Affiliated Companies
LDC holds equity in several biotech companies. These are advancing the development of particularly promising projects from LDC or are working on platform technologies. They benefit from LDC’s drug discovery expertise and professional network.
Affectis Pharmaceuticals AG
Affectis is a pharmaceutical company developing a P2X7R antagonist for the treatment of neuroinflammatory diseases and additional indications. Affectis is a wholly owned subsidiary of LDC.
UGISense AG
UGISense AG is a biotech company developing new and innovative antisense therapeutic agents in collaboration with academic and industry partners. The developments are made on the basis of a proprietary platform technology, the UgimersTM.
QLi5 Therapeutics GmbH
Dortmund-based QLi5 Therapeutics was founded by LDC together with the Nobel laureate Prof. Dr. Robert Huber (Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Martinsried), Max Planck Society, as well as Qurient Co (Gyeonggi-do, South Korea), with the aim of accelerating novel first-in-class proteasome inhibitors.
Serengen GmbH
Dortmund-based Serengen was founded as a joint venture between the main shareholders LDC, Taros Holding GmbH (Dortmund, Germany) and Dr. Andreas Brunschweiger, a leading expert in the generation of innovative DNA-encoded compound libraries. Serengen provides access to novel DNA-encoded chemistry and a screening platform for DNA-encoded libraries.
CalTIC Therapeutics GmbH
The Dortmund-based company was founded by LDC together with University of Leeds (UK), Max Planck Society, and Prof. M. Freichel (University of Heidelberg) with the aim of developing innovative modulators for ion channels and, based on them, new drugs for the treatment of heart/metabolic diseases.
KinSea Lead Discovery AS
KinSea, based in Tromsø, Norway, is a joint venture founded in 2022 by LDC, University of Tromsø (UiT), and University of Bergen (UiB). KinSea’s mission is to establish a platform of marine bioactives for the treatment of human diseases. KinSea’s initial project focuses on the development of FLT3 inhibitors for the treatment of AML.
Cerapeutix GmbH
Cerapeutix is a Dortmund-based biotech company founded in 2022, dedicated to the development of a highly promising small-molecule inhibitor of a specific ceramide synthase. The asset is in the final preclinical development stage. Cerapeutix was co-founded by LDC, Prof. Dr. Jens Brüning (MPI for Metabolism Research and University Clinic Cologne), Max Planck Society, and KHAN Technology Transfer Fund I GmbH & Co KG (KHAN-I).
EvlaBio AG
EvlaBio, a Zurich-based biotech start-up founded in 2022, is dedicated to develop an innovative antibody therapy to treat left ventricular hypertrophy in chronic kidney disease patients. This monoclonal antibody targets the overactive FGFR4/FGF23 axis to prevent left ventricular enlargement and improve cardiovascular outcomes.
KyDo Therapeutics GmbH
KyDo, a Dortmund-based start-up, was co-founded in 2024 by LDC and founders of TU Dortmund. KyDo’s mission is to develop novel covalent-allosteric kinase inhibitors for the treatment of challenging cancer variants.
