The Delaware and Cambridge-based TechBio company will use the federal award to replace trial-and-error bioprocess development with intelligent computational modeling — targeting one of the biggest bottlenecks in getting gene therapies to patients.
BioCurie, a TechBio company building an AI-driven digital platform for cell and gene therapy manufacturing, has been awarded up to $9.3 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to accelerate the development of scalable, data-driven genomic medicine production.
The announcement highlights a persistent challenge that has shadowed the field even as gene therapies have demonstrated transformative clinical results: manufacturing. High development costs, unpredictable yields, and lengthy process optimization cycles continue to slow commercialization and limit patient access across the industry.
Under the ARPA-H award, BioCurie will design, build, and validate an AI-powered digital platform intended to replace the traditional trial-and-error approach to process development. By integrating advanced computational modeling, machine learning, and real-world manufacturing data, the platform aims to shorten development timelines and improve process robustness across both viral and non-viral gene therapy production.
“AI will fundamentally reshape how advanced therapies are developed and manufactured. This ARPA-H award validates our vision and accelerates our ability to deliver a scalable, digital-first manufacturing platform to therapy developers and manufacturers.”
— Irene Rombel, CEO, BioCurie & Principal Investigator
Rombel, who co-founded BioCurie alongside Richard Braatz, framed the award as both a validation of the company’s approach and a direct commitment to the company’s core mission: bringing “disease-modifying and curative genomic medicines to patients faster and more affordably.”
Project Consortium
- BioCurie (Lead)
- Caring Cross
- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- Center for Breakthrough Medicines (SK pharmteco)
The project brings together a strong cross-sector consortium of gene therapy leaders spanning academia and industry. Strategic support for the proposal was provided by the University City Science Center, which helped align consortium partners and federal funding strategy.
“BioCurie’s vision for applying AI to gene therapy manufacturing represents the kind of translational innovation ARPA-H is designed to accelerate. We’re proud to support the team as they advance this important work.”— Heath Naquin, SVP of Innovation & New Ventures, University City Science Center
BioCurie’s platform is designed to serve biopharmaceutical developers and contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) looking to de-risk process development, reduce costs, and scale production more predictably. ARPA-H Program Manager Daria Fedyukina, Ph.D. leads the project for the agency.
The award follows a year of continued growth for BioCurie in 2025, including team expansion across its Delaware and Cambridge locations and the advancement of commercial partnerships across the cell and gene therapy ecosystem. The company describes itself as building the “AI infrastructure layer for genomic medicine manufacturing,” combining expertise in advanced modeling, machine learning, and bioprocess engineering.
About BioCurie
Founded by Irene Rombel and Richard Braatz, BioCurie is building the AI infrastructure layer for genomic medicine manufacturing. Combining world-leading expertise in advanced modeling, machine learning, and bioprocess engineering, BioCurie’s platform enables data-driven decision-making across gene therapy development and production. The company’s mission is to make advanced therapies more scalable, affordable, and accessible. Headquartered in Wilmington, DE with offices in Cambridge, MA.
