Download PDF- KyDo has been awarded the 2026 MATWIN prize for the best drug-based innovation project in oncology.
- KyDo’s lead program consists of novel covalent-allosteric inhibitors with the potential to become best-in-class oncology drugs.
May 27th, 2026, Dortmund, Germany – KyDo Therapeutics GmbH (KyDo), a preclinical-stage biotechnology company committed to developing novel covalent-allosteric small molecule inhibitors with the potential to become best-in-class oncology drugs, announced today the receipt of the 2026 MATWIN award for the best drug-based innovation project in oncology. The selection is made once a year by the MATWIN board comprising oncology experts from 9 different pharmaceutical companies.
The Dortmund-based company was jointly founded by Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC), a German translational drug discovery hub, together with scientists from TU Dortmund University. The core technology of KyDo was originally developed by Prof. Daniel Rauh, and was subsequently advanced into a drug discovery program through a collaboration between LDC, TU Dortmund University, Taros Chemicals GmbH & Co. KG, and the Leibniz Institute IfADo.
Led by an experienced team of managers and advisors, as well as by a robust investment syndicate, KyDo is well positioned to deliver groundbreaking science with the aim of improving patient care. The MATWIN award is granted once a year at the MEET2WIN convention held in Bordeaux, and is the result of a highly competitive selection process by the MATWIN board members. MATWIN, a unique open-innovation platform in Europe, has been bringing together the academic, industrial, and entrepreneurial worlds for 16 years, with the goal to accelerate the transformation of research projects into concrete clinical solutions. This model is powered by the commitment of 9 pharmaceutical company partners, the MATWIN board members, who directly involve their R&D world executive decision-makers to evaluate and support innovation with a high medical impact in the field.
“This is a great honor for the KyDo team and we thank the MATWIN organizers and coaches for supporting us over the last months,” said Matthias Stein-Gerlach, CEO of KyDo. “We are excited about the positive vote of such an esteemed collection of pharmaceutical oncology experts underlining the potential of KyDo’s best-in-class compounds to address unmet therapeutic needs in cancer.”
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About KyDo Therapeutics
KyDo Therapeutics (KyDo), based in Dortmund, Germany, was jointly founded by Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC), together with scientists from the Rauh Lab at TU Dortmund University. KyDo successfully concluded a seed financing round in 2025 spearheaded by I&I Bio together with KHAN-II, and with notable participation of VORNvc, and TU capital. KyDo’s covalent-allosteric drug discovery platform addresses highly relevant cancer targets with novel precision medicine that bear a huge potential to improve the efficacy, minimize the side effects and enable completely new combination therapies that are urgently needed.
Further information at: https://kydo-tx.com
About MATWIN
MATWIN, a 100% subsidiary of Unicancer, is a French open-innovation platform dedicated exclusively to oncology. For the past 16 years, the platform has offered various support actions (expertise, accelerator programs, events, etc.) to boost the development of innovative cancer-related projects. Its activities are backed by a longstanding partnership with 9 global pharma companies committed to advancing impactful innovation in oncology (Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo, Exact Sciences, MSD, Pierre Fabre, Pfizer, Sanofi, Servier). Since 2021, MATWIN also coordinates the OncoSTART consortium dedicated to oncology entrepreneurship, which brings together 14 expert organizations in cancer research and innovation.
Further information at: https://matwin.fr
About Lead Discovery Center
Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC) was established in 2008 by the technology transfer organization Max Planck Innovation, as a novel approach to capitalize on the potential of excellent basic research for the discovery of new therapies for diseases with high medical need. The LDC takes on promising early-stage projects from academia and transforms them into innovative pharmaceutical leads and antibodies that reach initial proof-of-concept in animals as well as candidate nomination. In close collaboration with high-profile partners from research and industry, the LDC is building a strong and growing portfolio of small molecule and antibody leads with exceptional medical and commercial potential.
LDC sustains a long-term partnership with the Max Planck Society and its institutes as well as with KHAN Technology Transfer Fund, and has formed numerous alliances with pharma and biotech companies, in particular with JT Pharmaceuticals (now: Shionogi) as well as AstraZeneca, Bayer, Merck KGaA, Qurient, InvIOS, Cumulus Oncology, Nodus Oncology, KinSea Lead Discovery, HLB Life Science R&D, KyDo Therapeutics and the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, e.g. In addition, LDC also works with leading translational drug discovery centers and in addition to a preferred partnership with KHAN with various investors to provide its assets for company creation.
Further information at: www.lead-discovery.de
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Contact:
KyDo Therapeutics GmbH: www.kydo-tx.com
E-Mail: info@kydo-tx.com
Lead Discovery Center GmbH: www.lead-discovery.de
E-Mail: pr@lead-discovery.de
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