SCbio and MassBio Announce 10 Startups Chosen for Fall 2026 Drive Cohorts

SCbio, in collaboration with MassBio, has announced the 10 companies selected for the fall 2026 cohorts of Drive, an accelerator designed to propel breakthrough science while equipping scientific founders with the tools for long-term success. As part of a strategy to resource emerging startups wherever they are based, Drive will feature two parallel cohorts this fall: biotech, powered by SCbio, and techbio, powered by MassBio.

The biotech cohort takes on ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, a rare pediatric neurological disorder, liver cancer, and obesity. The techbio cohort combines computational platforms and therapeutic programs, with targets that include glioblastoma, pancreatic cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and drug resistance, and methods that include generative protein design, causal inference, and virtual cell modeling. Across both, the 10 companies span nearly every major modality in drug development, from small molecules and antibodies to gene editing, gene therapy, oncolytic viruses and cell therapy.

“Drive is the catalyst for these companies with therapies that will change the quality of life for the next generation of patients,” said James Chappell, Ph.D., president and CEO of SCbio. “The founders in this biotech cohort are working to solve some of the hardest problems in neuroscience, metabolic disease and cancer. We, and our experts, are ready to help get their treatments to those who need them most.”

“This cohort is tackling some of the most difficult challenges in medicine, from glioblastoma and pancreatic cancer to Parkinson’s disease. These are areas where progress has been hard-won, and these techbio founders are bringing new approaches to both the technology and therapeutics needed to address them,” said Kendalle Burlin O’Connell, CEO & president of MassBio. “Pre-seed and seed are the hardest dollars in biotech to raise right now, and good science stalls waiting for them. Drive exists to get these companies to their next milestone.”

The 10 companies are: BDUK Therapeutics, oncology and immuno-oncology; Iluminos Therapeutics LLC, neuroscience; Overture Therapeutics, biologics | cardiovascular, renal, endocrine, and metabolic; Syndeo Life, cell and gene therapy | neuroscience | rare disease; Theripio Innovations LLC, cell and gene therapy | neuroscience | rare disease | platform; GUSKA, oncology and immuno-oncology; Marendis Therapeutics Inc., immunology and inflammation | oncology and immuno-oncology; Neoclease, neuroscience | oncology and immuno-oncology | rare disease | women’s health; QurieGen, hematology | immunology and inflammation | oncology and immuno-oncology; and ScriptBio AI, immunology and inflammation | rheumatology.

Over an eight-week hybrid program running Sept. 14 through Nov. 6, these startups will participate at no cost in six expert-led, industry-specific curriculum modules, weekly sessions with a tailored team of mentors, and networking opportunities across the life sciences ecosystem.