Study will evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics (PK) of OCT-980 in healthy volunteers
Initiation of the study marks Octant’s transition to a clinical-stage company
Emeryville, CA – March 10, 2026 – Octant, Inc. (“Octant”), a clinical stage drug discovery company developing correctors for protein misfolding diseases, today announced that the first healthy volunteer has been dosed in its Phase 1/2 clinical study evaluating OCT-980, an investigational oral small molecule aiming to improve low-light vision and halt disease progression in patients with rhodopsin-associated autosomal dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa (RHO-adRP).
“We’re grateful to the healthy volunteers, investigators, and Octant team who made this day possible,” said Sri Kosuri, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Octant. “Initiating dosing is a major step forward for Octant as we mark our transition to a clinical stage company, and we’re committed to generating high-quality clinical data that can support safe, rapid progress of OCT-980 into patient studies.”
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited retinal disorders that cause progressive vision loss and can lead to blindness. RHO-adRP is among the most prevalent and severe forms of the disease. Many RHO variants result in misfolded and mistrafficked proteins that fail to properly localize within photoreceptor cells, leading to progressive vision loss and ultimately blindness. There are currently no approved treatment options for the thousands of individuals affected.
OCT-980 aims to address certain forms of RP at their source by correcting the underlying protein misfolding and restoring proper cellular trafficking of rhodopsin. As an oral medication, it has the potential to provide a convenient, patient-friendly treatment option for this severe sight-threatening disease.
The study is comprised of a Phase 1a, open now and being conducted in Australia; and a Phase 1b/2 to be conducted in the US. The Phase 1a portion of the study is a single dose, double-masked, placebo-controlled ascending dose escalation (SAD +/- food effect) to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of OCT-980 in healthy volunteers. Data from this phase is intended to support the advancement of dosing into individuals with RHO-adRP. The Phase 1b/2 study is planned as a multi-center study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, PK, PD, and efficacy of OCT-980 in participants with a genetic diagnosis of RHO-adRP. More information about the study is available on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT07408232).
Octant is a clinical stage drug discovery company developing correctors for protein misfolding diseases. Octant’s platform, The Navigator, combines high-throughput synthetic biology, generative chemistry, and AI/ML to discover and develop therapeutics against complex cellular mechanisms in human cells. OCT-980 is a small molecule corrector for RHO associated autosomal dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa (RHO-adRP), and Octant’s pipeline includes several other programs across other rare diseases and oncology. For more information visit www.octant.bio.