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. This highlights the need for sustained funding and support to deliver new therapies to patients.
Helping to address this challenge, the Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator (BBA) at Harvard supports the progression of translational biomedical research toward commercial and clinical applications. Established through a gift from the Blavatnik Family Foundation in 2013, the BBA has announced its latest cohort of awardees for 2025, supporting 10 biomedical technologies focused on tackling urgent medical challenges, including food allergies, genetic disorders, autoimmune diseases, metabolic disorders, and cancer.
A research team out of Richard Lee’s lab at Harvard’s Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology and Jia Liu’s lab at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is 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.
Immune reaction to biological therapeutics often limits their use and causes deleterious side effects. In Amy Wagers’ lab in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, researchers are developing a way to “teach” the immune system to accept these medicines, reducing adverse reactions to life-saving therapies for conditions such as hemophilia.
“By supporting academic research at this pivotal stage, the Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator is filling a critical gap, enabling Harvard scientists to advance their innovations and ultimately deliver lifesaving therapies to those who need them most,” said Len Blavatnik, founder and chairman of Access Industries.
The BBA, which is 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.
Excerpt from Harvard’s Office of Technology Development. Read the full release here.
