emerging breakthroughs
A showcase of our global programs.
JANUARY 13-14, 2026 / San Francisco, CA
Wellcome Leap featured scientific innovations from 10 teams across 5 programs spanning neurodevelopment, maternal care, depression, surgical training, and RNA manufacturing.
TO LEARN MORE, CONTACT transitions@wellcomeleap.org
Program Challenge: What if we’ve been approaching the first 3 years of a child’s development all wrong?
Baylor
Advancing a first-in-class product that supports healthy infant neurodevelopment by restoring key early-life gut microbiome functions in the first months of life.
Program Challenge: What if we could reduce the number of stillborn babies by half by detecting emerging complications in utero?
Maternitec
Building the world’s first wearable fetal activity tracker, providing reassurance now, and an early warning sign of fetal distress in the future.
Medicines 360
Transforming data-driven, personalized insights at every stage of pregnancy, powered by comprehensive risk stratification, to help identify the conditions responsible for 50% of stillbirths.
SADIE
Transforming how ultrasound can be used to guide clinical decisions around the timing of birth by providing critical information on fetal oxygenation.
Program Challenge: What if we could double the number of people who receive an effective treatment for depression? On the first try.
Eiro
Building an AI-powered Precision Health Platform that integrates complex biomarker data to predict the most effective depression treatment for each individual – shortening and personalizing their treatment journey.
Program Challenge: What if we could shorten and improve training and not all surgical providers needed to be MDs?
Grendel
Introducing an AI-powered, gamified, immersive simulation training platform for minimally invasive surgery skills, coupled with quantifiable performance metrics to enable trainees to achieve competence faster.
Chipsense
Developing a point of care solution with biosensors that can accurately measure multiple reproductive hormones in a single test device, for routine monitoring at home to inform hormone therapy and care.
Keysuite
Democratizing access to gasless laparoscopic surgical equipment and techniques through a low-cost, highly functional and portable laparoscopic kit, manufactured and serviced locally, and scalable regionally.
StatOS
Developing a real-time bedside test to measure oxidative stress in patients for early detection of deterioration and recovery.
RiboPro
Transforming how RNA medicines are developed and manufactured with RiboFlux: the world’s first integrated, continuous‑flow mRNA manufacturing system designed to move seamlessly from research to GMP‑scale production.
Centillion
Advancing Biofoundry-in-a-Box™ (BiaB™): a fully automated, end-to-end RNA manufacturing platform built on a patented continuous-flow control strategy, delivering programmable, GMP-quality RNA from research through early development.
TO LEARN MORE, CONTACT transitions@wellcomeleap.org