Unique grant program embraces a high-risk, high-reward approach aimed at rapidly advancing novel anticancer therapeutics from academic labs to the clinic
NEW YORK, NY – March 3, 2026 – The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research today announced four recipients of the 2026 Drug Discovery Awards, a program designed to bridge the gap between academic discovery and clinical application.
By providing four visionary research teams with $1 million each in funding as well as support from a global network of partners and advisors, the program enables academic scientists to advance high-potential targets for cancer therapeutics with industry-level rigor.
“Identifying a promising target is only the first step of developing a new cancer treatment,” said Ryan Schoenfeld, PhD, CEO of The Mark Foundation. “To turn an academic discovery into a therapeutic reality, researchers need more than funding. The Drug Discovery Award program provides access to industry veteran advisors, guidance on working with contract research organizations, and opportunities to partner on commercialization through our venture arm.”
Bridging the Gaps from Bench to Bedside
Drug Discovery Awards target the research gaps that arise between early-stage target validation and clinical development. While traditional academic funding often falls short in this area, these awards allow grantees to execute project plans specifically designed to identify, optimize, and develop drug candidate leads, allowing them to move into human clinical studies faster. Throughout the process, The Mark Foundation provides guidance and partnership at key milestones and other decision points.
“The path from an unvalidated target to a drug candidate is notoriously challenging,” said Mark Foundation Industry Advisory Committee member and biotech executive Wendy Young, PhD. “Our goal is to bring the same process and rigor we see in biotech and big pharma to the most exciting academic labs in the world. We aren’t just funding their projects; we are partnering with these scientists to help them reach the next decision point.”
A Unique Model for Innovation
The Drug Discovery Award program stands out from traditional funding models by combining industry standards with academic freedom. Federal programs may involve bureaucratic hurdles, and venture capital or biopharma investments into early-stage programs often require risk protections that can complicate or prolong negotiations with universities. The Mark Foundation’s model minimizes intellectual property restrictions, while at the same time providing the structure needed to meet key milestones so that the projects are well-positioned for venture or biopharma investment when the time comes to move into expensive clinical trials.
The selection process is equally unique; a review committee of small-molecule and biologics experts evaluates potential targets and existing chemistry for clinical and commercial tractability. While traditional academic or industry funders may turn down proposals perceived as too risky or that are strategically out of scope, The Mark Foundation takes a broader approach to “de-risk” strong ideas across cancer indications and therapeutic modalities to encourage future investment.
The Mark Foundation is proud to announce the 2026 Drug Discovery Award winners:
Directly Targeting Gq/11 Proteins for Uveal Melanoma Therapy
Aashish Manglik, MD, PhD; Michelle Arkin, PhD; and Boris Bastian, MD, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
Creating the first therapies designed to directly disable the primary genetic drivers of uveal melanoma, a rare and lethal eye cancer.
TRIM21 E3 Ligase Reprogramming for Cancer Therapy
Steven Corsello, MD, and Nathanael Gray, PhD, Stanford University
Developing a first-in-class treatment that selectively destroys certain proteins in pancreatic cancer cells.
Biparatopic Antibodies Targeting Receptor Tyrosine Kinases in Cancer
William Sellers, MD, and Alex Burgin, PhD, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Engineering high-precision antibodies to slow cancer growth and deliver medicine directly to aggressive solid tumors.
A Novel Molecular Glue Degron Motif for Targeted Degradation
Eric Fischer, PhD, and Scott Armstrong, MD, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Targeting the proteins fueling leukemia and lung cancer to develop a more effective way to treat cancers driven by faulty gene expression.
For more information on the Drug Discovery Award program and the 2026 recipients, visit https://themarkfoundation.org/drug-discovery-award/.