On November 10, 2025, hundreds gathered in the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Research Center for the “MSK Innovation with Lasting Impact Summit: Entrepreneurship & Innovation at MSK,” at an event that brought together laboratory and clinical researchers, digital health innovators, healthcare executives, and investors.
The Innovation Summit provided an opportunity to highlight MSK’s institution-wide commitment to innovation, as well as some key activities and achievements — including the institution’s recent recognition by Fast Company as #9 on its list of the “100 Best Workplaces for Innovators.”
This was MSK’s third Innovation Summit this year, a reflection of how important innovation is to MSK’s mission and 2030 strategic plan. As Anaeze Offodile II, MD, MPH, Chief Strategy Officer, notes, “Our Innovation with Lasting Impact Summits showcase how MSK’s commercialization ecosystem brings breakthrough ideas out of the lab and into the lives of patients. Every milestone we reach is a testament to our community’s courage and curiosity, and to our collective vision: driving lasting impact for the future of cancer care.”
Spotlighting MSK’s Expanding Commercialization Ecosystem
“Our recent Innovation Summit brought together innovators, investors, and industry experts for a day of insight, collaboration, and inspiration,” comments Yashodhara Dash, MBBS, PhD, MBA, Vice President of Entrepreneurship & Commercialization. “Together, we explored new ways to translate bold ideas into real-world impact.”
Two programs were also publicly launched at the event. The first was MSK Therapeutics Bridge Labs (TxBL), a new program designed to accelerate drug development at MSK.
Peter T. Meinke, PhD, who recently joined MSK as the program’s Director, explains, “TxBL’s goal is to enable the discovery of next-generation drugs by empowering our faculty with the tools, technology, and expertise to meet this extraordinary challenge. Without expert assistance in navigating the path of drug discovery, even the most transformational research advances often do not realize their potential to become major medical breakthroughs.”
This new program, which will roll out in early 2026, represents a significant step forward in MSK’s ability to advance drug development within our institution.
Imke Ehlers-Surur, PhD, Director, Technology Development & Licensing, Office of Entrepreneurship & Commercialization (OEC), shares, “TxBL will be pushing the innovations of our scientific and clinical community to the highest industry standards — derisking assets and thereby lowering hurdles to commercial partnering. It is another strong part of MSK’s commercialization ecosystem, addressing a missing link for us in truly bridging bench-to-bedside drug development.”
Also publicly launched at the November Summit was the first cohort of MSK’s Entrepreneurship Initiative (EI) — a program designed to empower MSK innovators to advance their ventures.
Glennis Mehra, PhD, who recently joined MSK as EI’s Director, explains, “The Entrepreneurship Initiative represents a new way for MSK to accelerate innovation toward the clinic, giving our scientists the training, structure, tools, and support to translate breakthroughs into real-world impact. It’s an exciting moment for MSK to lead in redefining how discoveries become cures, helping our innovators navigate the uncertainty that so often stands between bold science and patient benefit.”
November Innovation Summit Highlights
The Summit program featured presentations from several EI “builder teams”: Embrace Theranostics (Naga Vara Kishore Pillarsetty, PhD, and Tullio Esposito, PhD), Hertutamig (Nai-Kong V. Cheung, MD, PhD; Madelyn Espinosa-Cotton, PhD; and Hong Xu, PhD), and Naked Therapeutics (David A. Scheinberg, MD, PhD; Karuna Ganesh, MD, PhD; and Jaeyop (Josh) Lee, MD, PhD).
Other highlights included an in-depth presentation on pathology innovation by Kojo S.J. Elenitoba-Johnson, MD, Chair, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine; a look at digital health innovation and AI drug discovery; and a discussion about the evolving landscape of cell therapy research, which included Karlo Perica, MD, PhD, who heads a laboratory in Memorial Hospital Research Laboratories.
Several significant industry partnerships were showcased, with presentations from the CEOs of SOPHiA GENETICS, Moodsonic, and Encapsulate. The Summit program also provided updates on the 2025 cohort programs from MSK’s iHub Challenge and Therapeutics Accelerator programs, both focused on encouraging industry collaborations relating to key drug development challenges.
The November Summit concluded with an inspiring panel discussion on the development and commercialization of Danyelza® — one of MSK’s most significant bench-to-bedside success stories. Panelists included Nai-Kong Cheung, MD, PhD, Enid A. Haupt Chair in Pediatric Oncology, who originally developed this important technology; Andrew Kung, MD, PhD, Chair of MSK’s Department of Pediatrics, which provided invaluable support at key stages throughout the development process; Thomas Gad, who founded and led Y-mAbs, the company that brought Danyelza through regulatory approval and marketplace adoption; and Imke Ehlers, PhD, who led the patenting and commercialization strategy here at MSK.
The event ended with a lively networking reception, continuing the spirit of dialogue and collaboration that helps to define our Innovation Summits.
OEC’s Dr. Dash emphasizes, “Together, we are strengthening the ecosystem that turns MSK’s discoveries into meaningful outcomes for patients.”