We recently sat down with the five biotech companies accepted into the Spring 2026 Drive cohort to learn more about their science, their “ah-ha” moments, and how Drive is changing the trajectory of their business. First up is Harmonia Therapeutics, an oncology company developing DUET-ADCs™, a novel class of logic-gated antibody-drug conjugates. We spoke with CEO Brett Tingley, PhD, who co-founded Harmonia with Mark Grinstaff, PhD.
What problem are you obsessed with solving—and why does it matter right now?
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are redefining the standard of care in oncology, yet they face a staggering failure rate (>80%) in early clinical trials due to systemic toxicity. While ADCs are designed to be “magic bullets,” current versions rely on many of the same payloads that kill healthy tissue along with tumors.
As the industry rushes toward new indications, applying the same payloads to new antibodies, we’ve hit a ceiling where potency is limited by safety. At Harmonia Therapeutics, we are breaking this efficacy vs. safety tradeoff by reimagining ADC architecture. Our novel payloads and linkers remain inert until they sense a unique cancer-cell signature. By ensuring activation occurs only at the tumor site, we eliminate off-target toxicity to finally unlock the full therapeutic potential of ADCs for patients with advanced disease.
What’s a recent moment that made you think, ‘this could really work’?
The “this could really work” moment was a mix of industry engagement and our own data. Talking to ADC experts and pharma partners, it became clear that the rest of the field is approaching this problem from the same direction. Everyone is looking for “cleaner” targets that don’t actually exist or just doubling down on more toxic payloads. This is basically the opposite of our thesis. We accept that healthy cells will express these same targets and that some of the drug will inevitably end up in them, so we focus on making the payload smart enough to know the difference.
The real turning point was seeing the recent results from our platform. While traditional ADCs kill any cell expressing the target protein, our DUET-ADC™ formulations showed 19,000-fold greater potency against cancer cells while sparing healthy ones. Seeing that kind of margin in the lab made it clear that we have a responsibility to get this to patients. It would be unconscionable not to see this through.
Since joining Drive, what’s one shift in your thinking, strategy, or network that’s had a real impact on your company?
It’s hard to pick just one, but if I had to nail it down, the biggest shift has been moving from a broad “platform company” mindset to a disciplined business strategy. Drive really pushed us to get specific about how we prioritize our assets and how to map out the exact value inflection points we need as fundable milestones. They gave us the tools and confidence to handle things that used to feel daunting as first time founders, like negotiating tech transfer or building out a long-term business plan.
The network side has been just as impactful. I feel like my professional connections have essentially doubled in just the past few weeks. It’s not just our “MassBio SAB,” but the seasoned KOLs and investors they have introduced us to. Having that direct line to people who can give us real world advice on drug development, pharma partnerships, and fundraising has completely changed our trajectory.