one of Singapore's largest research institutes and the largest eye research institute in the Asia Pacific region.
As the research arm of the Singapore National Eye Centre, SERI is directly affiliated with the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore and Duke-NUS Medical School, undertaking vision research in collaboration with local clinical centres and major eye institutes worldwide. The institute has published an impressive 5,942 scientific papers, secured substantial external competitive grants, and as of December 2024, its faculty has received more than 1,425 national and international prizes whilst filing 188 patents. SERI ranks first globally in terms of eye publications per capita, far ahead of the US, UK and Japan, making it comparable to renowned eye institutes both regionally and internationally. For more information, visit www.seri.com.sg.
About ClavystBio
ClavystBio is a life sciences investor and venture builder established by Temasek to accelerate the commercialization of breakthrough ideas into health impact. We invest and partner with founders and entrepreneurs to launch and grow global companies from Asia. Our focus spans therapeutics, digital health and medtech, with an emphasis on first-in-class science and technology. Our collaborative space, Node 1, provides plug-and-play spaces for ventures that have graduated from incubators to progress to their next milestones. By bringing startups together, we foster a vibrant and supportive community. For more information, please visit www.clavystbio.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn.
Photo caption (from left to right): Eyexora co-founders Tom Egan (Board Member), Miling Harrington (General Counsel), Bill Link (Chair), Theresa Heah (CEO), Sam Backenroth (Chief Financial Officer), Welyn Bui (Chief Operating Officer and President). Photo credit: Eyexora
NEW YORK (AP) — It's only two weeks into the new year, and President Donald Trump has already claimed control of Venezuela, escalated threats to seize Greenland and flooded American streets with masked immigration agents.
And that's not even counting an unprecedented criminal investigation at the Federal Reserve, a cornerstone of the national economy that Trump wants to bend to his will.
Even for a president who thrives on chaos, Trump is generating a stunning level of turmoil as voters prepare to deliver their verdict on his leadership in the upcoming midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.
Each decision carries tremendous risks, from the possibility of an overseas quagmire to undermining the country's financial system, but Trump has barreled forward with a ferocity that has rattled even some of his Republican allies.
“The presidency has gone rogue,” said historian Joanne B. Freeman, a Yale University professor. She said it's something "we haven’t seen in this way before.”
Trump seems undeterred by the potential blowback. Although he doesn't always follow through, he seems intent on doubling and tripling down whenever possible.
“Right now I’m feeling pretty good," Trump said Tuesday in Detroit. His speech was ostensibly arranged to refocus attention on the economy, which the president claimed is surging despite lingering concerns about higher prices.
However, he couldn't resist lashing out at Jerome Powell, who leads the Federal Reserve and has resisted Trump's pressure to lower interest rates.
"That jerk will be gone soon,” Trump said.
Republican leaders have overwhelmingly rallied behind Trump throughout his turbulent second term. But new cracks began to appear this week immediately after Powell disclosed on Sunday that the Federal Reserve was facing a criminal investigation over his testimony about the central bank's building renovations.
Over the last year, the Justice Department has already pursued criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former national security adviser John Bolton, among other Trump adversaries.
But going after Powell, who helps set the nation's monetary policy, appeared to be a step too far for some conservatives. Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, a fierce Trump defender, was unusually critical.
“It just feels like most on Wall Street do not want to see this kind of fight,” she said during her Monday show. “The president has very good points, certainly. But Wall Street doesn’t want to see this kind of investigation.”
The Federal Reserve plays a key role in the economy by calibrating interest rates, which Trump insists should be lower. However, reducing the institution's independence could backfire and cause borrowing costs to increase instead.
At the same time, Trump has decided to expand the United States' role in complicated foreign entanglements — a seeming departure from the “America First” foreign policy that he promised on the campaign trail.
No move was more significant than the U.S. military operation earlier this month to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from his country. In the months leading up to the attack, Trump frequently insisted he was targeting Maduro because of his role in the drug trade. He has quickly pivoted to portraying the move as an economic opportunity for the U.S.
Trump has said the U.S. will start controlling the sale of some Venezuelan oil, and he declared that the South American nation will be run from Washington. He even posted a meme declaring himself the “acting president of Venezuela.”
Trump has also threatened the leadership of Cuba and Iran, while insisting that the U.S. will control Greenland “ one way or the other ” — a position that has raised questions about U.S. relations with European allies. Greenland belongs to Denmark, a NATO member.
“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES,” Trump wrote on social media on Wednesday morning. “Anything less than that is unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, Trump's immigration crackdown continues to spark confrontations in American cities. Some have turned deadly, such as when a federal agent shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three in Minneapolis.
Administration officials have said the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer acted in self-defense, accusing Good of trying to hit him with her car. But that explanation has been widely disputed by local officials and others based on videos circulating online.
The incident came after Trump dispatched 2,000 immigration agents to Minnesota, responding to reports of fraud involving the state's Somali community.
On Tuesday, Trump said the administration was targeting “thousands of already convicted murderers, drug dealers and addicts, rapists, violent released and escaped prisoners, dangerous people from foreign mental institutions and insane asylums, and other deadly criminals too dangerous to even mention.”
The Trump administration's moves have created “chaos, confusion and uncertainty,” said Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, who leads the Democratic Mayors Association.
“There’s so much uncertainty across my city right now. The ICE raids in Minneapolis have really shocked the consciousness of many of my residents, and we’re trying to do everything we can to calm that concerns and quell those fears," Bibb said. “But people don’t feel like the world is getting better. People don’t feel like the economy is getting better.”
Voters across the nation will have their next chance to weigh in on Trump's leadership at the ballot box this November, when Republicans hope to retain control of Congress for the last two years of his presidency.
Democratic campaign officials in Washington are focused largely on the economy in their early political messaging. Most voters maintain a decidedly negative view on the issue, despite Trump's rosy assessment this week.
Just 37% of U.S. adults approved of how the president is handling the economy, according to a January poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. His economic approval, which was previously a strength, has been low throughout his second term.
“Donald Trump’s visit to Michigan puts a glaring, unflattering spotlight on how he and House Republicans have failed to address the affordability crisis," said Rep. Suzan DelBene, who leads the Democrats' House campaign arm.
But some activists are frustrated that their party's leadership isn't focusing more on Trump's unprecedented power grabs.
Ezra Levin, co-founder of the leading progressive protest group Indivisible, said he expects Trump's actions to get worse as his second and final term nears its conclusion.
“Folks at the end of last year who thought he would become a typical lame duck and limp toward a midterm loss have a framework for understanding this moment that is drastically outdated,” Levin said. “Authoritarians don’t willingly give up power. When weakened and cornered they lash out.”
Trump has repeatedly insisted he's only doing what voters elected him to do, and his allies in Washington remain overwhelmingly united behind him.
Republican National Committee spokesperson Kiersten Pels predicted that voters will reward the party this year.
“Voters elected President Trump to put American lives first — and that’s exactly what he’s doing," she said. "President Trump is making our country safer, and the American people will remember it in November.”
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
