Company is led by cancer immunotherapy and protein engineering pioneer Daniel S. Chen, M.D., Ph.D.
SYNTHBODY™ platform increases targeted payload delivery ≥10x compared to current ADCs; expects to enter the clinic in 2026
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Synthetic Design Lab, a next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) company advancing its novel SYNTHBODY therapeutic platform against a range of cancer indications, emerged from stealth today with $20 million in seed financing. Backed by multiple investors including Playground Global and Godfrey Capital, the company is focused on moving its first therapeutic into clinical trials next year.
Daniel S. Chen, M.D., Ph.D., a leading physician-scientist and pioneer in the fields of cancer immunotherapy and protein engineering, is founder and CEO of Synthetic Design Lab. A co-author of the renowned Cancer Immunity Cycle scientific framework, Dr. Chen spent over a decade at Genentech where he focused on the development of immune modulators, anti-angiogenics, and ADCs as targeted therapies. This included leading clinical development for atezolizumab (TECENTRIQ®), the first approved PD-L1 inhibitor, from pre-IND through clinical trials to multiple global approvals. He is the Immune Engineering Co-Chair of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), a founding partner at Genesis BioCapital, and sits on the Board of the Protein & Antibody Engineering Summit (PEGS BOSTON 2025).
“We believe our SYNTHBODY therapeutic platform will deliver on the full promise of ADC technology,” said Daniel S. Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Synthetic Design Lab. “Our proprietary technology is engineered to optimize targeted payload delivery of 10-fold or greater compared to current ADCs, potentially improving upon the efficacy, safety, and overall versatility of earlier ADCs. When you look at ENHERTU clinical data, they are stunning. The durable responses across a broad range of tumor types resemble the best of cancer immunotherapies. At the same time the field has struggled to find targets as effective as HER2. Synthetic Design Lab and our engineered SYNTHBODY format aims to overcome this key limitation and deliver on the full promise of ADCs with an eye towards precisely targeting and delivering more payload to a much wider range of cancers.”
“In this rapidly evolving class of targeted cancer therapies, we have seen incredible advancements in the past few years,” said Sara Hurvitz, M.D., Senior Vice President and Director of the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutch Cancer Center and senior investigator of DESTINY-Breast 03 Phase III study. “ADCs like the HER2-targeting ENHERTU have demonstrated just how impactful these drugs can be for patients if we can deliver enough of the payload to the cancer cell.”
“With our expertise in both novel protein engineering and innovation in ADC design, we’ve been able to rapidly solve difficult hurdles in the field and rapidly advance our proprietary SYNTHBODY platform,” said antibody engineer Ramesh Baliga, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Synthetic Design Lab.
“We are in a new era where biology is now programmable and accelerated drug development is occurring at the intersection of AI and synthetic biology,” said Benjamin Kim, Ph.D., Partner, Playground Global and Director at Synthetic Design Lab. “By building profoundly novel ADC constructs, the Synthetic Design Lab team is able to control the biophysics at the surface of a cell to enhance performance and selectivity. We believe the SYNTHBODY therapeutic platform will broadly transform the ADC space.”
About Synthetic Design Lab
Synthetic Design Lab is built to revolutionize antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with its novel SYNTHBODY™ therapeutic platform. The platform is engineered to optimize targeted payload delivery ≥10x compared to current ADCs, potentially improving upon the efficacy, safety, and overall versatility of earlier ADCs. Learn more at SyntheticDesignLab.com.
About Playground Global
Playground Global is a deep tech venture capital firm with $1.2 billion in assets under management, backing early-stage startups solving fundamental challenges in next-generation compute, automation, energy transition, and engineered biology. Started in 2015 and based in Palo Alto, CA., Playground’s mission is to move civilization forward through the power of science and technology. More than just investors, Playground provides hands-on technical and operational support, helping founders turn ideas and innovations into companies with enduring impact. The firm’s portfolio includes PsiQuantum, MosaicML (acquired by Databricks), d-Matrix, Agility Robotics, Ideon, Ultima Genomics, and Strand Therapeutics, among many others. Learn more at www.playground.vc.
About Godfrey Capital
Godfrey Capital is a venture capital firm dedicated to supporting visionary, mission-driven founders building the future of biotechnology, defense, financial, enterprise, and data integration technology companies. With deep operational involvement, Godfrey Capital partners with early-stage companies to scale with purpose and precision. We work closely with founders to sharpen strategic thinking, clarify company identity, and deepen understanding of key stakeholders—from customers, to partners, to talent. Through hands-on company building, recruiting, board leadership, and access to a powerful network of founders, advisors, operators, and investors, Godfrey Capital empowers startups to grow faster, smarter, and with lasting impact. Notable investments include Terray Therapeutics, Dyno Therapeutics, Junevity, Recursion, Forge Biologics, Checkerspot, Peregrine Technologies, Core Scientific, and Vontive.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including risks and uncertainties inherent in the development of therapeutic platforms and candidates. Synthetic Design Lab’s therapeutic candidates have not yet been approved by a regulatory authority for commercial use or deemed to be safe or effective for any indication.
Contacts
Media contact
Karen Sharma
ksharma@cglife.com
