In a biotech market where early-stage exits are increasingly rare and investor patience is being tested, a Maryland-based life sciences platform just delivered the kind of result the industry is looking for: a seed-to-acquisition outcome in under 18 months.
Linden Lake Labs (L3), a Rockville-based early-stage life sciences platform that has operated largely under stealth since its 2024 launch, announced today that its portfolio company CrossBridge Bio has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Eli Lilly and Company. The deal values CrossBridge at up to $300 million in total consideration, including upfront and milestone-based payments.
For L3, which participated in Texas-based CrossBridge Bio’s seed financing round in November 2024, the transaction represents more than just a financial return. It is an early proof point for the platform’s thesis: that disciplined, early-stage investment in high-conviction science, combined with active platform support, can generate outsized outcomes even in a constrained capital environment.
“This milestone reflects the power of investing early in pioneering science and exceptional teams. CrossBridge Bio is a strong example of that vision in action.”
— Abhishake Chhibber, Co-Founder, Linden Lake Labs
Behind the Deal
CrossBridge Bio, founded in 2023 by Dr. Michael Torres, Dr. Kyoji Tsuchikama, and Dr. Zhiqiang An, was built around a differentiated dual-payload antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform originally developed at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston).
The company’s lead program — CBB-120, a TROP2-targeting ADC combining a Topoisomerase I inhibitor with an ATR inhibitor — represents a next-generation approach within the ADC space. By pairing two mechanistically distinct payloads in a single conjugate, CrossBridge’s platform is designed to overcome some of the resistance mechanisms that limit single-agent ADC efficacy, a challenge that has become increasingly important as the field has matured. The company had planned an IND submission in 2026.
The acquisition by Eli Lilly signals continued conviction in the ADC modality at the large pharma level. Lilly has been among the most aggressive builders in oncology, and the CrossBridge deal reflects its appetite for platform acquisitions that extend capability — not just pipeline assets.
A Life Sciences Platform Built for Maryland
What makes the CrossBridge exit particularly interesting is what it says about L3 itself — and where the firm is placing its longer-term bets.
L3 was co-founded by Abhishake Chhibber and Thomas Haag, two operators with unusually complementary profiles. Chhibber brings over two decades of experience across corporate strategy, finance, and company building, including senior roles at BioNTech and AstraZeneca. Haag is a Ph.D.-trained molecular biologist and intellectual property attorney who served as Co- Chair of the Global Life Sciences IP Practice at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, and co-founded AexeRNA Therapeutics — which was itself acquired by BioNTech.
Together, they have structured L3 not as a traditional venture fund, but as an operating platform: one designed to build, capitalize, and scale life sciences companies within the Maryland ecosystem and beyond. The CrossBridge investment was made out-of-state, but L3’s operational center of gravity — and its most significant ongoing bet — is firmly planted in the mid-Atlantic.
“We are proud to have supported CrossBridge Bio from its early financing stages. We are excited to see this technology further developed within Lilly’s global infrastructure to potentially benefit patients across oncology.”
— Thomas Haag, Co-Founder, Linden Lake Labs
Xcellon Biologics: The Maryland Infrastructure Play
The most significant expression of L3’s Maryland commitment is Xcellon Biologics, a contract research, development, and manufacturing organization (CRDMO) it is actively building in Rockville. Xcellon is focused on complex biologics — specifically ADCs, bispecific antibodies, and T cell engagers — a modality set that sits at the center of the industry’s most competitive and capital-intensive therapeutic bets.
The CRDMO model has gained significant traction as biopharma companies, large and small, look to outsource complex manufacturing rather than build it internally. For Maryland, which has been working to expand its life sciences manufacturing base, Xcellon represents a meaningful piece of regional infrastructure. The company is planning to expand into a GMP-compliant manufacturing facility by early Q1 2027, a move that would substantially increase its capacity and position it to serve both emerging biotechs and established pharma companies operating in the region.
The GMP expansion will also create high-quality, skilled jobs in Rockville which marks a tangible contribution to Maryland’s broader life sciences workforce development goals at a time when state and local economic development officials have been prioritizing life sciences job creation. Xcellon was a recipient of a recent TEDCO Equitech Growth Fund infrastructure grant
which is helping to support their local expansion.
| Xcellon Biologics at a Glance Location: Rockville, Maryland CRDMO Capabilities: ADCs, Bispecific Antibodies, T Cell Engagers GMP Expansion: Planned late 2026 / early Q1 2027 Significance: Critical biologics infrastructure for the Maryland ecosystem |
Signal for the Market, and for Maryland
The CrossBridge exit will likely draw attention beyond L3’s own investor base. In a funding environment where biotech dealmaking has been uneven and early-stage valuations remain under pressure, a clean, rapid seed-to-acquisition outcome in the ADC space sends a meaningful signal: that patient, conviction-driven early investment can still yield material returns; and that the ADC modality continues to attract large pharma’s most serious capital.
For Maryland specifically, the story is one of quiet momentum. L3 has been building largely out of the spotlight, but the CrossBridge announcement puts the platform on the map in a tangible way. With Xcellon Biologics advancing toward GMP capability in Rockville, and L3 explicitly signaling its intention to deepen its Maryland roots, the region gains a new player with demonstrated execution and a genuine commitment to place-based ecosystem building.
That combination – early investment credibility, an operating CRDMO being built locally, and a founding team with cross-sector depth across science, law, finance, and corporate development – positions Linden Lake Labs as one of the more interesting emerging platforms in the mid-Atlantic life sciences landscape.
“At Linden Lake Labs, we are committed to advancing innovative therapies through a life sciences platform — bringing together scientific founders, capital, and strategic capabilities to accelerate breakthrough medicines.”
— Abhishake Chhibber, Co-Founder, Linden Lake Labs
With a successful early exit now on the books and Maryland infrastructure actively under construction, Linden Lake Labs enters a new phase — one with considerably more visibility than its first 18 months.
