Cloverleaf Bio, an RNA therapeutics company developing engineered transfer RNA-based cancer treatments, has closed a $33 million seed financing round. The oversubscribed round was led by 4BIO Capital, with participation from AbbVie Ventures, Eli Lilly and Company, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Draper Associates, Mission BioCapital, and American Cancer Society BrightEdge. The New Haven-based company will use the funds to advance two lead programmes: an inhibitory tRNA asset targeting hepatocellular carcinoma through early clinical testing and an antibody-tRNA conjugate asset for colorectal cancer through preclinical development. Cloverleaf's platform targets RNA-modifying enzymes that cancer cells depend on during proliferation. In preclinical studies, the lead compound CLB-001 demonstrated greater potency and selectivity for cancerous cells whilst showing no signs of systemic toxicity. The company is a Yale University spinout, founded by Austin Draycott, Cole Lewis, and Wendy Gilbert.

Giving together: Thomas J. Henry and Dr. Elena Alvarez-Henry join forces for cancer care. September 04, 2026, 15:00 GMT Longtime philanthropists make major charitable commitments together as title sponsors of American Cancer Society Grand Gala in Puerto Rico NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, September 4, 2026 / EINPresswire.com / - For Texas attorney and philanthropist Thomas J. Henry and his wife, Dr. Elena Alvarez-Henry, giving back has long been part of their lives individually. Now, it is increasingly becoming something they are doing together. The couple served for the second time as title sponsors of the American Cancer Society's 2026 Grand Gala, held August 29th, 2026 at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan, marking sponsorship of an organization with which both have longstanding personal connections. The annual Grand Gala is one of the American Cancer Society's signature fundraising events in Puerto Rico, raising funds to help sustain services including the Puerto Rico Hope Lodge and Hogar Niños Que Quieren Sonreír. Hope Lodge provides cancer patients and their caregivers who must travel for treatment with complimentary accommodations and a supportive home away from home near treatment centers. The Puerto Rico facility, which opened in 2013, has 33 guest rooms. For Dr. Elena Alvarez-Henry, the mission resonates with an experience that dates to medical school. A fellow student had a young son with leukemia and was forced to travel for hours so the child could receive treatment. Seeing firsthand the additional burden that distance placed on a family already confronting cancer left a lasting impression on her and helped shape her belief that access to care involves far more than medicine alone. That experience made the work of Hope Lodge, which aims to remove some of the practical and financial barriers separating patients from potentially lifesaving treatment as especially meaningful to the couple. For Thomas J. Henry, the sponsorship continues more than three decades of charitable involvement spanning health care, education, hunger relief, children, veterans and community organizations. In 2025, that work was formalized with the establishment of the Thomas J. Henry Center for Philanthropy in Corpus Christi, Texas, created to coordinate charitable partnerships and direct resources toward communities where they can make a lasting impact. Puerto Rico has also become particularly meaningful to Henry and Alvarez-Henry. Around the time of their engagement celebrations on the island, Henry made a $1 million contribution to SER of Puerto Rico as the organization approached its 75th anniversary. The funding has helped SER expand access to specialized medical and rehabilitation services for children and adults across Puerto Rico. The American Cancer Society sponsorship represents a continuation of that relationship with the island, but also something more personal: the emergence of a shared philanthropic agenda for Henry and Alvarez-Henry.Rather than approaching philanthropy as a gesture, the couple is focused on supporting organizations that address tangible needs, whether that means helping a child reach specialized medical care, giving a cancer patient somewhere to stay during treatment or providing community organizations with resources to serve more families. The Puerto Rico Hope Lodge embodies that philosophy. Part of a nationwide American Cancer Society program of more than 30 facilities across the United States and Puerto Rico, the San Juan-area location provides eligible patients and caregivers with lodging at no charge while patients undergo active cancer treatment away from home. For Thomas J. Henry and Dr. Elena Alvarez-Henry It is a partnership they hope can quietly make a difference, one community and one family at a time. About Thomas J. Henry: Thomas J. Henry Law, PLLC is one of the nation's leading personal injury firms. Since 1993, the firm has fought to secure justice and compensation for individuals who have lost loved ones due to the negligence of others and to prevent similar instances of wrongful death from occurring again. Over that time, Thomas J. Henry and his firm have received numerous awards and recognitions, including Attorney of the Year by Top 100 Lawyers (Top 100 Registry, Inc.) for Outstanding Achievement in Personal Injury and Mass Tort. He was also named a Top 10 Trucking Trial Lawyer by The National Trial Lawyers and a Legal Superstar of 2022 by Newsweek.com. Outside of the courtroom, the firm is known for its many philanthropic endeavors and generous contributions to local and global communities. The firm has an active philanthropy program that supports causes related to poverty, veterans, national disaster relief, education, animal welfare, and the arts. IG: @tjhlaw | FB: tjhlaw | X/T: @ThomasJHenryLaw Norah Lawlor Lawlor Media Group, Inc. +1 212-967-6900 email us here Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Instagram Facebook X Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above. You just read: September 04, 2026, 15:00 GMT EIN Presswire's priority is author transparency. We do our best to weed out false and misleading content. The content above is the sole responsibility of the author who makes it available. If you have any complaints, kindly contact the author above. Norah Lawlor Lawlor Media Group, Inc. +1 212-967-6900