rareSHIFT: an Unravel Biosciences program

Unravel Biosciences is a therapeutics company spun out from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University that accelerates target and drug discovery. rareSHIFT is a program that enables families and foundations to access Unravel’s unique platform for their own therapeutic discovery needs. Our AI-powered discovery engine uncovers new drug targets for complex disorders. Using existing, potentially repurposable drugs to understand the complex biology, we derisk drug discovery 2-3x faster and 10x cheaper than competing approaches. Not only that, but repurposed drugs may offer patients much faster therapeutic opportunities while new treatments are developed. Our proprietary drug discovery platform empowers us to identify and develop drugs capable of treating multiple diseases, alleviating the financial burden placed on any single rare disease population. This approach enables us to focus on diseases that are often overlooked by large biopharma companies due to their perceived high costs. Unravel is driven by and dedicated to patient well-being. By leveraging our platform technology, we can significantly reduce costs while extending our reach to help a greater number of patients. Connect with us to discuss how to develop therapeutics for your rare disease of interest.

  • 2 Unravel-predicted drugs nominated for 4 clinical trials

    • Reached key clinic-ready milestone within 8-12 months of project start

    • Each led to novel drug target and therapeutic mechanism with cure-like efficacy for potentially more effective new drugs

  • Multiple drugs rapidly tested off-label by patients with demonstrated efficacy using objective and subjective measures

  • Drug response predictions validated clinically in oncology, infectious disease, and neurological disorders

    • Machine learned model outperformed all other stratification appraoches for oncology treatment response

    • Predicted risk of death outcome for specific statins in treating COVID-19 patients

    • Validated 6 predictions in mouse models

  • Over a dozen foundation-sponsored therapeutics discovery programs in progress

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”

- Henry Ford

Meet the Team

  • Richard Novak

    CEO & Co-FOUNDER

    Richard Novak, Ph.D. is a Termeer Fellow, bioengineer and entrepreneur dedicated to solving unanswerable questions through technology innovation. Prior to Unravel Bio, he was a Lead Engineer at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University where he managed fast-paced programs in drug discovery, advanced disease models, human Organ Chips, and integrated automation and sensor systems. He has nearly 20 years of experience in technology and therapeutics development. He is a founder and president of the nonprofit Future Scientist and a founder and director of the sample collection automation company Rhinostics Inc.

  • Erica Gardner

    Principal Scientist

    Erica Gardner is a biologist who leads Unravel's tadpole screening program to discover treatments for complex diseases. Prior to Unravel, Erica was at the Wyss Institute developing novel drugs screens in Xenopus, part of a Harvard Medical School research core enabling protein and biomolecule production and purification for pathogen research.

  • Bridget Maynard

    Research Associate

    Bridget Maynard is a scientist, bridging laboratory studies with clinical research. She conducts drug screens in Xenopus tadpole avatars and is a clinical study coordinator for our rareSHIFT™ drug discovery program. She received a BS in Biology and Minor in Mathematic from Providence College.

  • Mikayla Reitsma

    rareSHIFT™ Alliance Manager

    Mikayla Reitsma is an associate with a background in science. She introduces and onboards our rareSHIFT™ partners to the program. She is currently completing a BS in Global Health with a Minor in Biology at the University of Toronto.

  • Eleni Pitsiniaga

    rareSHIFT™ Project Manager

    Eleni Pitsiniaga is a rareSHIFT™ Project Manager with a background in Bioschemistry, Applied Statistics, and Health Informatics. She is a main point of contact for all rareSHIFT™ projects.