Funding

Connecticut-Based Cloverleaf Bio Raises $33M in Seed Financing

Sep 9, 2026 | By Devin Jacobs

SUMMARY

Cloverleaf Bio raised $33M in seed funding.
The funding will support two cancer drug programs.
Cloverleaf develops tRNA-based cancer therapies.

Cloverleaf Bio, a New Haven, CT-based provider of engineered transfer RNA (tRNA) based payloads for cancer, has raised $33 million in a seed funding round led by 4BIO Capital.

The round also saw participation from AbbVie Ventures, Eli Lilly and Company, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Draper Associates, Mission BioCapital, and American Cancer Society BrightEdge.

The company will use the capital to advance its two lead programs targeting hepatocellular carcinoma and colorectal cancer.

Funding Snapshot

Metric	Details
Fundraise Amount	$33 million
Funding Round	Seed
Lead Investor	4BIO Capital
Company	Cloverleaf Bio
Sector	Biotechnology & RNA Therapeutics
Headquarters	New Haven, Connecticut, USA

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About Cloverleaf Bio

Founded in 2023 by Austin Draycott and Cole Lewis, Cloverleaf Bio is an RNA therapeutics company developing engineered tRNA based treatments for cancer. It's platform focuses on selective, and durable inhibition of multiple RNA modifying enzymes that cancer cells depend on as they proliferate.

Core offerings include:

Engineered tRNA therapeutics
Cancer-focused RNA medicines
Inhibitory tRNA assets
Antibody-tRNA conjugates

Core Technologies / Products / Services

Capability/Product	Application/Use Case
Engineered tRNA platform	Developing targeted cancer therapeutics
CLB-001	Lead compound for cancer programs
Inhibitory tRNA asset	Hepatocellular carcinoma
Antibody-tRNA conjugate	Colorectal cancer

Leadership Comments

Austin Draycott, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of Cloverleaf Bio, said “We are excited to secure this financing to advance a new generation of cancer therapeutics. We're grateful to 4BIO Capital for leading this round, and to attract major strategic investors, including AbbVie Ventures, Lilly, and Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund at this stage reflects the level of scientific interest in this approach.

Dima Kuzmin, Co-founder and Managing Partner at lead investor 4BIO Capital said: “Cloverleaf reflects the core thesis of 4BIO: backing transformative frontier science that has the potential to become an entirely new class of cancer therapeutics with applicability to every major cancer of unmet need.