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This innovative biotechnology company was founded in 2012 as a spin-out of the Institute for Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology of the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster. Cysal is active in the production of biopolymers, peptides, and especially dipeptides. Furthermore, Cysal specializes in developing biotechnology solutions in General.

cytena's single-cell printer is a unique device for separating, sorting and handling of single biological cells. For the first time this method enables an automated, separation of single cells with high viability and proof of clonality without cross-contamination risks.

denovoMATRIX develops and manufactures biomimetic coatings for the cultivation of human stem cells. Our focus is on enabling culture conditions for stem and primary cells closer to the natural conditions found in the body. Our products offer a biologically relevant solution, which is both chemically defined, and modular for adapting to specific applications. Our vision is to enable human biology in vitro, beginning with Life Science research and onwards to cell therapies of the future.

DNTOX GmbH was founded in March 2022 as a spin-off from the IUF - Leibniz Institute for Environmental Medicine Research and is based on the longstanding research work of Professor Dr. Ellen Fritsche, medical scientist and toxicologist at the IUF. The team of the founders Prof. Fritsche, the economist Silke Beaucamp, the biotechnologists Dr. Katharina Koch and Dr. Kristina Bartmann as well as the bioinformaticians Dr. Arif Dönmez and Prof. Axel Mosig could already be completed by three full-time employees.

Draupnir Bio is a spin out company, from Aarhus University and the Max-Planck Society and establishing itself at the forefront of protein degradation. Draupnir’s novel and proprietary platform technology is enabling the development of protein degraders that target extracellular disease proteins, with potential to target 40% of the human proteome and offering broad disease applicability across multiple areas. Through this differentiated platform technology, it’s building a broad pipeline of oral small molecule degraders of extracellular pathogenic proteins.

Dualyx aims to create next-generation biologic drugs for autoimmunity therapies with novel mechanisms of action, lower toxicity, and improved patient outcomes than traditional therapeutics. The company is developing the pipeline together with our academic and industry partners such as Wurzburg University, argenx, KU Leuven and VIB.

DyNAbind is offering innovative drug discovery products and services based on its proprietary Dynamic DNA-Encoded Library (D-DEL) technology platform. With D-DEL, DyNAbind can simultaneously screen hundreds of millions of compounds against a target protein. Follow-up hit triage is also rapid, thanks to the Binding Profiler system for hit validation. Altogether, DyNAbind’s platform delivers higher-quality, more relevant medicinal chemistry starting points at about 10 times the speed of conventional approaches.

Ebenbuild is a health tech pioneer that creates personalized treatment recommendations for mechanical ventilation and ICU patient care for clinical users. Founded in Munich in 2019, the company develops software tools that generate precise patient-specific simulation models of lungs based on patient data, so-called digital twins of the lungs. These enable pinpoint individual medical decisions for intensive care patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In this way, Ebenbuild aims to make a significant contribution to improving treatment as well as reducing mortality.

The Berlin-based start-up ecopals is dedicated to developing sustainable solutions for a more
resource-efficient road construction industry. In cooperation with the Fraunhofer ICT and the
University of Kassel, this has resulted in a first product that has already proven itself on several pilot
roads: EcoFlakes are an asphalt additive made from non-recyclable plastics that can no longer be
used elsewhere. They offer an economical alternative to newly produced polymer additives and
improve the performance properties of the asphalt. Independent material tests ensure that the
composition of the additive remains constant and that it is free of emissions and pollutants. Most
importantly, regional production can reduce the asphalt's carbon footprint by up to 30%. ecopals is
thus focusing on innovation by linking existing competencies in science, road construction and
recycling.

Development of antibody conjugate-based cancer therapeutics for solid tumors with high unmet needs that are otherwise difficult to treat
Problem: Solid cancers are still very difficult to treat. Most treatments increase life expectancy, but only a few lead to a complete cure. Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) have proven to be a promising therapeutic approach, but still cause significant and toxic side effects.

The solution: Emergence Therapeutics has identified several areas where ADCs can be improved. These are the antibody itself, the toxin used to kill the cancer cell, and the linker that couples the toxin to the antibody.

Technology/ IP: The antibody-related IP is in-licensed from the University of Aix-Marseille (France) and the toxin-related IP is in-licensed from Heidelberg Pharma.
The IP and all results generated for the ADC in development will be out-licensed or sold by Emergence.

faCellitate develops patented polymeric surface coatings for plastic and glassware enabling 3-dimensional cell culture, amongst other uses. Initially, the technology was developed at the BASF research department for polymers. The company and team were formed at Chemovator during a nearly three year incubation period and spun-off end of 2021. During the period at Chemovator from BASF, the company turned the technology platform into a pipeline of high-tech applications and start building an international digital marketing platform.
faCellitate is also advancing its platform technology into other areas. Under the brand BIOINSTRUCT™, the company is applying its technology to modify polymer coated surfaces with peptides to create biospecific lab material surfaces for customers.
faCellitate has its offices in Mannheim in a startup incubator environment and its labs in Heidelberg.

Fiagon develops a new medical navigation system for intraoperative process control and positioning of instruments for ENT, head-/ neck- and neurosurgery.

FundaMental Pharma GmbH (FMP) is developing new types of drugs that act as ‘molecular spacers’ and disrupt a death signaling complex in the brain. Using this pharmacological strategy, FMP scientists succeeded in eliminating the toxic properties of the glutamate-controlled NMDA-type neurotransmitter receptor.

FMP has already identified first drug candidates that are currently in pre-clinical development and will be tested in humans within the next 2-3 years.

The discovery of an entirely new pharmacological principle ('interface targeting') raises hopes that previously untreatable neurodegenerative diseases in humans can be mitigated. Interface inhibitors open up new possibilities, both in terms of drug treatments and gene therapy approaches.

FMP was established in 2016 as a biotech start-up of the Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences (IZN) at Heidelberg University by Professor Hilmar Bading, Junior Professor Daniela Mauceri and Dr. Thomas Schulze.

GME German Medical Engineering develops and markets a new generation of laser and lightsystems (small, light weight, modular) for the use in cosmetic and medical dermatology.

GQ Bio is pioneering a high-capacity gene therapy vector platform (HCAd) that addresses some of the big challenges in the gene therapy field: Transfer of large and multiple genes with a single vector, highly efficient gene delivery (high transduction efficiency), and large-scale manufacturability. Based on its HCAd vector platform, GQ Bio develops transformative treatments for chronic, prevalent conditions such as osteoarthritis and intervertebral disc degeneration. GQ Bio is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany and has sites at Luckenwalde (greater Berlin area), Germany and Liège, Belgium.

GS Bavaria is the world‘s first supplier of nano- hard metal materials on industrial scale. Production is extremely cost-efficient, sustainable and comes with minimal energy consumption through our unique bioleaching recycling process. This process yields nano- powders which we transform into nano- additives to make it as easy as possible for our customers to produce high-performance composites. For now, additives based on Tungsten (W) are available, other metals to come.

GWA Hygiene is committed to reducing the number of hospital infections. For this purpose, the company has developed NosoEx, a modern monitoring system for measuring hand hygiene. The IoT system can be seamlessly integrated into the infrastructure of the health facilities. For this purpose, the existing disinfectant dispensers are equipped with sensors. The software can then be used to see how the disinfection figures for each station, donor and occupational group are developing. Measures to improve the hygiene situation can then be initiated.
The Stralsund start-up was founded in 2015 and now has 25 employees. In addition to Maik Gronau and Tobias Gebhardt, Dirk Amtsberg, Marcel Walz and Daniel Neuendorf are among the founding partners. The NosoEx system is currently being used by a double-digit number of customers in Europe.
The NosoEx system is currently being used by a double-digit number of customers in the DACH region.

Hapila's counter-current crystallisation process provides a cost effective procedure for purification of active pharmaceutical ingredients, completed by experience in synthesis and particle design.

HBOX Therapies has developed a technology that facilitates lung-protective treatment of respiratory patients, the patented platform technology HBOX (Hyperbaric Blood Oxygenation). The management team of HBOX Therapies consists of the founders and shareholders Dr. Peter Schlanstein, Dr. Matthias Menne and Niklas Steuer. Before founding the company, they worked together for many years at the Institute for Applied Medical Technology (AME) at RWTH Aachen University and are highly specialized in their fields.

heartbeat ONE provides a streamlined patient management tool for health care facilities of all sizes. It offers intelligent evaluations of diagnostics and treatment methods. It supports the preparation, documentation and evaluation of medical interventions. Patient reported outcomes can automatically be collected for every patient. heartbeat ONE is hosted for customers in certified data centers in Germany or if desired self hosted on site.
Fully web-based the system heartbeat ONE runs on all major operating systems and requires only a modern browser. The integrated medical documentation has been enhanced by an algorithm that dynamically adapts to the treatment situation. In order to conduct patient surveys and a digital anamnesis via tablet at cite, native applications for iOS and Android platforms are available. Follow-up patient surveys are carried out over a separate patient portal which can be accessed from all devices (pc, smartphone, tablet, etc.).

hema.to is an easy-to-use software for clinical decision support for blood cancer from cytometry data using AI. hema.to makes the diagnostic workflow both faster and better, helping both diagnosticians as well as patients. hema.to is a CE-IVD, FDA registered and already in routine use by leading hematology laboratories. Founded in 2021, hema.to’s mission is to make clinical analysis of cytometry data completely objective, to enable doctors to personalize treatment to their patient’s unique immune system.

Since its operational start in 2017, HepaRegeniX has successfully discovered and developed several drug candidates for the treatment of acute and chronic liver diseases based on a novel proprietary molecular target Mitogen-Activated Protein (MAP) Kinase Kinase 4 (MKK4). A first compound has recently started clinical development.
MKK4 is a key regulator of liver regeneration and suppression of MKK4 unlocks the regenerative capacity of hepatocytes even in severely diseased livers. This new and unique therapeutic concept for the treatment of liver diseases was discovered by Prof. Lars Zender and his research group at the University Hospital Tubingen, Germany. Investors in HepaRegeniX include the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF), Novo Holdings A/S, Coparion, High-Tech Gruenderfonds and Ascenion GmbH.

Humedics markets a system for bedside and instantaneous measurement of liver function. Patented device, consumables and a diagnostic drug allow an optimal market offering.

iAtros is a digital heart clinic and a fully integrated platform, providing better medical care for patients with cardiovascular problems around the clock. Among other services, iATROS offers smart sensor diagnosis, a vital parameter data base, therapy- and medication regimes as well as teledoctor services.
Cardiologists Prof. Dr. med. Alexander Leber and Dr. med Georges von Degenfeld and eHealth entrepreneur Patrick Palacin founded iATROS in 2019. Former Sky executive and communications expert Prof Wolfram Winter and former AOK Berlin finance director Jens Schäfer are the co-founders.

Immunic Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech company with a pipeline of selective oral immunology therapies aimed at treating chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Immunic, Inc. is headquartered in New York. Its subsidiary, Immunic AG, is based in Graefelfing near Munich, Germany, where the company’s research and development activities are conducted. Additional subsidiaries are located in Halle/Saale, Germany, and Melbourne, Australia.

Immunic is developing three small molecule products: lead development program, IMU-838, is a selective immune modulator that inhibits the intracellular metabolism of activated immune cells by blocking the enzyme DHODH; IMU-935 is an inverse agonist of RORγt; and IMU-856 targets the restoration of the intestinal barrier function. IMU-838 is in phase 2 clinical development for COVID-19, relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis and, in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic, primary sclerosing cholangitis.

IOP GmbH will initiate a paradigm chance in glaucoma therapy by its products for telemetric, 24 hour monitoring of intraocular pressure, allowing personalized patient management.

InCephalo develops exclusively local treatments for neurological diseases, with a focus on cancers in the brain (primary brain cancers as well as secondary brain cancers). The proprietary Compartment Lock technology, also called C-Lock, retains biologics, that are applied locally behind the blood brain barrier, in the central nervous system (CNS) and once they leave the CNS, degrades them rapidly in the systemic compartment. Thereby it significantly improves local CNS therapy, a challenging task with regards to achieving high local concentration (for efficacy) and low systemic footprint (to reduce potential side effects). Especially the peripheral side effects still limit various promising candidates for the treatment of brain cancer or other neurological diseases.

inContAlert was founded in September 2022 within the ecosystem of the University of Bayreuth. The MedTech startup's sensor system empowers patients with neurogenic bladder dysfunction to manage their bladder on a needs-based basis.

Innerspace develops novel, psychologically based training solutions for highly critical applications in the life science industry. Cleanroom operators are comprehensively prepared for the key moments of their work using the DeepTraining approach, implemented in virtual reality. With regular practice in virtual space, they can safely deepen their behaviour patterns and their understanding of production in critical areas of activity. Since company foundation Innerspace has positioned itself clearly as the innovator combining content and VR-technology in the Edu-Tech-Market. Innerspace already sells its products to numerous leading international pharma companies.

Inovedis is developing a new surgical technique for rotator cuff ruptures based on a PEEK implant. This injury is by so far the most typical shoulder injury. The patented SINEFIX implant system allows refixation of the tendon with a simplified surgical technique and is optimized for minimally invasive surgery. The technique is easy and quick to learn for the surgeon, minimizing complications due to surgical mistakes. The novel surgical principle suggests significant time and cost reductions as well as improved outcomes. Inovedis was founded in 2016. The company started operations in 2019.