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Innovate GBM’s 2025 Investment Playbook Year to Date Review: Building a New Market for Brain Cancer Investments and Breakthroughs

By: Innovate GBM via GlobeNewswire

September 23, 2025 at 11:00 AM EDT

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innovate GBM, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to transforming the landscape of brain tumor research, investment, and treatment, has released its 2025 Year-to-Date Impact Report, showcasing a bold new approach to solving some of oncology’s most stubborn and underfunded problems: glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and other brain tumors.

Built in memory of Sanam Thukral, DVM, a young veterinarian who passed away in 2024 following a 30-month battle with GBM, Innovate GBM has grown from a grassroots support group into a globally connected movement accelerating momentum in one of oncology’s most neglected fields. Rather than relying on traditional philanthropy or government grants, the organization is executing a capital markets driven playbook to fuel progress in a field long ignored by mainstream funders.

Brain cancer research has too often been slowed by disconnected systems and isolated efforts, while other diseases have moved forward through clearer, more structured pipelines. Through an independent, investor-driven Ecosystem, Innovate GBM is channeling private capital, supporting public-company pathways, and engaging in high-level policy work to provide more clear treatment pathways. Most importantly, Innovate GBM is bringing physicians, researchers, advocates, regulators, investors, and companies into one coordinated network that works side by side to build a stronger path toward progress.

Despite GBM’s lethality, accounting for just 1.5% of cancers but over 3.4% of cancer deaths, federal funding for brain tumor research has declined in recent years. “This isn’t just about the funding sources,” said Kush Thukral, Co-Executive Director of Innovate GBM. “it’s about changing the architecture of how investment, innovation, and urgency come together in the brain tumor space.”

The Ecosystem is growing stronger. Since January 2025, Innovate GBM and its Community have achieved milestones such as:

NASDAQ Closing Bell Ceremony: On June 12, 2025, Innovate GBM rang the NASDAQ Closing Bell in Times Square in honor of GBM patients and the broader brain tumor community, signaling a new era of urgency and visibility for the field.
40+ Community Members with Zero Dollar Fundraising: The organization remains entirely bootstrapped, driven not by donations, but by a committed internal operations team and a coalition of over 40 top tier Community Members spanning clinical, academic, venture, and advocacy sectors.
Catalyzing Investment:
- Helped drive $170M+ in committed capital across 9+ companies in the brain tumor pipeline: Paxalisib, SurVaxM, VXM01, NEO100, TTX-MC138, VAL-083, CHI3L1, CeCava, and DCVax–L.
- Joined a brain tumor investment syndicate in collaboration with leading partners including the Brain Tumor Investment Fund, Sontag Foundation, White Lion GBM Innovation Fund, BrightEdge, Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, MEDA Angels, Lindonlight, Pathway Bioventures, and DeepWork Capital.
Policy and Legislative Advocacy: Advanced support for the BRAIN Act (S.4739) alongside the National Brain Tumor Society, spotlighting bipartisan federal action to improve care and innovation pathways for brain cancer patients.
Ecosystem Partnerships: Strengthened working relationships with members from top institutions including the National Brain Tumor Society, Global Coalition for Adaptive Research, GBM Agile, OSR Holdings, UCLA, Brown University, USC, StacheStrong, Glioblastoma Research Organization, Landmark Bioventures, Spanios Lab, Valkyrie Clinical Trials, Penn Medicine, and Northwestern University.

Every breakthrough in brain cancer is the result of one more shot on goal. Innovate GBM’s playbook doesn’t just create hope, it helps expand the chances for patients and families to see better options in their lifetime. We are not the first and we will not be the last, but we are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with every patient, family, researcher, and advocate fighting this disease. Co-Executive Director Yash Thukral, JD, reflected, “We are building more than a market, we are building momentum. Every dollar, every investment, and every partnership adds up to a new architecture where cures are no longer impossible, but inevitable.”

To support Innovate GBM’s efforts to drive progress across the brain tumor Ecosystem, please consider making a donation at: https://innovategbm.org/donate/

About Innovate GBM
Innovate GBM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is curating an ecosystem for innovation amongst researchers, physicians, and investors to speed up treatment for Glioblastoma. By uniting key nodes of the healthcare ecosystem - physicians, researchers, companies, regulators, investors, and advocates - Innovate GBM builds the platforms and partnerships needed to accelerate progress in glioblastoma and related brain cancers. Our Community members span across a variety of organizations, such as the National Brain Tumor Society, the Brain Tumor Investment Fund, the Global Coalition for Adaptive Research, OSR Holdings, Inc, University of California Los Angeles, Brown University, University of Southern California, Spanios Labs, Penn Medicine, and Northwestern University.