The MSK Therapeutics Accelerator program has launched its 2026 Cohort program. With a theme this year of Pathway to the Clinic, the program is “aimed at unlocking MSK’s translational resources to help de-risk these promising approaches and ultimately benefit patients with cancer,” explains Eileen Flowers, PhD, who leads this program and serves as Director of Technology Development and Licensing in the MSK Office of Entrepreneurship & Commercialization (OEC).
Now in its second year, the Accelerator’s Cohort program is a selective initiative that matches cutting-edge therapeutics companies with members of MSK’s community, including laboratory researchers, clinicians, product development experts, and business strategists. The Cohort program provides a structured runway for companies and MSK experts to discuss and plan drug development collaborations.
“We’re excited to welcome a new group of companies into the Therapeutics Accelerator’s 2026 Cohort, which will support and explore collaborations with MSK’s scientific and clinical community this summer. These companies are advancing innovative therapeutics across a range of modalities – including next-generation T-cell engagers, oncolytic viruses, molecular degraders, and novel approaches to remodel the tumor microenvironment,” shares Jonathan Dow, PhD, Senior Program Manager, MSK Therapeutics Accelerator.
This year’s Cohort includes eight exciting companies, including:
- Cura Therapeutics is a preclinical biotech company pioneering next-generation, site-directed, multimodal immunotherapies. Cura’s proprietary drug discovery platform creates bioengineered fusion proteins that reprogram the immune system’s ability to combat metastatic cancer and age-related diseases.
- Coltac Therapeutics is a venture-backed, seed-stage preclinical biotech developing small-molecule degraders. Coltac’s programs are powered by BOND+, a proprietary molecular glue discovery platform, combining in-silico screening with a proprietary bacteria-based synthetic positive-selection screening system to identify novel molecular glues for targeted protein degradation (TPD).
- iOZ Biotech is a preclinical startup engineering precision therapies for cancers, rare diseases, and neurological disorders that have long resisted conventional treatment. Built on a proprietary platform combining oncolytic virotherapy, gene therapy vectors, and RNA vaccines, iOZ is designed to reach the hardest targets in medicine – including the central nervous system.
- Lime Therapeutics is a preclinical startup pioneering a new frontier in cancer treatment by targeting lipid metabolism and ferroptosis resistance – one of the fundamental ways solid tumors survive and evade today’s therapies. Lime is initially focusing on hard‑to‑treat cancers where this defense is strongest, including liver, lung, and gastric tumors.
- Neobe Therapeutics is a preclinical startup using synthetic biology to engineer programmable microbes to permeabilize solid tumors, creating a permissive environment for curative responses to existing therapeutics, such as checkpoint inhibitors, antibody drug conjugates, bi-specific T cell engagers and cell therapies.
- SyzOnc is a preclinical startup pioneering a new class of multi-functional cancer therapies targeting the entire tumor ecosystem - not just cancer cells – with its STEM³ platform, which identifies “triple-threat” targets that simultaneously modulate cancer cells, the immune microenvironment, and the extracellular matrix. SyzOnc is currently advancing two active programs hitting novel targets in sarcoma and liver cancer.
- Qymune is a preclinical startup developing a next-generation T-cell engager (TCE) platform that delivers potent anti-tumor efficacy while achieving zero or near-zero cytokine release, by utilizing a proprietary approach on the T-cell binding arm. This platform aims to expand TCE therapy into first-line treatment and unlock powerful combination strategies with anti-PD-1 therapy.
- Vitarka Therapeutics is a preclinical startup developing next-generation Degrader Antibody Complexes (DACs) designed to overcome key limitations of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), including linker instability, endosomal trapping, and on-target off-tumor toxicity. Its proprietary EndoPore platform combines masked antibodies with a linker-free intracellular delivery system capable of active endosomal escape, enabling dual tumor selectivity and efficient cytosolic delivery of payloads.
The Cohort program held its Kickoff event on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in the East River Room of the David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care at MSK. During the next few months, cohort participants will each discuss and plan potential collaborations with MSK teams. The program will conclude with a Demo Day on MSK campus in October.
For more information about the MSK Therapeutics Accelerator and its cohort program, see here.