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Is Private Equity, the investment arm of Türkiye’s Isbank Group, has launched a biotechnology venture named Enlila to support cutting-edge metabolic research at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health with a $39 million investment.
The company has entered into a sponsored research and licensing agreement with the university to fund the lab of Turkish Professor Gokhan Hotamisligil, a globally recognized expert in metabolic diseases.
The research at the Hotamisligil Lab has uncovered a key biological mechanism involved in age-related diseases.
Specifically, the team has identified novel hormones secreted by fat cells that influence energy metabolism, inflammation, and stress responses—processes that often break down with age and obesity.
In preclinical models, targeting these hormones has shown potential in reversing conditions such as insulin resistance, fatty liver disease, asthma, and type 2 diabetes.
Professor Hotamisligil, who holds the James Stevens Simmons Professorship in Genetics and Metabolism, noted that the project is focused on restoring what he called “metabolic flexibility” and building the body’s capacity to adapt to stress.
He described the collaboration with Enlila as a critical step toward developing treatments that could reshape how chronic diseases are managed.
Enlila, headquartered in Türkiye, was founded by Is Private Equity to commercialize the Harvard research findings. The company will provide initial funding to cover the preclinical development phase and plans further investment to support clinical trials.
Under the agreement, Enlila holds licensing rights to both current and future inventions resulting from the ongoing research.
Isbank CEO Hakan Aran highlighted the project’s broader mission, describing it not only as an investment but also as a commitment to scientific innovation with global health implications.
“This is a vision that offers hope for humanity,” he said during the signing ceremony at Harvard.
“Enlila will turn academic discoveries into real-world therapies that enhance the quality of life.”
Kubilay Aykol, CEO of Is Private Equity, emphasized the strategic importance of biotechnology for long-term economic and healthcare development.
“We believe this effort will generate value not just for Türkiye, but for the global scientific community,” he said.
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