Builds Bio+

As a postdoc and PhD student at Harvard, I was always driven to develop curative therapies rather than treatments that offer only incremental benefits to patients. The potential of cell therapy as a cure is clear, but delivering these innovations to patients remains a major challenge. Manufacturing potent cells at scale is a key barrier to democratizing cell therapies. To address this, I aimed to achieve three key objectives:

Eliminate the need for personalized cell collection and imagine- using cells as drugs like any commodity off-the-shelf pharmaceutical product.

Discover and manufacture high-quality, pure, and potent novel cell states (not just cell types) to achieve a significant leap in efficacy.

Scale manufacturing at low cost (COGS) to ensure accessibility for multiple patients.

My PhD research focused on identifying single immune cell signatures as indicators of immune cell states within specific cell types and assessing them ex vivo using a microfluidic-based functional assay with patient-derived organ-type tumors. While we identified unique immune cell sub-populations with curative potential in vivo, I lacked a scalable method to manufacture them for patient use—especially using universal stem cells as a donor source.

To solve this, I secured exclusive in-licensing agreements for multiple stem cell and immune cell manufacturing technologies from Mount Sinai in New York. Today, at Cell BioEngines, we are advancing expanded blood stem cell, cDC1, and NK Memory programs toward clinical trials, validating our technology in both animal models and human studies.

Boston has long been the epicenter of biotech innovation, and I spent over a decade there. However, post-COVID-19, I anticipated a shift—especially for early-stage cell and gene therapy startups—from Boston to New York. This transition was driven by several factors.

The decision to establish Cell BioEngines’ executive headquarters in New York was strategic, influenced by backing from SOSV and NY Ventures. New York’s post-pandemic recovery plan has fueled innovation in biotech and life sciences, particularly in real estate and workforce development. This growth trajectory is now validated—New York ranks first among U.S. cities in NIH funding for 2024 (Source: NIH Report) and accounts for 13.8% of total venture capital raised on the East Coast (Source: Carta).

Beyond funding, New York provides unmatched opportunities for networking, partnerships, and recruitment from a diverse talent pool—all critical for an early-stage company like ours. Additionally, the city offers access to both private venture capitalists and state-backed financing programs.

We recently announced our relocation to the newly built Mount Sinai-RPI Center for Engineering and Precision Medicine (CEPM) at the Hudson Research Center in Manhattan. CEPM, an example of New York’s commitment to translational medicine, aligns closely with my background in stem cell–immune engineering and regenerative medicine. This move positions us to expand our platform and develop multiple therapeutic products.

I founded Cell BioEngines in December 2022, amid a post-COVID-19 biotech downturn—an exceptionally challenging time to raise capital. While cell therapy’s impact on cancer care and blood disorders continues to grow, manufacturing and delivery challenges limit patient access.

Our scientific vision—to create off-the-shelf cell therapy options using universal stem cells without genetic modification—resonated with early VCs looking to expand market access. Unlike traditional platform-based companies, we follow an asset-centric model, making us attractive to investors in a market where biotech funding is increasingly tied to clear development paths.

Cell BioEngines holds exclusive licenses for multiple assets, complementing our existing pipeline, including one clinical-stage investigator-led trial with initial human safety data for a stem cell product addressing a significant unmet medical need. Our ability to balance financial sustainability with asset-driven growth excites investors. This strategy allows us to develop cell therapies up to key inflection points, with a preference for M&A exits over IPOs, before regrouping around the next late-stage asset.

Key Advice for Raising Capital in 2025:

• VCs are setting higher standards for evaluating cell therapy companies—fair valuation is critical.
• Pre-seed and seed-stage startups must prioritize non-dilutive funding (institutional and government grants) alongside VC funding.
• VC-backed investments favor de-risked companies with clear technological differentiation and clinical validation.
• Scaling cell therapy is a major challenge—even promising companies struggle. Focus on overcoming this hurdle.
• Assets over platforms—raising capital for specific assets is more viable than a broad platform pitch.
• Maximize portfolio capacity—expand opportunities that align with your company’s vision.
• Late-stage assets are attracting more capital—VCs now prefer M&A exits over IPOs in biotech.
• AI-driven biotech remains attractive but differentiation and execution matter more than hype