# Blue Oak Pharmaceuticals

> Blue Oak Pharmaceuticals is a Waltham, Massachusetts biotech founded in 2016 to discover the next generation of drugs for brain disorders. Led by neurobiologist and former Eli Lilly and Sunovion executive Tom Large, the company designs novel, CNS-focused 'privileged chemotypes' and pairs them with systems-neurobiology behavioral assays and AI to hunt first-in-class small molecules for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and treatment-resistant depression. Its work runs through partnerships with phenotypic-screening firm PsychoGenics and AI drug-design company Exscientia.

- **Founded:** 2016
- **Headquarters:** Waltham, Massachusetts, United States
- **Founders:** Thomas H. Large (CEO & Co-Founder), Kerry Spear (Co-Founder)
- **Team size:** Small team (roughly 2-11 employees)
- **Products:** Privileged chemotype discovery, Systems-neurobiology drug discovery platform, CNS pipeline (discovery stage)
- **Notable:** Founded 2016 by a leadership team whose members have advanced 13 experimental drugs into and through clinical development., Founder Tom Large's prior work includes Sunovion's SEP-363856 (ulotaront), a schizophrenia candidate that received FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation., Secured drug-discovery partnerships with both PsychoGenics (phenotypic screening) and Exscientia (AI design).

## Products & services

- **Privileged chemotype discovery** — Design of novel, custom CNS-focused 'privileged chemotypes' - chemical scaffolds biased toward brain targets - used as the starting library for new drug programs.
- **Systems-neurobiology drug discovery platform** — Integration of custom chemistry with in vivo systems-neurobiology behavioral assays and brain-circuit imaging to find molecules that normalize disease-relevant behavior.
- **CNS pipeline (discovery stage)** — First-in-class programs with new mechanisms of action aimed at large unmet needs in bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and treatment-resistant depression.

## Achievements

- Founded 2016 by a leadership team whose members have advanced 13 experimental drugs into and through clinical development.
- Founder Tom Large's prior work includes Sunovion's SEP-363856 (ulotaront), a schizophrenia candidate that received FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation.
- Secured drug-discovery partnerships with both PsychoGenics (phenotypic screening) and Exscientia (AI design).
- Filed to raise up to ~$9M in new equity to advance its brain-disorder programs.

## Latest updates

- **2021-02** — Reported raising ~$9M in new equity investment (latest funding round) to advance CNS drug-discovery programs.
- **2020-09** — Announced AI drug-discovery collaboration with Exscientia to design bispecific small molecules for CNS disorders.
- **2017-12** — Announced phenotypic drug-discovery partnership with PsychoGenics using the SmartCube platform.

## Links

- Website: https://blueoakpharma.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-oak-pharmaceuticals

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/blue-oak-pharmaceuticals
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-10