The next time you pick up a prescription drug, consider this: Its development likely was rooted in academic research.
University labs play a vital role in advancing drug discovery and pharmaceutical innovation. Although these discoveries provide new solutions to medical challenges, improve patient outcomes, and promote economic growth, advancing them from the lab into clinical practice remains a major challenge.
Since 2013, the Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator (BBA) at Harvard University has addressed this challenge by providing funding that supports the progression of translational biomedical research toward commercial and clinical applications — speeding discoveries from labs to new therapies for patients.
The BBA has now announced its latest cohort of awardees for 2025: 10 biomedical technologies focused on tackling urgent medical challenges, including food allergies, genetic disorders, autoimmune diseases, metabolic disorders, and cancer.
About half of the awarded projects are led by Harvard Medical School researchers. They are:
- Christophe Benoist, the Morton Grove-Rasmussen Professor of Immunohematology in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS: developing a new approach to preventing and treating autoimmune diseases, such as inflammatory bowel diseases and food allergies, by enhancing the body’s production of peripheral regulatory T cells — a type of immune cell that helps maintain immune balance and prevents the body from attacking its healthy tissues. This could offer precise control of autoimmune diseases without broadly suppressing immunity.
- Stephen Blacklow, the Gustavus Adolphus Pfeiffer Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and head of the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at HMS: creating a novel technology that can target and degrade proteins on the surface of cells, including tumor cells. This new approach works like smart scissors that only cut and eliminate disease-causing proteins.
- Constance Cepko, the Bullard Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at HMS: developing a more effective way to deliver gene therapies into cells to repair or modify cell functions and treat a wide range of diseases using a natural intercellular communication system.
- Richard T. Lee, professor of stem cell and regenerative biology in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology (SCRB) at Harvard and HMS, and Jia Liu, assistant professor at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences: developing a flexible electronic device that fits on the heart and can monitor and correct arrhythmia, a common heart problem in which the heart beats irregularly and is associated with stroke and heart failure risk.
- Amy Wagers, the HMS Forst Family Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology and head of SCRB: developing a way to “teach” the immune system to accept biological therapeutics, since immune reaction to these medicines often causes deleterious side effects and limits their use. The work could reduce adverse reactions to life-saving therapies for conditions such as hemophilia.
The BBA — established through a gift from the Blavatnik Family Foundation and managed by the Harvard Office of Technology Development — has become a strategic catalyst for translating Harvard research into commercial opportunities.
It has directly funded 178 projects in more than 115 faculty-led labs across the University’s Schools and departments. This has resulted in the creation of 29 startups that have collectively raised more than $3.1 billion in equity funding, making a significant economic impact and advancing medical progress. Eight therapeutic candidates supported by the BBA have already entered clinical trials, offering new hope to patients and caregivers worldwide.
“The Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator enables Harvard researchers to move their discoveries beyond the lab, turning science into therapeutics that have the potential to benefit patients around the globe,” said Isaac Kohlberg, senior associate provost and chief technology development officer at Harvard. “This support helps bridge the translational gap and is essential to fulfilling Harvard’s mission of societal impact.”
Adapted from an article in the Harvard Gazette.
