Our Founder & CEO

Hanlin Li

I was born in a coastal city in China, where my interest in chemistry and biology began during middle and high school. Fascinated by the ocean, I often wondered whether marine organisms contained bioactive compounds that could be developed into medicines to benefit human health. This curiosity led me to pursue Marine Science at university.

During my undergraduate studies, I joined Hokkaido University in Japan as an exchange student, focusing on marine natural products research. I extracted bioactive compounds from marine organisms and investigated the effects of steroid compounds on neuronal cells using the SH-SY5Y cell model. This experience further strengthened my interest in biological and pharmaceutical research.

I later completed a master’s degree in marine microbiology at Hokkaido University, where I studied bacterial culture techniques and antibacterial mechanisms. This work provided me with a strong foundation in microbiology and experimental research.

After graduating in 2019, I remained in Japan and transitioned into the field of nucleic acid therapeutics, inspired by the rapid progress and success of mRNA technologies. I joined Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan), where I worked on mRNA stability projects. My responsibilities included mRNA synthesis, purification, and analytical characterization using HPLC and LC–MS. I also gained hands-on experience with enzymatic ligation technologies to improve mRNA purity.

I then joined Liid Pharmaceuticals (Osaka, Japan), where I helped establish a solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis platform and synthesized and purified thousands of antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) sequences to support both in vitro and in vivo studies.

Later, I moved to Shanghai and joined Porton Pharma CDMO (Shanghai, China) as a Senior Research Scientist and Project Manager. There, I led multiple ASO, siRNA, and mRNA projects, covering process optimization, impurity control, conjugation programs—including peptide–oligonucleotide and antibody–oligonucleotide conjugates—CMC documentation, scale-up activities, and stability studies.

Through hands-on experience in nucleic acid R&D and CDMO project management across both Japan and China, I repeatedly observed overseas teams struggling with CDMO selection, communication barriers, and hidden technical risks. I developed a deep understanding of the needs of oligonucleotide drug developers, as well as the technical strengths and operational realities of different CDMO and CRDMO partners in China.

Based on this experience, I founded Oligolink to help global oligonucleotide drug developers identify the right CDMO and CROMO partners, accelerate development timelines, and reduce manufacturing and execution risks.