Mission BioCapital Announces Opening of $4 Million 2026 Platinum Program Contest and 2025 Platinum Ticket Investments

— Up to eight winners to receive up to $500,000 each in pre-seed funding, incubator space, equity for discovery services, and expert mentorship—

— New sponsors AbbVie, TIAP, Connecticut Innovations, CCRM, and Norton Rose Fulbright join existing partners Mission BioCapital, Ono Venture Investment, Alloy Therapeutics, HitGen, Goodwin, and van den Boom & Associates to support high-potential biotechnology innovation around the globe —

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Mission BioCapital (MBC), in partnership with sponsors AbbVie, Ono Venture Investment (OVI), Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners (TIAP), Connecticut Innovations, Alloy Therapeutics, HitGen, CCRM, Goodwin, Norton Rose Fulbright, and van den Boom & Associates announced today that applications are open internationally for the 2026 Platinum Program. MBC's Platinum Program aims to advance high-potential life sciences start-up companies by providing pre-seed funding, global laboratory space, expert mentorship, and discovery services to accelerate their launch and initial development. Early-stage biotechnology innovators from around the globe are invited to apply.

"Since 2022, Mission BioCapital's Platinum Program has helped launch 24 exceptional early-stage founders, deploying a total of $11.5 million in pre-seed funding and hands-on support to turn breakthrough ideas into medical breakthroughs," said Jennifer Griffin, Ph.D., Partner, Mission BioCapital. "We're thrilled to celebrate our alumni's ongoing achievements and excited to extend Platinum Program access to the next wave of biotech visionaries from around the world."

The 2026 Platinum Program will award each of up to eight winning start-ups:

• A guaranteed lab bench in one of MBC's 31 affiliated incubators located in 22 cities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Japan
• Up to $500,000 of pre-seed capital from MBC, AbbVie, OVI, TIAP, and Connecticut Innovations
• Drug discovery services from Alloy Therapeutics and HitGen to enable companies with a derisked path to lead candidate
• Consulting support from any affiliates within the CCRM group of companies
• General counsel, intellectual property, and finance and accounting services from Goodwin, Norton Rose Fulbright, and van den Boom & Associates
• Strategic scientific and business development mentorship from experts at MBC, AbbVie, OVI, Alloy Therapeutics, HitGen, CCRM, and other companies across MBC's corporate network

MBC will be accepting applications between April 1 and May 15, 2026, and winners will be announced in Summer 2026. To apply, please visit: www.missionbiocapital.com/platinum-program. Only non-confidential information will be required for application.

"AbbVie Ventures is committed to investing in science, people, and ecosystems to empower today's entrepreneurs to shape tomorrow's cures," said Christian Schubert, Ph.D., Vice President and Global Head of AbbVie Ventures. "We are pleased to join the 2026 Platinum Program to help these entrepreneurs access the catalytic funding, scientific and operational expertise, lab infrastructure, and services that founders need to turn novel discoveries into transformational therapies."

"Joining Mission BioCapital's Platinum Program is a natural extension of Connecticut Innovations' commitment to backing science-driven entrepreneurs at an early stage," said Brian Dowd, Director, Investments at Connecticut Innovations. "We look forward to collaborating on the 2026 Platinum Program to help founders tackle early milestones and move novel science rapidly from concept to company."

"Breakthrough therapies start with bold, early science," said Prakash Gowd, Interim CEO at TIAP. "Through our partnership with Mission BioCapital and the Platinum Program, we're helping early-stage biotech teams in Canada's leading health sciences cluster access the capital, expertise, and networks needed to accelerate development and turn innovation into real patient impact."

Mission BioCapital also announced today the following nine winners of the 2025 Mission BioCapital Platinum Program, investing a total of $4 million and providing incubator space and mentorship, in partnership with Eli Lilly and Company, OVI, Alloy Therapeutics, HitGen, Goodwin, and van den Boom & Associates:

Beech Biotech (incubated in Copenhagen, Denmark) is developing "Mother Only" monoclonal antibodies that do not cross the placenta to treat preeclampsia and other severe complications of pregnancy.

Enodia Therapeutics (Paris, France) is developing selective, orally available small molecule therapies that inhibit Sec61 to enable targeted protein degradation at the point of synthesis across oncology and immune-mediated diseases.

Fletcher Biosciences (Cambridge, MA) is developing precision immunotherapies that selectively target disease-associated immune cells to unlock treatments with best-in-class specificity and safety.

Laurel Biotherapeutics (Cambridge, MA) is developing next-generation antibody therapeutics that target pathways in cardiovascular dysfunction, inflammation, and metabolic diseases.

Overture Therapeutics (Cambridge, MA) is engineering precision antibody-based therapies for obesity and its co-morbidities by targeting root drivers of metabolic dysfunction to promote long-term weight loss and cardiometabolic benefits.

ResNovas Therapeutics (San Francisco, CA) is developing targeted protein degradation therapies for highly validated but historically undruggable targets in oncology and beyond.

Seen Therapeutics (San Francisco, CA) is using advanced structural and computational proteomics to develop antibody-driven cancer immunotherapies that precisely target cancer-specific epitopes.

Skape Bio (Copenhagen, Denmark) is designing miniprotein therapeutics that unlock G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and other challenging drug targets that have remained out of reach.

State 4 Therapeutics (New Haven, CT) is developing once-daily oral therapies designed to work synergistically with incretins to promote durable, high-quality weight loss and metabolic health improvements.

About the Mission BioCapital Platinum Program
Mission BioCapital (MBC) established the Platinum Program in 2022 to enable entrepreneurs with breakthrough technologies from diverse backgrounds to quickly launch new companies. Platinum Program winners receive guaranteed laboratory space at MBC's partner incubators in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Japan; access to world-class experts; lead candidate-enabling drug discovery services; and seed capital to quickly develop scientific data needed to obtain subsequent funding rounds. The program invites innovators from around the world, including academic scientists, to submit breakthrough biomedical innovations that have the potential to advance patient care. In its first four years, the Mission BioCapital Platinum Program has deployed a total of $11.5 million, incubator space, and business mentoring to 24 life sciences companies located across a lab network spanning 31 incubators in 22 cities worldwide. For more information about the Mission BioCapital Platinum Program, please visit www.missionbiocapital.com/platinum-program.

About Mission BioCapital
Mission BioCapital is a venture capital firm focused on making pivotal early-stage investments in life sciences companies. We support our portfolio companies through a unique combination of shared lab space, capital investment, and access to strategic partners. With offices in the leading life sciences clusters in Cambridge, MA, Copenhagen, and San Francisco, Mission BioCapital is dedicated to helping entrepreneurial scientists build successful companies, from idea to exit. Learn more at missionbiocapital.com.

Contact:
Mary Moynihan
M2Friend Biocommunications
+1 (802) 951-9600
[email protected]

SOURCE Mission BioCapital