New York, New York, U.S., September 15, 2026
Olatec Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapies for inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, has appointed Caroline Williams-Gray, FRCP, PhD, and David Haase, MD, FMCP-M, QIA, to leadership and advisory positions. Williams-Gray, a physician-scientist and internationally recognized Parkinson’s disease investigator, has joined Olatec’s Clinical Advisory Board, while Haase, a physician and healthcare innovator, has joined the company’s Board of Directors and Clinical Advisory Board. The appointments strengthen Olatec’s clinical and scientific leadership as the company advances its research programs focused on Parkinson’s disease and related neuroinflammatory mechanisms.
Olatec Adds Parkinson’s Disease Research Expertise
Caroline Williams-Gray is a clinician scientist whose research focuses on the progression and biological mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease. She is a Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and has conducted research examining factors associated with disease progression, cognition, and neuropsychiatric complications in Parkinson’s disease. Her work has contributed to understanding how different biological and clinical factors may influence the course of the disease.
Through her appointment to Olatec’s Clinical Advisory Board, Williams-Gray is expected to contribute her expertise in Parkinson’s disease clinical research, patient characterization, disease progression, and therapeutic development. Her experience in academic research and clinical neurology provides additional scientific perspective as Olatec evaluates potential treatment strategies for neurological disorders. Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss or dysfunction of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain. Although current treatments can help manage symptoms, there remains significant research interest in therapies that could address underlying disease mechanisms and potentially modify disease progression.
David Haase Joins Board and Clinical Advisory Board
Advertisement
David Haase, MD, FMCP-M, QIA, has also joined Olatec in dual leadership roles as a member of the Board of Directors and Clinical Advisory Board. Haase is a physician-innovator whose professional work has included clinical medicine, healthcare innovation, and the development of approaches intended to integrate emerging technologies into patient care. Olatec said Haase brings experience in clinical practice, medical innovation, and healthcare strategy that can support the company’s development activities. His participation on both the Board of Directors and Clinical Advisory Board provides an opportunity to contribute to corporate strategy while also advising on clinical and medical-development considerations.
The appointment comes as Olatec continues to develop its pipeline around inflammation and neurodegenerative disease. The company has been investigating the role of inflammation in disease biology and the potential for therapeutic approaches that modulate inflammatory pathways. The addition of experienced clinical and scientific advisers can be particularly relevant for biotechnology companies advancing early-stage programs, where decisions regarding clinical trial design, patient selection, biomarkers, endpoints, and development strategy can influence subsequent research programs.
Olatec Advances Neuroinflammation Research
Olatec’s research strategy includes investigating the relationship between inflammation and neurodegenerative disease. Increasing scientific evidence has identified interactions between immune signaling, inflammatory pathways, neuronal function, and neurodegeneration as areas of interest in Parkinson’s disease research. The company has been developing OLT1177, an investigational small-molecule therapy designed to inhibit the NLRP3 inflammasome, an inflammatory signaling complex involved in innate immune responses. Olatec has investigated NLRP3 inhibition across inflammatory and neurological disease areas and has been evaluating the potential application of its approach in Parkinson’s disease. The addition of Williams-Gray provides Olatec with expertise directly related to Parkinson’s disease clinical research, while Haase adds experience spanning medicine and healthcare innovation. Together, the appointments expand the scientific and strategic capabilities available to the company as it evaluates the development of its therapeutic programs.
The appointments also reflect the broader pharmaceutical industry’s interest in neuroinflammation as a potential therapeutic target. Researchers are studying whether modulation of inflammatory pathways could influence mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative diseases. However, the clinical relevance of individual inflammatory targets and whether targeting them can modify Parkinson’s disease progression remain areas of ongoing research. For Olatec, the appointments of Caroline Williams-Gray and David Haase add specialized expertise as the company continues its biotechnology development activities. Williams-Gray’s Parkinson’s disease research background and Haase’s clinical and innovation experience provide complementary perspectives for Olatec’s clinical strategy and corporate development. As the company progresses its research programs, future clinical studies and regulatory developments will be important in determining whether its investigational approaches can demonstrate safety and therapeutic benefit in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Source: Olatec Therapeutics press release
