At a Glance
- Company: The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research
- Location: New York, USA
- Deal value: $4 million total across four grants
- Focus area: Innovative drug discovery in oncology
- Next steps: Project execution over 2-3 years
What happened?
The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research announced $4 million in Drug Discovery grants for 2026 on 3 March, supporting four academic teams. Projects include Stanford’s TRIM21 E3 ligase reprogramming for targeted degradation, Broad Institute’s biparatopic antibodies against receptor tyrosine kinases, plus novel approaches in pancreatic cancer and solid tumours.
Why does it matter?
These grants target undruggable oncology targets via protein degradation and multispecific antibodies, addressing high-mortality cancers like pancreatic (5% 5-year survival). Non-dilutive funding bridges academic discovery to biotech/pharma handoff in a field where novel modalities drive 70% of new approvals.
Who’s behind it?
The Mark Foundation funds high-risk, high-reward cancer innovation. Awardees: Stanford (TRIM21 lead), Broad Institute (RTK antibodies), plus pancreatic cancer and solid tumour teams from leading institutions pursuing degraders, bispecifics and synthetic lethality.
How was it achieved?
Competitive peer review selected projects with strong preliminary data: TRIM21 harnesses endogenous ubiquitin ligase for tumour-selective degradation; biparatopic antibodies achieve picomolar RTK binding. Grants fund medicinal chemistry, structural biology and preclinical packages.
What’s next?
2-3 year projects generate development candidates for licensing; Mark Foundation supports IND-enabling work. Potential spinouts or pharma partnerships expected by 2028.
What are people saying?
Foundation leadership: “Catalyses transformative oncology discovery.” PIs highlighted grants’ role in prosecuting intractable targets.