Martinsried near Munich, 17 July 2024 – On 16 July 2024, the Munich Innovation and Start-up Center for Biotechnology (IZB), in cooperation with High-Tech Gruenderfonds (HTGF), Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim and MEDICE, hosted the 9th Life Science Pitch Day, which brought together ten biotech start-ups with more than 40 renowned life science investors and decision-makers from the industry. To start with, Christian Gnam, Managing Director of the IZB, gave an insight into current developments at the Munich start-up center and welcomed the attendees as fellow hosts Ingo Kloeckner, Head of Portfolio and Reporting at Leaps by Bayer and Philipp Mueller, Executive Director at Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund. Dr. Laura Pedroza, Investment Manager at HTGF, moderated the event.
The ten selected start-ups presented their innovative approaches for treating a wide range of serious diseases, from bacterial infections to brain tumors. Afterwards, Dr. Daniel Vitt, CEO of IZB alumnus Immunic Therapeutics, gave a keynote speech on the path of a biotech company to a successful IPO.
“Research at the highest level was once again presented at this year’s Life Science Pitch Day. This event offers start-ups the ideal opportunity to receive valuable feedback from the venture capital scene in a relaxed atmosphere. I would like to thank our partners for their long-standing support,” commented Christian Gnam, Managing Director of the IZB.
“The participating start-ups that are turning life science into innovative solutions were able to impress with their pitches,” says Philipp Müller, Boehring Ingelheim Venture Fund.
“Networking is of key importance at Life Science Pitch Day. The founders have the opportunity to make valuable new contacts with potential investors, partners and other start-ups,” explains Ingo Kloeckner, Leaps by Bayer.
“With the Life Science Pitch Day, we have jointly established an excellent event with great added value for all participants. Partnerships are formed here that benefit life science start-ups and investors,” says Dr. Laura Pedroza, Investment Manager at HTGF.
The following project teams presented their groundbreaking research at the 9th Munich Life Science Pitch Day:
- Akribion Therapeutics, Lukas Linnig: A new modality of guided cancer cell killing, targeting cancer-specific RNA biomarker expression using easily programmable cytotoxic nucleases with high specificity for wide range of RNA targets
- Citrapeutics, Prof. Frank Pressler: First-in-class ACOD1 inhibitors to boost anti-tumor immunity and inhibit cancer cell proliferation for a variety of oncological indications
- immuneAdvice, Dr. Teresa Wagner: Visualizes immune cells through non-invasive imaging to guide immunotherapies
- InCephalo Therapeutics, Carlo Bertozzi: Develops next-generation therapies for the treatment of brain cancer
- KUPANDO, Johanna Holldack: Stimulation of the Oldest Mechanism of Defense: TLRs operate to detect signature molecules that herald infection and cancer by activating the innate immune system
- PREVACTA, Torsten Mummenbrauer: A vaccine and therapeutics start-up, combining unique expertise in synthetic (glyco-) chemistry, immunology & clinical infectious diseases
- Quasar Therapeutics, Dr. Arthur Dopler: Develops cutting-edge regulators of the complement system to address rare but life-threatening diseases and to solve the problems of current inhibitors in the clinic
- TECregen, Prof. Georg Hollander: Immuno-Rejuvenation start-up with the vision to develop transformative, next generation, synthetic ligands to regenerate the thymus
- Teneura, Dr. Niels von Wardenburg: Aims to cure neurological autoimmune diseases through T-cell therapies
- TQ Therapeutics, Christin Zündorf: Develops a novel manufacturing platform for cell therapeutics, that will enable the production of cellular drugs with an integrated, highly automated extracorporeal gene therapy approach
Pressefotos zum Download unter: www.izb-online.de/media-library/images (-> Picture galleries of the Munich Life Science Pitch Day at the IZB)
