Techbio Fall 2026 Cohort with MassBio
GUSKA
GUSKA is an AI-powered biotech developing programmable RNA-based oncolytic virotherapies for aggressive solid tumors. By combining synthetic virology, proprietary viral attenuation technologies, and generative AI, GUSKA designs therapeutic candidates intended to selectively destroy cancer cells, release neoantigens and inflammatory signals, and activate anti-tumor immunity. GUSKA is advancing a pipeline focused on hard-to-treat cancers such as…
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Nicolás Tambucho
CEO, Biotech Engineer
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Gonzalo Moratorio, PhD
Scientific Leader
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Pilar Moreno, PhD
Scientific Leader
Marendis
Marendis Therapeutics is a TechBio company that predicts cancer’s escape routes and develops first-in-class precision therapies to block them preemptively. Our signaling intelligence platform, EVOLVE, combines phosphoproteomics-driven multiomics with AI to uncover adaptive signaling mechanisms, predict drug resistance, and reveal novel therapeutic vulnerabilities.
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Dominique Yaron-Barir, MSc, MBA
Co-Founder & CEO
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Tomer Yaron-Barir, MD, PhD
Co-Founder & CSO
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Lewis Cantley, PhD
Scientific Co-Founder
Neoclease
Neoclease is a Boston techbio company using generative AI to design compact gene editors, one target at a time. Instead of adapting the same few natural CRISPR proteins to every gene, we design a custom editor for each therapeutic target, small enough to deliver in a single AAV and able to reach sites conventional editors…
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Chelsea Trengrove, PhD
CEO and Cofounder
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Vivek Gowda, MS
Head of Research and Cofounder
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Prof. Jin Liu, PhD
CTO and Cofounder
QurieGen
QurieGen is a techbio company building a “Google Maps for cells” to de-risk and accelerate drug discovery. We create AI-powered virtual cell models to understand how cells respond to treatment, behave in disease, and transition between states. What sets us apart is our integrated approach: proprietary single-cell multi-omics technologies, high-quality in-house datasets, and causal AI…
ScriptBio AI
ScriptBio AI is a causal-AI target-discovery company for diseases of aging. Roughly nine in ten drugs fail in the clinic, most often because they were aimed at the wrong target. We go after that at the root: our platform trains a foundation model on 541,607 human joint cells spanning four joint tissues, 39 donors, and…
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Patrick Ovando-Roche, PhD, MBA
Founder and CEO
Biotech Fall 2026 Cohort with SCbio
BDUK Therapeutics
BDUK-Tx develops a groundbreaking next generation loco-regional therapy for the $11B global fast-growing liver cancer market, a disease with low-efficacy and intolerable therapy. Our product, a novel combination of 3 clinically known components, is superior to current therapies with a de-risked profile. BDUK leadership is supported by world leading medical, scientific and business experts. BDUK…
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Walter Wasser, MD
Co-Founder & CEO
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Yaron Suissa, PhD, MBA
Co-Founder & COO
Iluminos Therapeutics
Iluminos Therapeutics is pioneering novel small molecule pipeline programs to address profound unmet medical needs across both central nervous system disorders and metabolic disease. Our lead clinical candidate targets Dyrk1a and its critical downstream pathways to deliver transformative, disease-modifying outcomes across four high-value indications: Alzheimer’s disease, related tauopathies, Down syndrome, and Type 1 diabetes.
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Travis Dunckley, PhD
Co-Founder
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Christopher Hulme, PhD
Co-Founder
Overture Therapeutics
Overture Therapeutics is developing antibody medicines for obesity and cardiometabolic disease. Its lead program, OVT-109, is a potential first-antibody-in-class, selective, long-acting antagonist of an emerging GPCR whose loss-of-function protects against obesity, designed to recapitulate its metabolic benefits, including reduced weight and adiposity. Overture is advancing OVT-109 toward nonhuman primate studies in Q4 2026.
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Russell Beckerman
Co-Founder & CEO
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PJ Krohl, PhD
Co-Founder, President & CSO
Syndeo Life
Syndeo Life is a Maryland-based biotechnology company and Johns Hopkins spinout developing gene therapies and biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases driven by TDP-43 dysfunction. Its lead program, AAV9-CTR, is designed to restore TDP-43 splicing repression across the transcriptome in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Syndeo is also advancing a proprietary fluid biomarker platform to support patient selection…
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Li Chin Wong
Co-founder/CSO
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Jonathan Ling
Scientific Founder/CTO
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Philip Wong
Scientific Founder
Theripio Innovations
Theripio Innovations is advancing transformative therapies for rare pediatric neurological disorders caused by single-gene mutations. Our lead program targets MEF2C Haploinsufficiency Syndrome, a lifelong disability that severely impacts a child’s ability to move, communicate, and learn. Our unique approach restores critical protein function directly within affected cells, allowing for treatments that are more precise, less…
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Christopher Cowan, PhD
Founder & Owner
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Alain Greige, MD
Co-Founder & CSO
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Kenyaria Noble, PhD
Senior Scientist & COO
About Drive
Since launching in 2022, Drive has supported 70 early-stage companies that have raised $137 million in funding and created nearly 100 jobs after completing the program. To further extend our impact on the global emerging biotech ecosystem, at a time when it is needed more than ever, Drive is now nationally focused. With this expansion, Drive is able to increase the number of participating companies for each cohort, expand the scientific focus areas, and enable more ground-breaking science to reach patients.
During each 8-week hybrid program, Drive startups receive:
- Six industry-specific curriculum modules led by experts.
- Weekly sessions with a team of mentors tailored to meet your needs.
- Networking opportunities and industry connections throughout each cohort session, leading up to in-person Demo Days in Charleston and Boston.
Drive does not take any equity from the companies we support. Our program is free to all participants.
Meet our Drive Alumni
MassBio is the driving force behind Massachusetts’ life sciences ecosystem. We support innovation and industry growth by offering best-in-class resources to over 1,800 member organizations at all stages of the biopharma lifecycle.
SCbio is the definitive, unifying leader in South Carolina’s life sciences sector, fostering authentic collaboration and innovation across academia, startups, government and established enterprises. As a member-driven economic development organization, SCbio represents an industry that generates $20.1 billion in annual economic impact and supports 63,000 jobs across South Carolina. Our members are unified by a mission to positively impact humanity through science across the ecosystem of advanced and specialty manufacturing; digital health and the data frontier; and cutting-edge health specializations. For additional information about SCbio and the life sciences industry, or to become a member, visit SCbio.org.
Get Involved
Drive invites industry professionals and students to support life science startups through mentoring, volunteering as analysts, or providing resources like consulting and technology access.
Meet our Partners
Our partners are experts in areas like drug development, business, legal strategy, and fundraising and provide critical resources, funding, and guidance to help startups thrive in the life sciences industry.
Past Drive Demo Days
Alumni Testimonials
