In Photo: Spring 2023 MassBioDrive Cohort, Luca Giani, Founder & CEO of Ilios Therapeutics

“MassBioDrive is a great educational program that helped us address many lingering questions from intellectual property protection to fundraising strategies and presentation skills. The panel discussions with the mentors of diverse expertise in the biotech industry strengthened our business and development strategies.”

Shoutian Zhu, Ph.D., CEO of PhenoTarget Biosciences, Spring 2022 Cohort

Announcing the Spring 2024 Cohort

MassBio is proud to announce its Spring 2024 (S24) cohort of groundbreaking scientists and founders. Meet them at the mixer on April 17, 2024!

Boston, MA

DoriNano aims to harness the potential of DNA origami technology to develop safe, effective, and low-cost combination nanomedicines that have precise cellular targeting with minimal effective doses of cargo for serious diseases. The company’s platform sets out to solve the past limitations of nanoparticles for delivering therapeutic cargo, offering unique advantages such as programmable size and shape, versatile cargo conjugation, precise nanospacing /stoichiometry controls, low immunogenicity, and flexible storage condition.

Boston, MA

Hestia Therapeutics, lending its name from the Greek goddess of the hearth, aims to bring inflammatory cells into the tumor microenvironment to unleash anti-tumor effects from within. Currently, more than 70% of cancer patients have tumors that are shielded from the immune cells directed by checkpoint inhibitors to kill cancer cells, leading to disease progression. Hestia is looking to provide a novel approach that will profoundly impact the lives of this segment of cancer patients. 

Boston, MA

Koi Biotherapeutics is focused on solving a fundamental challenge in CAR T-cell therapy—the lack of long-term persistence of CAR T-cells post-infusion. Koi has developed a novel CAR-Enhancer protein that selectively targets CAR T-cells and promotes their development into memory cells, thereby enhancing their activity and in vivo persistence and eliminating the need for additional engineering of CAR T-cells.

Hamid Mahini
Hamid Mahini, Ph.D.
Founder & Acting CEO
Mohammad Rashidian
Mohammad Rashidian, Ph.D.
Scientific Founder, Assistant Professor at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School
Koi Biotherapeutics

Boston, MA

Nucyrna Therapeutics aims to address the unmet medical needs in ALS and other CNS disorders through its next-gen RNA-targeting technology. Nucyrna’s oligonucleotide platform can target both Nuclear & Cytoplasmic RNA, enabling unique RNA-targeting capacities for addressing complex pathology. Demonstrating a remarkable therapeutic index profile in CNS, the company is focused on neurodegenerative diseases.

Nucyrna-Logo
Joseph Klim
Joseph Klim, Ph.D.
Director of Neuroscience 
Jonathan Watts, Ph.D.
Jonathan Watts, Ph.D.
Scientific Founder & Advisor 
Robert Brown
Robert Brown, MD, DPhil Scientific Founder & Advisor
Evangelos Kiskinis, Ph.D.
Evangelos Kiskinis, Ph.D. Scientific Founder & Advisor

San Francisco, CA

Sphinxion Therapeutics leverages decades of academic research to bring forward therapeutic options targeting the sphingolipid metabolic pathway as a treatment for rare and common fibrotic diseases. Preliminary animal models in two specific diseases have been effectively treated with AAV gene therapy.

Julie Saba
Julie Saba, MD, Ph.D.
The John & Edna Beck Chair in Pediatric Cancer Research, UCSF
Biren Shah
Biren Shah, MBA
Advisor, Revolution Medicines
Sphinxion Therapeutics

Meet our MassBioDrive 2024 Partners

Review Board
Christine Brennan, Ph.D.
Managing Director, Vertex Ventures HC
Chris Garabedian
Chairman and CEO, Xontogeny
Omar H. Khalil
Partner, Santé Ventures
Emma Lees, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President of Research and Early Development, Bristol Myers Squibb
Premier Sponsors
Curriculum Experts
Browne Consulting

Business Operations and Accounting

Browne Consulting is a premier firm specializing in life science accounting services, catering to the unique financial needs of companies operating within the biotechnology ecosystem. With a team of seasoned professionals possessing in-depth industry knowledge and expertise, Browne Consulting offers comprehensive solutions tailored to the intricacies of life science businesses and has provided operational finance and accounting for more than 100 venture-backed biotech startups. From producing GAAP financial statements, board reporting, and budgeting, to payroll, benefits and tactical human resources, our firm is committed to delivering unparalleled accuracy, efficiency, and reliability. Our accountants, controllers, and directors remain committed to a client for the duration of our engagement, ensuring a sustained high standard of support. As your company grows, we are able to dedicate additional resources to evolve our team alongside yours. We understand the dynamic nature of the life science industry and are dedicated to providing proactive guidance to help our clients navigate complex financial challenges and achieve their business objectives with confidence.

Drug Development

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue of approximately $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, improving patient diagnostics and therapies or increasing productivity in their laboratories, we are here to support them. Our global team of more than 100,000 colleagues delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD.

IP and Legal

Wilson Sonsini’s Boston office is home to one of the leading life sciences law practices in both the city and New England. The firm focuses on providing practical, business-savvy advice to entrepreneurs and investors as they build tomorrow’s companies. Wilson Sonsini’s Boston office keeps the team in close proximity to the many extraordinary growth enterprises and innovative scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and universities in and around the area. The firm’s team frequently represents companies that are significant influencers in the life sciences, technology, energy, and financial industries, among other sectors. The firm’s clients range from early-stage start-ups to public companies, as well as their board and management teams, and also represents leading venture capital and private equity firms, along with other investor institutions.

Regulatory Strategy

New regulatory requirements, a flurry of M&A activity, fierce competition, declining margins and rapidly emerging technologies create new complexities for medical device, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical companies. Further, there is growing scrutiny on drug prices along with lengthy and costly R&D cycles. Many life sciences companies are taking new approaches to achieve growth and improve performance, all while focusing on managing risk and maintaining compliance. At KPMG, we have a long track record of helping life sciences organizations define and implement practical solutions to their most complex challenges. 

Fundraising

Based in Boston, MA, Xontogeny seeks to accelerate the development of life science technologies by providing entrepreneurs with funding options as well as the leadership, strategic guidance and operational support necessary to increase the probability of success in early drug and technology development. Through a differentiated approach, the Xontogeny team partners with founding scientists and entrepreneurs to support their vision while allowing a more efficient development model that benefits company founders and early equity holders.


About MassBioDrive

MassBioDrive is an accelerator program designed to advance breakthrough science while providing opportunities to innovators from all parts of the life sciences ecosystem. Twice a year, we support a small group of groundbreaking scientists by connecting them with business fundamental curriculum, mentorship, industry connections, and equity-free prizes – without taking anything in return.

Inside MassBioDrive

During each hybrid eight-week program, we connect you with:

  • Six industry-specific curriculum modules led by experts
  • A small, dedicated group of industry mentors tailored to fit your needs
  • Networking opportunities and industry connections:
    • End-of-program Demo Day, where you’ll present your company to a curated group who can take your company to the next level
    • 1:1 targeted partnering opportunities meeting(s) with life sciences leaders
    • An equity-free stipend from Bristol Myers Squibb
    • Access to and/or resources from MassBioDrive partners including Bristol Myers Squibb, Evaluate, and Google Cloud

Delve into our past Drive cohorts.

Applicant Qualifications

You’re eligible to apply for MassBioDrive if:

  • You have a therapeutic, biologic, or platform technology that you believe can become the next big biotech startup
  • Your startup has access to the intellectual property for your science or technology, either through a license agreement or through an option agreement to negotiate a license agreement
  • Your startup has raised less than $1 million in equity-based funding
  • You will be able to participate in all cornerstone components of the program (curriculum, weekly mentoring sessions, and networking events)

MassBioDrive does not take any equity from the companies we support and our program is free to all participants.

*Fall 2024 Application to Open Late Spring

Get Involved

If applying isn’t the right fit for you, learn more ways to get involved with MassBioDrive.

FAQs & Contact Information

If you have any questions, check out our FAQs or reach out to our Innovation team.