About Drive
Since launching in 2022, Drive has supported 49 early-stage companies that have raised $64 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.
Techbio Fall 2025 Cohort with MassBio
Augment Biologics
Augment Biologics, a platform-enabled therapeutics company, is unlocking new possibilities in drug surface design using our landmark discovery in glycoengineering, which we call GlycoTemplating. Led by technological founders and experienced entrepreneurs, we are creating a new class of GlycoTemplated biologics. The problem is that glycans matter, but glycoengineering is hard. By genetically encoding the desired…
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Benjamin P. Kellman, PhD
CEO and Co-Founder
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Nathan E. Lewish, PhD
Scientific Advisor and Co-Founder
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Samuel W. Canner, PhD
Founding AI Scientist
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Caitlin Brown, PhD
Business Development Advisor
InFocus Therapeutics
InFocus Therapeutics develops precision-designed RNA-targeting molecular glues to restore gene function in hard-to-treat diseases. Our proprietary, chemistry-aware generative AI platform delivers potent, selective compounds with reduced toxicity – achieving a 40% hit rate and 2 lead candidates in just 4 months. Backed by global drug hunters from the first-wave of AI Drug Discovery companies, we’re…
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Emily Fang
CEO
Luminaria
Luminaria harnesses multimodal data in human oncology to power an AI-driven platform that decodes therapeutic resistance, accelerates clinical trials, and transforms target discovery. Founded by leading oncologists, data scientists, and biotech executives, Luminaria integrates pathology, radiology, clinical, and genomic data to reveal the hidden biology of tumors. The platform predicts patient responses to antibody-drug conjugates…
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Albert Kim, MD
Co-Founder
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Alice Ruo Wei Tang, MD
Co-Founder
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Yannik Heise
Co-Founder
Meta-Flux
Meta-Flux is an AI-first drug-discovery simulations platform that ingests multi-omics and literature data to pinpoint novel disease pathways, rank high-confidence targets, forecast mechanistic toxicities, and generate decision-ready dossiers that de-risk preclinical and early-clinical programs.
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Lee Sherlock
CEO
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Brendan Martin
CTO
Reflector Bio
Reflector leverages in silico phenotypic screening to identify small-molecule hits with high precision. By integrating different assays and readouts across the screening cascade, Reflector improves hit quality and likelihood, moving any R&D workflow beyond guess-and-check of chemical libraries.
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Yuge Ji
CEO
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Alejandro Tejada Lapuerta
CTO
Biotech Fall 2025 Cohort with SCbio
Altera Therapeutics
Altera Therapeutics is an early stage company developing a first-in-concept cell-penetrating antibody drug conjugates. Current antibody drug conjugates have demonstrated potent effects in the clinic, but serious toxicities and the few generalizable ADC targets across tumor types limit the true potential of these therapies. Our ADC technology leverages a new mechanism of action to tackle…
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Anjali Ramaswamy
COO, Lead Entrepreneur
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Elias Quijano
Scientific Co-Founder
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Peter Glazer
Scientific Co-Founder
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Zaira Ianniello
Scientific Co-Founder
Aquilus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Aquilus Pharmaceuticals is dedicated to developing a first-in-class medication for neurodegenerative diseases, with a primary focus on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Our mission is to make a meaningful impact on patients’ lives by advancing therapeutics in this challenging field.
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Roy Sucholeiki, MD
VP and CMO
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Irving Sucholeiki
President and CEO
Neurodexis11 Therapeutics
Neurodexis11 is a biotechnology company developing first-in-class HDAC11 inhibitors to treat Alzheimer’s disease and other CNS disorders. Our lead candidate, PB151, is a selective, brain-penetrant, and orally bioavailable compound that targets neuroinflammation and gene regulation — mechanisms not addressed by current therapies . Backed by strong translational data in Alzheimer’s models and human cells, we…
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Darcy Tocci, MBA, PharmD Candidate
Co-Founder & CEO
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Dr. Changning Wang, PhD
Co-Founder, Academic Advisor
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Dr. Martin (Can) Zhang, MD, PhD
Co-Founder, Academic Advisor
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Dr. Yueuang Zhang, MBBS
COO
NeuroHope Therapeutics, Inc.
NeuroHope Therapeutics, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company co-founded by Clemson University bioengineering faculty. NeuroHope specializes in developing nanotherapeutics that can locally deliver drugs to damaged, diseased, or degenerating regions of the central nervous system. Each year, acute spinal cord injury (SCI) impacts approximately 17,000 new patients in the United States and 250-500,000 worldwide, while acute…
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Ken Webb, PhD
President
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Jeoung Soo Lee, PhD
Chief Technology Officer
Noara Therapeutics
Noara Therapeutics is developing a next-generation RNA platform that revolutionize human health through our groundbreaking technology.
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Mehdi Pirouz, PhD
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder
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Juan Cruz Cuevas, PhD
fractional Chief Business Officer and Co-Founder
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Farnaz Shamsi, PhD
Co-Founder and member of Scientific Advisory Board
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 more than 1,000 organizations employing more than 87,000 professionals. 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.
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
