StageSeed
Raised$6.8M
Founded2020
Employees4
LocationPittsburgh, PA
About
Duo Oncology, founded by oncologists, is developing tumor-penetrating nanomedicines to upgraded the foundations of cancer medicine. Duo’s patented platform prodrug chemistry releases creates nanomedicines that penetrate established tumors to reduce toxicity and improve patient outcomes.
Product
- Value proposition
- Developing tumor-activated prodrug combinations to replace toxic multi-agent chemotherapy with single medicines that concentrate activity in tumors while limiting healthy-tissue exposure.
- Regulatory
- Clinical-stage; adaptive Phase 1b/2 trial ongoing
Founders
- Sam Rothstein — CEO and Cofounder
- Song Li — Cofounder and Lead Inventor
Categories
biotechoncologydrug developmentprodrug
Products
Lead product DUO-207 (gemcitabine + paclitaxel prodrug)tumor-activated prodrug platformpipeline products (platform-pipeline)
Key features
tumor-activated prodrug chemistrysingle-infusion backbonereduces healthy-tissue exposureGLP toxicology dataadaptive Phase 1b/2 trialtargets KRAS inhibitor era
Technologies
tumor-activated chemotherapyprodrug chemistrydrug deliveryoncology therapeutics
Target conditions
solid tumorspancreatic cancerlung cancerbreast cancer
Care settings
hospitalclinicresearch/academiclaboratory
Certifications
GLP toxicology studies (mentioned)
Partnerships
BeOne Medicinesventure investorsNIH National Cancer InstituteFrederick National Laboratory
Traction metrics
Lead product entering adaptive Phase 1b/2 trial in pancreatic, lung, and breast cancers
Investors
SeedFolioBeiGeneUlu VenturesNuFundLifeXInnovation WorksHHS
News
- Fighting Cancer: Pitt Startup Duo Oncology Prepares for Nanomedicine Clinical Trials · 2025-04-08T12:42:32.000Z
- Duo Oncology | MTEC · 2026-05-13T00:00:00.000Z
- "The New Chemotherapy": Duo Oncology Introduces First Innovative Cancer-Fighting Nanomedicine in Over a Decade · 2024-10-15T07:34:12.000Z
- Duo Oncology raises $400,000 Seed round (June 2025) · 2025-06-10T17:40:36.000Z
- Lead Product DUO-207 Completes Clean GLP Toxicology Studies. — Duo Oncology · 2025-08-14T18:15:00.000Z
- Duo Oncology Secures U.S. Composition of Matter Patent for Platform Chemistry and Lead Product. — Duo Oncology · 2025-02-13T20:30:00.000Z
More links
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Profile updated Jul 29, 2026. Sources: duooncology.com, linkedin.com
