Draper Wins $7.3M ARPA-H Award for Room-Temp Biologics

Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., October 7, 2026

BoSS Program Targets Cold-Chain Challenges in Biologics

Biologic medicines, including cell-based therapies, are produced using living cells or biological materials and can be sensitive to temperature changes and environmental stress. Many advanced therapies require continuous cold-chain management, including freezing at ultra-low temperatures, to preserve cell viability and product quality. Maintaining these conditions can increase manufacturing complexity, transportation costs and storage requirements, limiting the availability of treatments to healthcare facilities with specialized infrastructure. The BoSS program aims to overcome these barriers by developing approaches that stabilize biological materials at room temperature without compromising their intended function. The initiative seeks to achieve a substantial shift from conventional cryogenic storage temperatures, potentially reaching approximately −196°C, to ambient conditions. The program will evaluate technologies capable of protecting cells during stabilization, storage and recovery, while also developing systems that support efficient, scalable manufacturing. Participating teams will be assessed against increasingly demanding performance benchmarks involving cell viability, production speed and shelf-life stability. The program’s long-term objective is to make the handling and distribution of selected cell-based therapies more practical, potentially reducing reliance on specialized freezers and complex refrigerated transportation networks. However, room-temperature stability will need to be demonstrated for each relevant product and process before clinical or commercial implementation.

Draper and Likarda Lead Stabilization Innovation

The RAB team will combine biological stabilization research with bioprocess engineering to develop methods for preserving and recovering cells. Likarda will lead the biostabilization strategy, focusing on the coordinated management of cell state, the surrounding physical environment and cellular stress responses triggered during freezing, dehydration, storage and recovery. These factors can influence whether cells remain viable and functional after stabilization. Draper will lead the bioprocessing engineering component, with the goal of converting manual laboratory procedures into automated workflows suitable for scalable manufacturing. The team also plans to develop specialized instruments that can support the stabilization and reactivation processes in clinical manufacturing environments. This integrated approach is intended to address both biological performance and operational scalability, two essential considerations for translating laboratory advances into reliable production systems. The consortium’s combined expertise includes cryoprotection, encapsulation, cell biology and manufacturing engineering. According to Draper, the participating organizations also bring experience in advancing technologies toward commercialization. The collaboration will work through multiple phases over four years, with technical progress measured against defined performance targets. Successful development could provide new tools for preserving selected cellular therapies and potentially simplify aspects of their production and distribution.

Funding Could Expand Access to Advanced Therapies

The ARPA-H award supports research aimed at improving the accessibility and scalability of advanced biologic treatments. Cell-based therapies have become an important area of medical innovation, particularly in oncology and other conditions where living cells can be engineered or administered to achieve therapeutic effects. Nevertheless, temperature-sensitive products can require specialized manufacturing facilities, cryogenic storage equipment and carefully coordinated transportation, creating substantial operational challenges. Technologies that maintain cell viability under less restrictive storage conditions could help reduce these burdens and broaden distribution possibilities. Draper’s role in the RAB team combines its engineering and manufacturing capabilities with the biological stabilization expertise of its partners. The research remains at an early development stage, and its success will depend on meeting technical benchmarks for cell recovery, stability, processing efficiency and shelf life. The $7.3 million Phase 1 award marks an important step toward investigating room-temperature biostabilization, but it does not establish that all cell therapies or cancer treatments can be stored and transported without refrigeration. Further research and product-specific validation will be required to demonstrate clinical suitability and commercial feasibility. If the program achieves its objectives, its technologies could contribute to more flexible manufacturing and distribution models for selected advanced therapies.

Source: Draper press release