10th Life Science Pitch Day at the IZB: Where Visionaries Meet Investors

During the anniversary Pitch Day at the IZB, ten selected start-ups presented their groundbreaking ideas to a high-caliber panel of investors. 

For the tenth time, the Innovation and Startup Center for Biotechnology (IZB), in cooperation with High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and MEDICE hosted the Life Science Pitch Day – an established format that brings promising biotech start-ups together with leading investors and key decision-makers from the industry. 

Christian Gnam, Managing Director of IZB, welcomed the guests and provided insights into the current developments at the start-up center. Together with co-organizers Dr. Achim Plum (Managing Director, HTGF), Ingo Klöckner (Head of Portfolio Strategy & Reporting, Leaps by Bayer), and Dr. Sebastian Kreuz (Executive Director, BI Venture Fund), he officially opened the event. Dr. Laura Pedroza (Senior Investment Manager, HTGF) guided the audience through the sessions. 

During the event, ten selected start-ups presented their innovative approaches to solving urgent medical challenges. They took the opportunity to showcase their technologies and business models to more than 70 renowned investors and experts from the life sciences industry. 

“With the 10th Life Science Pitch Day, we not only celebrated another milestone at IZB this year—alongside our 30th anniversary—but also demonstrated just how important Martinsried is as a hub for life sciences innovations. This event gives innovative start-ups a platform and direct access to leading investors. I would like to thank our long-standing partners for their continued support of this unique format,” commented Christian Gnam, Managing Director of IZB.  

“The presentations at the Life Science Pitch Day were of outstanding quality. This is where scientific excellence converges with entrepreneurial drive – the fuel powering biotech innovation and a valuable resource for life science investors,” said Achim Plum, HTGF. 

“Once again, the Life Science Pitch Day 2025 demonstrated the remarkable innovative strength of the sector. The technologies and ideas presented inspire optimism and spark curiosity about a new generation of medical breakthroughs,” said Sebastian Kreuz, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund. 

“A day full of inspiration: visionary founders, strong partners, insightful conversations, and excellent networking opportunities. Now in its tenth year, Pitch Day has firmly established itself as a must-attend event for the life science community,” explained Ingo Klöckner, Leaps by Bayer. 

The following project teams presented their innovative research at the 10th Munich Life Science Pitch Day:  

1. Toleris Biotherapeutics, Valentin Bruttel: Developing first-in-class biologics that leverage immune tolerance mechanisms from pregnancy to treat autoimmune diseases.  

2. Tacalyx, Dr. Peter Sondermann: Developing innovative monoclonal antibody therapies for the treatment of cancer by targeting tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs).  

3. RN.AI Therapeutics, Dr. Justin S. Antony: Developing AI-supported, precise combination therapies for the treatment of inflammatory and immunological (I&I) diseases.  

4. PHAME Therapeutics, Konstantin Hinnah: Utilizing a proprietary discovery engine to develop functional antibodies against GPCRs, a key target structure in chronic, high-burden diseases. 

5. Dimericon Therapeutics, Ulrich Kessler: Developing precision therapies based on a peptide-based modality for targeting hard-to-drug, intrinsically disordered proteins. 

6. Mighto Therapeutics, Dr. Hermann-J. Kaiser: Working on first-in-class small-molecule-based therapeutics for mitochondrial diseases such as MELAS, CPEO, and Parkinson’s disease.  

7. Synendos Therapeutics, Andrea Chicca: Conducting clinical development of novel therapies for neuropsychiatric disorders such as PTSD through targeted modulation of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) using selective endocannabinoid reuptake inhibitors. 

8. ARI-tx, Sebastian Hogl: Developing a first-in-class inhaled therapy for tissue regeneration in COPD-CB and other muco-obstructive lung diseases. 

9. Dense Immune, Zahra Ghodratian: Developing a bioengineered dense-body-based immunotherapy for the prevention and treatment of HCMV in immunocompromised patients. 

10. REVIER Therapeutics, Eva van Rooij and Matthias Dewenter: Developing novel therapies for HFpEF, a common heart failure condition, through targeted inhibition of class IIa HDAC activity.   

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About the Innovation and Start-up Center for Biotechnology (IZB) in Martinsried near Munich 
The Fördergesellschaft IZB mbH, founded in 1995, operates the Innovation and Start-up Centers for Biotechnology in Planegg-Martinsried and Freising-Weihenstephan and has developed into a leading biotechnology center. The IZB celebrated 30 years of promoting scientific and entrepreneurial innovation in May 2025. Currently, 26,000 m² is home to more than 40 biotech companies and life science companies employing more than 700 people. Here, work is being done on developing drugs for the most serious diseases, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and various autoimmune diseases. A key criterion for the success of the IZB is the physical proximity to cutting-edge research on the Martinsried/Grosshadern campus and the Weihenstephan campus. The new infrastructure measures such as the Faculty Club G2B (Gateway to Biotech), the IZB Residence CAMPUS AT HOME, the two kindergartens Bio Kids and Bio Kids2 as well as the two restaurants SEVEN AND MORE, and THE BOWL Food Lounge are also location factors that are highly valued by the founders of the companies. More information at www.izb-online.de/en/. 

Press contact and photo material requests: 
Marion Köhler, Head of Public Relations 
Fördergesellschaft IZB mbH, Innovations- und Gründerzentrum Biotechnologie 
Am Klopferspitz 19 
D-82152 Planegg-Martinsried 
Phone: +49 (0)89/55 279 48-17 
E-Mail: koehler@izb-online.de 

About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds  
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing startups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports startups in all phases of their development into international market leaders. HTGF invests in pre-seed and seed phases and can participate significantly in later-stage financing rounds. Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed more than 780 startups and achieved almost 200 successful exits. HTGF has a fund volume of over 2 billion euros.  
 
Fund investors in the public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, KfW Capital as well as 45 companies and family offices. For more information, please visit HTGF.de or follow us on LinkedIn.    
 
Press contact  
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH  
Tobias Jacob, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager 
T.: +49 228 – 82300 – 121 
t.jacob@htgf.de