Ladder Bio enters 2026 with a new CEO, a rebrand and a fresh $5.5M seed round

Going into 2026, biotech company Ladder Bio is embracing a new identity. 

Formerly known as ThirdLaw Molecular, the company announced a complete rebrand last fall, revealing a different name, a new CEO and a fresh round of $5.5 million in seed financing. Four months into this transition, the Blue Bell, Pennsylvania-based company is ready to start executing its plan, including pivoting its product from diagnostic to therapeutic applications, CEO Eric Heil told Technical.ly. 

“2026 [is about] continuing to build out the company, both through partnerships, grants and investors, to move these products toward the clinic,” Heil said. 

The company was founded by now CTO Christian Schafmeister in 2020 as a spinout from his research at Temple University. 

For most of the company’s life, Schafmeister had been developing ladder-shaped molecules called Spiroligomers, intending to replace biologics used in diagnostics. The work focused on scaling up manufacturing to get the innovation into more hands. 

That changed late last year when Heil, who is also a managing partner at VC firm Medical Excellence Capital, invested in the startup. He worked with Schafmeister for over a year, and the duo decided to pivot the company and instead focus on applying the molecules for therapeutics, Heil said. 

During testing, the molecules showed they could attach to specific parts of the cell, meaning they might be used to treat diseases. The pivot involves adjusting to regulatory requirements for therapeutics, which are very different from diagnostics, Heil said. 

“We can piece together the building blocks for that target and then use our library of chemical matter to test that and then produce medicines going forward to optimize around that scaffold and that structure,” he said.

The aim is to use these molecules to replace biologics as an oral drug that can treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, Heil said. This would be an alternative to treatments that require injections, like Humira, a drug that treats diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. 

“We think we have oral availability that can ultimately replace these biologics with an oral pill that can deliver the same type of results, if not better,” Heil said. 

Cash, employees and partnerships in 2026

As the company pivots its product, it’s also focused on growing its team, raising funding and securing partnerships to support its growth, Heil said. 

The company’s latest raise will support the transition and build up the company’s team, Heil said. Ladder Bio added a vice president of biology, increasing its headcount to seven people, and brought in two experienced life sciences executives on the company’s board, David Scheer and Brian Halak. 

In 2026, the company plans to raise more capital, onboard more employees and announce new collaborations with pharmaceutical partners. The goal is to create more awareness about the potential uses of the structures they designed, he said. 

All of these changes last year happened in the context of a mixed year for Philly’s life sciences ecosystem. The region saw investments from major players like Eli Lilly and Thermo Fisher Scientific, but also experienced major layoffs and local companies shutting down. 

Amid all of this, local companies struggled to bring in cash, especially from local investors. 

Heil agrees that there isn’t enough local funding to support the life sciences ecosystem in the region, he said. But he’s also optimistic that investors recognize the opportunities in life sciences in Pennsylvania.

“We just need another big win in Philadelphia,” he said. “We’ve had a couple, Spark [Therapeutics], Capstan [Therapeutics], but it didn’t stay necessarily in Philly … It’s just important to both get investors from the area, recruit talent from the area, recruit talent into the area, and continue to support our ecosystem like that.”