Up to $35 million from the Gates Foundation will support ProFound’s use of its platform, datasets, and algorithms to identify new drug targets and biomarkers for preeclampsia and eclampsia
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ProFound Therapeutics, a Flagship Pioneering company harnessing the expanded human proteome to develop first-in-class medicines for multiple diseases, today announced that it has received an investment commitment of up to $35 million from the Gates Foundation, including an initial investment of $20 million, to create new solutions for women’s health. This investment supports its ProFoundry™ platform and agentic AI capabilities for the discovery of novel biomarkers and first-in-class protein drugs and drug targets for preeclampsia and eclampsia.
With this funding, ProFound Therapeutics will use its proprietary ProFoundry™ Platform to discover novel proteins from the expanded proteome that are expressed in placenta and serum derived from women with preeclampsia and eclampsia. By examining the causal biology of emerging targets, this work aims to support the identification of optimally validated biomarkers and targets for preeclampsia and eclampsia, as well as the creation of a novel preeclampsia/eclampsia-specific AI tool.
“Preeclampsia and eclampsia are devastating conditions for mothers and families across the globe, yet little is known about the underlying biology driving these diseases and therapeutic options remain limited,” said John Lepore, M.D., CEO of ProFound Therapeutics and Flagship Pioneering CEO-Partner. “The expanded proteome represents a vast and largely untapped resource for identifying novel protein drugs, drug targets, and biomarkers for diseases with significant unmet need. By systematically uncovering previously unknown proteins and unexplored biology, we are enabling a new generation of diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities. This funding from the Gates Foundation gives us the opportunity to translate this scientific innovation into meaningful global impact for women affected by these chronically underserved conditions.”
Herbert “Skip” Virgin, M.D., Ph.D., Head of AI-Enabled Cures Frontier Accelerator at the Gates Foundation, added, “Conditions like preeclampsia and eclampsia remain chronically underdiagnosed and undertreated. With only about 1% of global healthcare R&D directed toward female-specific conditions beyond cancer, promising treatments can take over a decade to reach the women who need them most. Closing that gap is a core commitment of the Gates Foundation. We are excited to support ProFound Therapeutics and its innovative approach to maternal health, utilizing proprietary knowledge of the expanded human proteome with agentic AI to generate new biological insights and targets for therapeutics and biomarkers that can be translated into real patient impact.”
About ProFound™ Therapeutics
ProFound Therapeutics is discovering proteins hidden within the expanded human proteome to uncover novel protein drugs and drug targets. The company’s ProFoundry™ Platform uses state-of-the-art protein detection technologies, computational methods and high-throughput experimental assays to systematically identify novel proteins and define their connectivity, functionality, and roles in health and disease. The result is the identification of a broad new class of therapeutic targets that is leading to a portfolio of first-in-class medicines. ProFound Therapeutics was founded in 2020 by Flagship Labs, the innovation foundry of Flagship Pioneering. For more information, please visit www.profoundtx.com
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SOURCE ProFound Therapeutics
