SQZB

Sqz Biotechnologies Company

A clinical-stage biotechnology company that builds a cell-engineering platform called Cell Squeeze®, which physically squeezes cells through a narrow microfluidic chip to open temporary pores and let therapeutic materials slip inside. It was founded in 2013 as a spin-out from MIT by PhD student Armon Sharei and professors Klavs Jensen and Robert Langer. The name comes from a happy accident: the team first tried a "microfluidic gun" to shoot molecules into cells, but the cells were too squishy — the squeezing itself proved the breakthrough.