Cultivarium's Next Steps
Stratus Therapeutics winding down, Consider the ALS TDI for Giving Tuesday, and more
Cultivarium Selected for UK Frontier Research Contractor Program.
Cultivarium, a non-profit focused research organization (FRO) headquartered in the LINX building announced they have been selected as an inaugural Frontier Research Contractor Launchpad, a program developed in partnership between Renaissance Philanthropy and The Advanced Research + Innovation Agency (ARIA), a Funding Agency backed by the United Kingdom’s Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology.
Cultivarium was launched by Convergent Research, a Watertown-based non-profit that develops FROs: non-profit research organizations dedicated to solve specific technical problems unaddressed by industry or academic labs. Cultivarium develops tools to enable the research of novel organisms, like their suite of tools to grow and engineer the bacteria Idonella sakaiensis, which degrades the plastic PET, unlocking new research avenues for processing and recycling plastics.
The Frontier Research Contractor Launchpad is inspired by the US Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA, now DARPA), which developed a number of technologies, including the forerunner of the internet. The program seeks to develop new contractors to support the aims of the ARIA research programs. While the program is funded by the UK government, a spokesperson for Cultivarium told Watertown Bio that the firm will remain in Watertown.
Stratus Therapeutics is Winding Down Operations
Stratus Therapeutics, a cell therapy company with a manufacturing facility at The Arsenal on the Charles, is winding down its operations, according to sources familiar with the company. Their lab space at 300 N Beacon currently is listed for rent for a January 2026 occupancy. The firm, formerly known as Garuda Therapeutics, moved to Watertown in August of 2024, and had closed a $50 million Series A-1 in March 2025. Stratus was working to develop off the shelf hematopoietic stem cells. Their lead program aimed to develop therapies for Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes and Transfusion-Dependent Beta-Thalassemia. They are the latest Watertown cell therapy firm to close their doors, following Abata Therapeutics and Affini-T Therapeutics, continuing a rough year for cell therapy firms both in Watertown and industry-wide.
Consider the ALS Therapy Development Institute this Giving Tuesday
The ALS Therapy Development Institute is the largest drug discovery institute focused solely on ALS in the world, and they are located here in Watertown. Their ARC study is the largest observational study of its kind, and has yielded a number of promising digital biomarkers to diagnose ALS, yielding hundreds of patient derived iPSC ALS disease model cell lines to accelerate the development of new therapies to compliment their existing therapeutic pipeline. Learn how to participate on their Giving Tuesday page.
Quick Updates
Clinical Trial Headlines
Kymera Therapeutics dosed their first patient in their BROADEN2 Phase2b trial of KT-621, a STAT6 degrader in development to treat Atopic Dermatitis. The trial is anticipated to finish in June 2027.
INGENIA Therapeutics lead clinical asset IGT-303 was successfully administered to humans as part of a Phase 1/2a clinical trial. The TIE2 targeted therapeutic is being developed to treat Chronic Kidney Disease and Diabetic Kidney Disease. The trial is estimated to finish in October 2026.
Business/Deals
GT Biosciences, a startup based out of the East End Biolabs co-working space, won a 2025 Autumn Golden Ticket from LabCentral.
Portal Biotechologies announced a partnership with RNAV8 Bio to combine RNAV8’s mRNA optimization technologies with Portal’s Gateway mechanoporation system for cellular transfection.
NanoDx’s consolidation at 66 Galen was highlighted by the Boston Business Journal.
Recent/Upcoming Scientific Presentations
Remix Therapeutics will be presenting at the 8th RNA Targeted Drug Discovery & Development Summit on 12/3.
Disc Medicine will be presenting two posters at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting on 12/6.
C4 Therapeutics published their work on a BRD9 degrader in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
Entact Bio led a session on ubiquitination at the Australian Ubiquitin Summit 11/20-11/23.
From the Blogs
Cultivarium released two blog posts: one announcing their strategic direction joining the FRC Launchpad and another highlighting their work in developing a platform and predictive model for electroporating DNA into non-model bacteria.
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