Renowned CRO executive to help Ora scale ophthalmic clinical research capabilities and advance innovation in patient treatments

Ora, the leading global ophthalmic contract research organization (CRO), today announced the appointment of pharmaceutical industry veteran Bill Sharbaugh as Chairman of its Board of Directors. The appointment represents a strategic addition to Ora’s leadership as the company scales its ophthalmic clinical research capabilities.

Sharbaugh brings more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and is recognized as a world-class CRO operator. Most recently, he served as Chief Operating Officer at PPD (now part of Thermo Fisher), which he helped build into one of the largest and most successful CROs in the industry. Prior to joining PPD, Bill spent 17 years in the pharmaceutical industry at Merck and Bristol‐Myers Squibb.

“Ora is known as a leader in ophthalmology clinical research with a focus on patient care and safety as it delivers high-quality research data to pharmaceutical, biotech, academic, and government customers,” Sharbaugh said. “I look forward to serving as board Chairman and working closely with my colleagues and company management to help Ora reach its full potential as a trailblazer in global research and new product initiatives.”

Sharbaugh joins Ora’s Board of Directors that includes Stuart Abelson, former Ora President, Chairman and CEO, Dr. Tony Coles, former CEO of Cerevel Therapeutics, Yumanity Therapeutics, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, NPS Pharmaceuticals, and currently serves as Senior Advisor at The Vistria Group; Tami Klerr, former President, EVP & Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer at ICON; and Dr. Omar Lateef, President and CEO of Rush University System for Health and Rush University Medical Center.

“Bill's exceptional leadership, proven track record of scaling CRO operations and his deep understanding of the industry will assist our company in the next phase of growth. In addition, the resources and expertise that Vistria brings will assist and elevate our journey to help our customers develop new medicines and improve patient care,” said Ora CEO Paul Colvin.

About Ora

Ora is the world’s leading full-service ophthalmic drug and device CRO with employees in over 20 countries around the world. For over 50 years, we have proudly helped our clients earn more than 85 ophthalmic product approvals. We support a wide array of innovators and organizations, from start-ups to global pharmaceutical and device companies, to efficiently bring new products from concept to market. Ora’s unique methodologies, clinical models, and regulatory strategies have been refined and proven across thousands of global projects. For more information, please visit www.oraclinical.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250716755369/en/

Bill's exceptional leadership, proven track record of scaling CRO operations and his deep understanding of the industry will assist our company in the next phase of growth.