HiveBio Announces Inaugural Cohort of Underrepresented Life Science Innovators
- Meredith Martindale
- Apr 3
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 9
HiveBio is proud to introduce the inaugural cohort of its accelerator program. With generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, this cohort brings together ten visionary startups based in the greater Philadelphia area that are working to transform life sciences through innovation and entrepreneurship.
The selection process was highly competitive, and HiveBio’s selection committee was impressed by the caliber of applicants. The selected companies are tackling some of the most pressing challenges in life sciences, including drug development, regenerative medicine, AI-driven diagnostics, medical prosthetics, and digital health. Over the next nine months, HiveBio will provide them with tailored mentorship, commercialization strategies, investor engagement opportunities, and access to industry-leading resources to accelerate their growth and impact.
Meet HiveBio’s inaugural cohort:
Ajaya Bio: Developing BOLT-360™, a bispecific platform enhancing specificity, safety, and access to previously untargetable pathways in autoimmune diseases and oncology.
BioLattice Ophthalmics: Innovating biomimetic, cell-friendly scaffolds to enhance ophthalmic tissue replacement and advance corneal treatment.
Bound Therapeutics: Creating novel cancer therapies with a robust preclinical program to support future drug development for triple-negative breast cancer.
Cerespectus: Medical device start-up pioneering gene therapeutic pathways to support neurological health.
DRS.LINQ: Medical device start-up redefining remote monitoring for cardiovascular disease with mHeart, which enables mobile triage, real-time monitoring, and rapid heart disease diagnostics during episodes of patient chest discomfort.
Higher Medicine: Rare disease start-up ushering in a new age of functional cures for Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) patients.
QuneUp: Biotech software start-up digitizing “preventive actions”, in-line validation & other quality control operations for laboratory and biomanufacturing equipment.
Trevarx Biomedical: Drug therapeutic start-up utilizing PARP inhibitor (PARPi) analogues with radiopharmaceutical platforms to support treatments in oncology.
Valfard Therapeutics: Pioneering innovative biomaterial-based growth factor delivery for treating Stage I & II diabetic foot ulcers.
Vasowatch: Pioneering novel technology to provide continuous monitoring of a mother’s risk for postpartum hemorrhage and excessive blood loss after childbirth - the leading causes of maternal deaths globally.
“I’m excited about HiveBio’s inaugural cohort. We have a diverse group of start-ups, including five therapeutics, three medical devices, one digital health, and one biotech supply chain. More specifically, I’m most proud of the diversity within our underrepresented founder cohort. Of this cohort, eight are BIPOC-led, eight are first-generation-led, seven are woman-led, and seven are immigrant-led. I’m looking forward to working with this impressive cohort and supporting their unapologetic success,” shares Dr. Tia Lyles-Williams, HiveBio’s Founder and Chief Innovation Officer.