MelliCell, Inc.

Pioneering fat-targeted therapeutics for obesity and chronic disease

biotech / health AI / medtech

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Stageseed

Raised$6.4M

Founded2020

Employees7

LocationWatertown, MA

Business modelB2B / B2B2C (biotech partnering with pharma and research institutions)

About

MelliCell is developing an oral pill for obesity, autism, and dementia by targeting a shared genetic switch at the root of all three diseases. Three birds, one stone. Using an exclusive discovery engine, MelliCell discovered that this switch reverses obesity without muscle and bone loss similar to a keto diet. It also rescues intellectual disability and controls genes like amyloid precursor that leads to early-onset Alzheimer's when elevated. MelliCell designed a novel, oral once-daily pill for this target and has already shown that it works safely in animals. MelliCell has also won federal awards, paid agreements with big pharma, and was named Boston's 2025 Startup of the Year by Startup Grind. The company is on the cusp of >20x growth in 2027 with a single clinical trial for initial proof of concept of all three indications.

Product

Value proposition: Developing fat cell–targeted therapies and M3 technology to treat obesity and metabolic diseases, with potential applications in surgery and tissue engineering
Target customers: pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, clinical partners

Founders

Ben Pope
Prince Nnah

Products

M3 technology platformMCL5008 (oral, once-daily therapy)

Key features

fat cell engineeringtherapeutic adipokinesmodels that grow mature human adipocytes with physiological relevanceM3 technologyMCL5008 pipelineclinical advancement readiness

Technologies

fat cell engineeringM3 technologyadipocyte modelsoral small molecule therapy

Target conditions

obesitydiabetescancermetabolic disorders

Partnerships

validation of M3 technology with industry partnerscollaborations with pharma for obesity/metabolic disease programs

Traction metrics

company claims obesity therapeutic candidate MCL5008; pipeline progress; backing from experienced team with Ozempic background; over $1B in pharmaceutical transactions as context

Competitors

other obesity/metabolic disease therapeutics developers

Investors

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney DiseasesNational Science FoundationLvlUp LabsKensington Capital Holdings

News

MelliCell, Inc. - LinkedIn · 2024-11-24T00:00:00.000Z
News - MelliCell · 2024-10-24T00:00:00.000Z
PROSPR Teaming Profiles - ARPA-H · 2025-01-17T00:00:00.000Z
MelliCell Awarded SEED Grant with Mass General Brigham to Propel Innovation in Diabetes and Obesity - BioSpace · 2024-10-25T07:55:55.000Z
MelliCell Awarded SEED Grant with Mass General Brigham to Propel Innovation in Diabetes and Obesity
MelliCell Awarded SEED Grant with Mass General Brigham to Propel Innovation in Diabetes and Obesity | Newswire · 2024-10-24T14:00:07.000Z

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Profile updated Jul 29, 2026. Sources: mellicell.com