Dortmund, Essen, Bielefeld, Bonn, 16. März 2026. Das menschliche Darmmikrobiom ist so individuell wie ein Fingerabdruck. Bei chronisch-entzündlichen Darmerkrankungen (CED) wie Morbus Crohn oder Colitis ulcerosa spielt es eine zentrale Rolle. Doch sein Potenzial zur Diagnostik und personalisierten Therapie für Patient:innen bleibt bisher ungenutzt. Das Forschungsprojekt MikrobiomProCheck soll dies ändern. Dafür erhalten das Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften – ISAS – e. V., die Universitäten Bonn, Bielefeld und Duisburg-Essen, die Biofidus AG sowie die Lead Discovery Center GmbH rund 3,4 Millionen Euro von der NRW-Landesregierung und der Europäischen Union.

Trotz Fortschritten bei der Behandlung von CED sprechen Patient:innen unterschiedlich gut auf die Therapie an. Die Mehrheit der Betroffenen leidet lebenslang an der Erkrankung. Die Folgen sind unter anderem eine hohe Zahl von Krankenhausaufenthalten und ein erhöhtes Risiko für Darmkrebs. Entscheidend für CED ist neben genetischen Ursachen und Umweltfaktoren das Darmmikrobiom. Dieses ist für die Verdauung und Verwertung von Nährstoffen wichtig und unterstützt die Entwicklung von Immunzellen. Bei CED gerät das Darmmikrobiom aus dem Gleichgewicht. Daher liegt genau bei diesen Billionen von Organismen im Darm der Schlüssel für neue, maßgeschneiderte Therapien. „Um mehr über die vielfältige Rolle des Mikrobioms bei chronisch-entzündlichen Darmerkrankungen zu erfahren und diese Erkenntnisse für neue Behandlungen zur Verfügung zu stellen, analysieren wir mittels künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) Daten zu Genen, Metaboliten und Proteinen aus dem Darmmikrobiom“, erläutert Prof. Dr. Robert Heyer, Leiter der ISAS-Forschungsgruppe Mehrdimensionale Omics-Datenanalyse und Professor für Bioinformatik an der Universität Bielefeld. Er koordiniert das Konsortium MikrobiomProCheck.

Neue maßgeschneiderte Therapien – von zuhause aus

Basierend auf den molekularen Daten entwickeln die Forschenden Computermodelle, die Aufschluss über die Krankheitsmechanismen bei CED und damit wertvolle Hinweise für neue Behandlungsstrategien geben. Mit dem Forschungsprojekt verbunden ist auch der Aufbau einer digitalen Infrastruktur: Eine neue Datenbank soll ein Wirkstoff-Mikrobiom-Screening ermöglichen, um die Arzneimittel und Ernährungsprotokolle gezielt an das individuelle Darmmikrobiom der Erkrankten anzupassen und Therapie-Vorhersagen zu treffen.

Sowohl der Krankheitsverlauf als auch die Therapie sollen sich später idealerweise ohne Darmspiegelungen kontrollieren lassen. Patient:innen könnten dafür Stuhlproben zuhause entnehmen. Dies wäre nicht nur in ländlichen Regionen mit wenigen Arztpraxen von Vorteil, sondern würde auch insgesamt Arztbesuche reduzieren und das Gesundheitssystem entlasten.

NRW-weite Kooperation: Forschung trifft auf Biotech

MikrobiomProCheck ist ein in NRW breit aufgestelltes interdisziplinäres Forschungs-projekt: Das Universitätsklinikum Essen (UK Essen: Prof. Dr. Claudia Veltkamp) sowie das Evangelische Klinikum Bethel – Universitätsklinikum OWL der Universität Bielefeld (Prof. Dr. Eckard Hamelmann, Dr. Patricia Maasjosthusmann) betreuen beispielsweise die Studie mit zehn jungen und 100 erwachsenen CED-Patient:innen sowie genauso vielen gesunden Proband:innen. Die Biofidus AG und das ISAS (Prof. Dr. Albert Sickmann) führen die molekularen Untersuchungen der Stuhlproben durch. Die Analyse der Wechselwirkungen zwischen Mikrobiom und Immunsystem erfolgt am UK Essen (Prof. Dr. Astrid Westendorf, Dr. Alexandra Mekes-Adamczyk). Die Lead Discovery Center GmbH entwickelt ein Screening-Verfahren, um die Wechselwirkungen zwischen therapeutischen Wirkstoffen und dem Darmmikrobiom zu untersuchen. Das ISAS (Prof. Dr. Robert Heyer), die Universitäten Bonn (Prof. Dr. Martin Hofmann-Apitius, Prof. Dr. Marie-Christine Simon, Dr. Alpha Tom Kodamullil) und Bielefeld (Prof. Dr. Alexander Sczyrba, Dr. Tobias Busche) widmen sich gemeinsam den KI-basierten Mikrobiom-Analysen und sind für den Aufbau der digitalen Infrastruktur verantwortlich.

MikrobiomProCheck ist im Januar 2026 gestartet. Die NRW-Landesregierung und Europäische Union fördern das Projekt mit ca. 3,37 Mio. Euro, verteilt auf drei Jahre.

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Über ISAS

Das Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften – ISAS – e.V. – entwickelt leistungsfähige Analyseverfahren für die Gesundheitsforschung. Mit seinen Innovationen trägt es dazu bei, die Prävention, Frühdiagnose und Therapie von beispielsweise Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen zu verbessern. Ziel des Forschungsinstituts ist es, die personalisierte Therapie voranzutreiben. Dafür kombiniert das ISAS das Wissen aus Chemie, Biologie, Medizin, Pharmakologie, Physik und Informatik. Das Dortmunder Institut kooperiert mit nationalen und internationalen Partnern aus der Wissenschaft und Industrie.

www.isas.de

Über Universität Bonn

Die Universität Bonn ist mit acht Clustern die erfolgreichste der deutschen Exzellenzuniversitäten. Sie zählt mit rund 30.000 Studierenden, 6.000 Promovierenden, 750 Professuren und 6.500 Beschäftigten zu den größten und forschungsstärksten Universitäten in Deutschland. International wird sie regelmäßig unter die Top 100-Universitäten weltweit gerankt. Sie hat bereits zwei Nobelpreisträger hervorgebracht und ist die einzige deutsche Universität, an der zwei Fields Medaillisten arbeiten. Das Fächerspektrum in ihren sieben Fakultäten reicht von den Agrarwissenschaften bis zur Zahnmedizin. Neben ihrer Zugehörigkeit zu starken Disziplinen forschen die Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler der Universität Bonn in sechs „Transdisziplinären Forschungsbereichen“ fakultäts- und fächerübergreifend an Lösungen zu den großen gesellschaftlichen Herausforderungen. Pro Jahr werben sie rund 205 Mio. Euro an Drittmitteln für die Forschung ein.

www.uni-bonn.de

Über Universität Bielefeld

Die Universität Bielefeld wurde im Jahr 1969 mit explizitem Forschungsauftrag und hohem Anspruch an die Qualität einer forschungsorientierten Lehre gegründet. Mit ca. 24.500 Studierenden umfasst sie heute 14 Fakultäten. Als Volluniversität bietet sie ein differenziertes Fächerspektrum in den Geistes-, Natur- und Technikwissenschaften sowie in der Medizin.

www.uni-bielefeld.de

Über Universitätsmedizin Essen

Die Essener Universitätsmedizin umfasst das Universitätsklinikum Essen sowie 15 Tochterunternehmen, darunter die Ruhrlandklinik, das St. Josef Krankenhaus Werden, die Herzchirurgie Huttrop und das Westdeutsche Protonentherapiezentrum Essen. Die Essener Universitätsmedizin ist mit etwa 1.700 Betten und rund 11.000 Mitarbeitenden das führende Gesundheits-Kompetenzzentrum des Ruhrgebiets. Mit dem Westdeutschen Tumorzentrum, einem der größten Tumorzentren Deutschlands, dem Westdeutschen Zentrum für Organtransplantation, einem international führenden Zentrum für Transplantation, in dem unsere Spezialisten mit Leber, Niere, Bauchspeicheldrüse, Herz und Lunge alle lebenswichtigen Organe verpflanzen, sowie dem Westdeutschen Herz- und Gefäßzentrum, einem überregionalen Zentrum der kardiovaskulären Maximalversorgung, hat die Universitätsmedizin Essen eine weit über die Region reichende Bedeutung für die Versorgung von Patientinnen und Patienten. Wesentliche Grundlage für die klinische Leistungsfähigkeit ist die Forschung an der Medizinischen Fakultät der Universität Duisburg-Essen mit ihrer Schwerpunktsetzung in Onkologie, Transplantation, Herz-Gefäß-Medizin, Immunologie/Infektiologie und Translationale Neuro- und Verhaltenswissenschaften.

www.ume.de

Über Biofidus AG

Die Biofidus AG mit Hauptsitz in Bielefeld ist ein führender Anbieter von struktureller und funktioneller Charakterisierung von Biopharmazeutika. Dr. Benjamin Müller und ein Team erfahrener Wissenschaftler gründeten das Unternehmen im Jahr 2015. Angetrieben von einem tiefen Verständnis für Markttrends, einschließlich der wachsenden Vorliebe für ausgelagerte Analytik, wurde Biofidus gegründet, um umfassende analytische Dienstleistungen für die pharmazeutische Industrie anzubieten. Mit einem Team von 30 interdisziplinären Experten hat sich Biofidus als zuverlässiger und sachkundiger Partner positioniert, der Unternehmen von Start-ups bis hin zu Big Pharma begleitet. Mit einem breiten Spektrum an fortschrittlichen analytischen Methoden für die strukturelle und funktionelle Charakterisierung von Proteinen und Gentherapeutika ist Biofidus bestrebt, die Entwicklung innovativer Biologika und Biosimilars von der frühen Entwicklung bis zur präklinischen Phase zu unterstützen.

www.biofidus.de

Über Lead Discovery Center GmbH

Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC) ist ein translationales Forschungsunternehmen, welches exzellente Grundlagenforschung in die Entwicklung neuer, dringend benötigter Medikamente überführt. LDC nimmt vielversprechende Projekte aus der akademischen Forschung auf und entwickelt sie typischerweise weiter bis zu pharmazeutischen Leitstrukturen oder präklinischen Kandidaten. In enger Zusammenarbeit mit führenden Partnern aus der akademischen Forschung und Industrie entwickelt LDC ein umfangreiches Portfolio an Projekten im Bereich niedermolekularer Wirkstoffe sowie therapeutische Antikörper mit außergewöhnlich hohem medizinischem und kommerziellem Potenzial.

LDC unterhält eine enge Partnerschaft mit der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft und dem KHAN Technology Transfer Fund (KHAN-I/-II). Es hat weltweit zahlreiche Kooperationen mit verschiedenen Organisationen geschlossen, u.a. AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck KGaA, Daiichi Sankyo, Qurient, invIOs, Novo Nordisk, Cumulus Oncology, Nodus Oncology, JT Pharmaceuticals, KinSea Lead Discovery, KyDo Therapeutics, HLB Life Science. LDC arbeitet außerdem mit führenden akademischen Wirkstoffforschungszentren und Investoren zusammen, um Firmengründungen zu unterstützen.

www.lead-discovery.de

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E-mail: pr@lead-discovery.de

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Dortmund/Seoul, January 15th, 2026 – QLi5 Therapeutics GmbH (QLi5) announced today the successful completion of a capital increase totaling approximately 6.26 million Euro. This strategic investment, significantly backed by the Korean biotech company Qurient and by QLi5 co-founder and Nobel laureate Prof. Dr. Robert Huber, is intended to decisively advance the development of QLi5’s pioneering Proteasome Inhibitor (PI)-based Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) platform.

Details on Capital Increase and Strategic Alignment

During a General Meeting held on December 18th, 2025, QLi5 resolved to implement a capital increase totaling 6.26 million Euro. Qurient’s participation substantially increases the company’s voting stake in QLi5. Particularly noteworthy is the continued participation of Prof. Dr. Robert Huber, co-founder of QLi5 and 1988 Nobel laureate in Chemistry, which underscores his deep confidence in QLi5’s technological expertise and future potential.

The new funds will be specifically used to advance the development of the PI-payload technology. This next-generation ADC platform represents a promising new alternative that aims to overcome the limitations of existing ADC therapeutics.

Impressive Preclinical Results and Universal Potential

In October 2025, QLi5 and Qurient presented compelling preclinical research results for PI-payload-based ADCs at the international conference “AACR-NCI-EORTC 2025” in Boston. These garnered significant interest from experts and the pharmaceutical industry. The presentation demonstrated that the PI-payload, as a novel mechanism of action, showed excellent anti-cancer efficacy in animal models that were resistant to conventional TOP1-inhibitor-based ADCs, such as Enhertu. The potential as a “universal payload” was also confirmed, as its efficacy is not limited to specific cancer cell types but could be demonstrated across various cell types and target models.

A Strong Joint Venture with an Excellent Scientific Foundation

QLi5 Therapeutics was founded as a joint venture by Qurient in collaboration with Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC), Max Planck Society (MPG), and Prof. Dr. Robert Huber. Prof. Dr. Huber, a renowned structural biologist, received his Nobel Prize in Chemistry for being the first to decipher the three-dimensional structure of the proteasome, a cellular proteolytic apparatus. Building on his findings and the subsequent drug discovery work by LDC, QLi5 has developed a next-generation therapeutic approach that drastically reduces the side effects of previous proteasome inhibitors and can extend its spectrum of application to various cancer types.

Kiyean Nam, CEO of Qurient, commented: “This capital increase is far more than mere financing; it is a strategic decision to fully unlock the enormous potential of QLi5’s PI-mechanism technology as a next-generation ADC payload. With the continued support of Prof. Dr. Robert Huber and the strong network of LDC and MPG, we will accelerate development to become a gamechanger in the global ADC market.”

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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. 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, 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

About Qurient

Qurient Co., Ltd. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in South Korea and listed on the Korea Exchange (KRX: 115180). The company is focused on developing innovative medicines and targeted therapies across oncology and infectious diseases.

Further information at: www.qurient.com

About QLi5 Therapeutics

QLi5 was founded in 2019 as a joint venture of Qurient Co. Ltd, Korea, Max Planck Society, Germany, LDC, Germany, Nobel laureate Prof. Dr. Robert Huber, emeritus director of the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Germany. The company has previously secured funding from a renowned group of investors, KHAN Technology Transfer Fund among others.

Further information at: www.qli5tx.com

About KHAN Technology Transfer Fund

KHAN Technology Transfer Fund (KHAN) is an early-stage life sciences venture fund, supported by its limited partners, European Investment Fund (EIF), Luxembourg, Max-Planck Foundation, Germany, Thyssen’sche Handelsgesellschaft, Germany, Austrian Wirtschaftsservice, Austria and Akros Pharma, USA. Its mission is to create value through cooperative drug development partnerships with academic innovators in Europe. KHAN focuses on first-in-class therapies for attractive markets with a high unmet medical need. KHAN has unique access to cutting-edge scientific research at Max Planck and leading European academia. KHAN is managed by Khanu Fondsverwaltung GmbH, a world class drug discovery and fund team, having access to the state-of-the-art drug discovery incubator Lead Discovery Center GmbH, achieving an exceptional low attrition rate and effective investments.

Further information at: www.khanu.de

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Contact:

Lead Discovery Center GmbH

E-mail: pr@lead-discovery.de

See also: Qurient source press release

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LDC and the University of Duisburg-Essen receive EUR 905,000 for the development of new therapies for age-related blindness

Dortmund, December 13, 2018 – The Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC) and the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) have received EUR 905,000 in funding from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of its lead market competition, LifeSciences.NRW. Together with the LDC’s own financial contribution, this gives the partners a total of EUR 1.3 million with which to develop new drugs for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

 
AMD is the most common form of blindness. In Germany alone, approximately 6.9 million people are affected, 480,000 of them at an advanced stage of the disease. There is no satisfactory therapy to date.
New research has shown that AMD patients frequently have a high level of a particular enzyme, HTRA1-protease. This leads to an increased breakdown of proteins, resulting in damage to the macula, which is crucial for sight. The joint development project builds on research by Prof. Dr Ehrmann and his team at the UDE that suggests targeted inhibition of HTRA1 is a promising new approach to preventing the progression of the disease.

 
In an initial collaborative project, also supported by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the LDC and the UDE have already identified a series of chemical substances that specifically inhibit HTRA1. In the current follow-on project, the partners will be optimizing and validating these substances. Their goal is to develop a well-characterized lead structure that meets all the requirements of a therapeutic agent and demonstrates efficacy in an in-vivo model system.

 
To this end, the LDC and Prof. Dr Ehrmann and his team will be working closely with two further research groups at the UDE. Prof. Kaiser and his colleagues will contribute their extensive knowledge of protease inhibitors, and Prof. Dr Sanchez Garcia’s group provides longstanding experience in the computation and stimulation of biomolecules and biochemical processes. The LDC is coordinating the project, and contributes the competencies required for professional drug development, above all in the areas of medicinal chemistry and pharmacology. “This cooperation is a fantastic chance to develop results from basic research to benefit patients,” says Prof. Ehrmann. “In view of the aging world-wide population, we urgently need better drugs for the treatment of AMD.”

 
“We are delighted to be working together with this terrific and proven team,” adds Dr Bert Klebl, CEO of the LDC. “The project will profit enormously from their competence and experience. Together we can reach a stage of development that will be highly attractive to industry partners, enabling subsequent transfer to clinical development.”

 
The joint development project will run for 3 years und is supported by the European Regional Development Fund.

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Alliance for medicinal chemistry optimization and development of novel checkpoint blockade approach

Vienna, Austria, 19 September 2018: APEIRON Biologics AG, an Austrian company focused on cancer immunotherapy, today announced a collaboration agreement with the Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC), a translational research organization established in 2008 by Max Planck Innovation, to develop novel immune checkpoint modulators. The two companies will perform drug discovery activities to optimize and develop novel small molecules addressing immune checkpoints, important gatekeepers in cancer immunity. All molecules deriving from this collaboration are proprietary to APEIRON and will strengthen APEIRON’s development pipeline.

Peter Llewellyn-Davies, Chief Executive Officer of APEIRON Biologics, said: “We are delighted to announce this alliance with LDC. APEIRON has an excellent and broad pipeline being pursued to develop therapies both aiming at targeting tumor cells and stimulating the immune system to fight cancer. With its track record in pharmaceutical drug discovery and long‑standing small molecule expertise, the LDC is the ideal partner for us to identify new drug candidates and to further accelerate the development of new immune checkpoint modulators. I am confident our combined R&D forces will drive our technology in the field of immune-oncology forward and strengthen our product candidate portfolio in small molecules.”

The LDC will use its expertise in small molecule drug discovery to design and optimize new substances, which can activate immune cells and drive their anti-tumor activity. The medicinal chemistry efforts are based on a new substance class, which was identified by phenotypic screening, discovered in APEIRON’s cooperation with Evotec AG, and has shown to activate peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The intellectual property generated under the terms of the agreement solely belongs to APEIRON. The LDC will receive research funding during the collaboration period and is eligible to an upfront payment, milestone payments and royalties. Further financial details of the collaboration agreement were not disclosed.

The work will be carried out at both APEIRON’s R&D facilities in Vienna, Austria, and in the LDC laboratories in Dortmund, Germany. APEIRON will be responsible for further preclinical and clinical development of the product candidates, as well as subsequent marketing and commercialization.

About the LDC

The Lead Discovery Center (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 that reach initial proof-of-concept in animals. In close collaboration with high-profile partners from academia and industry, the LDC is building a strong and growing portfolio of small molecule leads with exceptional medical and commercial potential. The LDC sustains a strong partnership with the Max Planck Society and has performed alliances with AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck KGaA, Daiichi-Sankyo, Qurient, Johnson&Johnson Innovation, Sotio, Gruenenthal and Roche, as well as leading translational drug discovery centres around the globe. Further information is available at www.lead-discovery.de.

About APEIRON Biologics AG

Apeiron is a privately-held commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company based in Vienna, Austria, focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel cancer immunotherapies. The company is leveraging its innovative therapeutic targets based on tumor-specific targeted approaches and the stimulation of the immune system via novel and proprietary unique mechanisms of action (checkpoint blockade) to eradicate cancer by engaging the human body’s natural defense mechanisms. For additional information please visit www.apeiron-biologics.com and follow us on Twitter @apeironbio.

For further information please contact:

APEIRON Biologics AG

Peter Llewellyn-Davies, CEO

Email: investors@apeiron-biologics.com

www.apeiron-biologics.com

Public Relations LDC

Lead Discovery Center GmbH

T: +49 231 9742 7000

Email: pr@lead-discovery.de

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Information set forth in this press release contains forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgement of APEIRON as of the date of this press release. Such forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

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Aachen, Dortmund and Göttingen, Germany, June 21, 2018 – Grünenthal, Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC), Max-Planck Innovation and Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine (MPI-EM) have entered into a research collaboration to develop novel therapies for patients suffering from Charcot-Marie-Tooth 1A (CMT1A), an inherited neurological disorder.

The collaboration combines the disease proficiency of MPI-EM, the drug discovery expertise of LDC and Grünenthal’s competency in drug discovery and development as well as pain management. The project’s scientific foundation was laid at MPI-EM by Michael Sereda, Klaus-Armin Nave and Moritz Rossner.

Within the framework of this research collaboration, LDC and MPI-EM intend to establish a novel screening platform to identify small molecule modulators to generate innovative drug candidates. These research efforts are equally funded by Grünenthal and Max Planck Society. Grünenthal will assume responsibility for the development of any drug candidates derived from this research collaboration from the identification of preclinical candidate onwards.

“It’s our aspiration to provide patients with disease modifying treatments. We therefore team up with academia and foster research collaborations leveraging basic research,” said Gabriel Baertschi, CEO Grünenthal. “There is no curative treatment available for patients affected by CMT1A. This neurological disorder places a burden on patients and we’re looking forward to developing potential treatment options with our partners.”

“We are enthusiastic to collaborate with Grünenthal and our MPI-EM colleagues on this early-stage drug discovery project”, said Bert Klebl, Managing Director and CSO at LDC. “As a leading specialist in pain research and pain management, Grünenthal’s synergistic capabilities will help advance this joint project to hopefully make a difference in the lives of CMT1A patients”.

About Charcot-Marie-Tooth
Charcot-Marie-Tooth is one of the most common inherited neurological disorders, affecting approximately 1 in 2.500 people. It affects both motor and sensory nerves and symptoms include weakness of the foot and lower leg muscles, foot deformities, pain, and numbness.

CMT1A is the most common form of CMT and results from a duplication of the gene on chromosome 17 that carries the instructions for producing the peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22). PMP22 is a critical component of the myelin sheath that isolates human peripheral nerve. Overexpression of this gene causes the structure and function of the myelin sheath to be abnormal, resulting in a slower conduction of nerve impulses. Currently, there is no curative therapeutic treatment available.

About Grünenthal
Grünenthal is an entrepreneurial, science-based pharmaceutical company specialized in pain, gout and inflammation. Our ambition is to deliver four to five new products to patients in diseases with high unmet medical need by 2022 and become a €2 bn company. We are a fully integrated research & development company with a long track record of bringing innovative pain treatments and state-of-the-art technologies to patients. By sustainably investing in our R&D above the industrial average, we are strongly committed to innovation.

Grünenthal is an independent, family-owned company headquartered in Aachen, Germany. We are present in 32 countries with affiliates in Europe, Latin America and the US. Our products are sold in more than 100 countries and approx. 5,200 employees are working for Grünenthal worldwide. In 2017, Grünenthal achieved revenues of
approx. €1.3 bn.

More information: www.grunenthal.com
Follow us on LinkedIn “Grunenthal Group”.

For further information, please contact:

Štěpán Kráčala, Head Global Communications
Tel.: +49 241 569-1335,
Stepan.Kracala@grunenthal.com
Grünenthal GmbH, 52099 Aachen, Germany

Public Relations LDC
Tel.: +49 231 9742 7000
pr@lead-discovery.de
Lead Discovery Center GmbH, 44227 Dortmund, Germany

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Innovative network of eight partners for North Rhine-Westphalia

Dortmund, 01.05.2018 – Drug Discovery Hub Dortmund (DDHD) is the name of the new initiative at the Zentrum für integrierte Wirkstoffforschung (ZIW) of the TU Dortmund University (TU), which got started on 1 April 2018. Scientists from eight institutions combine their manifold expertise to develop an infrastructure for drug discovery in North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition to the TU Dortmund, the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Physiology (MPI), the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), the Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften – ISAS – e.V., the Taros GmbH & Co. KG, the PROvendis GmbH, the BioMedizinZentrum Dortmund (BMZ), and the Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC) are participating.

The project has a total volume of 11 million euros over a 3-year-period. It is funded in the scope of the Forschungsinfrastrukturen NRW Program (NRW research infrastructures) of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with funds from the European Fund for Regional Development (EFRE). The DDHD is to bridge the critical innovation gap between basic academic research and industrial application. Since the process of drug discovery is extremely complex, it requires an interdisciplinary cooperation of many different scientific specialist fields. Thus, the eight partners form a unique and well-proven network at the Dortmund site.

The DDHD acts as an incubator for drug discovery projects throughout North Rhine-Westphalia. In cooperation with the patent marketing organisation PROvendis, results of excellent basic drug discovery are to be translated into economic projects. Innovative findings made in basic academic research are to be transformed into lead substances compatible with industrial expectations, which specifically means that compounds are multiparametric optimised so that they fully comply with the high pharmaceutical standards. The molecular lead compounds will be available for further in depth scientific studies. In case of success, the projects are then transferred to the pharmaceutical industry and developed to marketability. Alternatively, individual projects may be transferred to spin-offs for further development. The source for such drug discovery projects are the universities and academic institutions of North Rhine-Westphalia.

“We are very pleased about the funding which enables the building of a unique infrastructure and the implementation of innovative projects“, states Prof. Daniel Rauh, DDHD Coordinator and Professor for Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry at the TU Dortmund University. “In its capacity as an integrative initiative, the DDHD represents the scientific competence area of “Biomedicine and Drug Discovery” of the Dortmund Science Masterplan. It plays an important role in the strengthening of Dortmund as a biotechnology location and as an innovation center in North Rhine-Westphalia. Together with complementing projects, such as „Medicinal Chemistry in Dortmund“, funded by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research, the DDHD emphasises the national importance of Dortmund as a location for early-stage drug discovery.”

”The DDHD initiative will further strengthen the translational activities in Dortmund as well as the pioneering role of the location in early-stage drug discovery“, adds Dr. Bert Klebl, Chief Scientific Officer and Managing Director of the LDC. “The funding we received means to us a confirmation and support of the interdisciplinary cooperation between the different partners from academia and industry in Dortmund and in North Rhine-Westphalia.”

Contact Consortium:
Prof. Dr. Daniel Rauh
Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry
E: daniel.rauh@tu-dortmund.de
T: +49 231-755 7080

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Dortmund/Munich, 23 April 2018 – The Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC) has established a branch – LDC Biologics – in the Munich Biocluster. While the team in Dortmund focuses on chemical compounds (small molecules), in Munich the emphasis will be on the development of therapeutic antibodies. LDC Biologics will produce, optimise and humanise innovative antibodies according to industrial standards in close cooperation with partners from academia and therefore connecting academic research and industrial drug discovery. The Munich team, under the management of Dr. Johannes Bange, can resort to more than 15 years of experience in the pre-clinical and clinical development of therapeutic antibodies.

With this branch office, LDC is also expanding its long-standing expertise in the pharmaceutical drug discovery with partners from academia and industry to include the development of therapeutic antibodies. This allows for the use of technologies and methods complying with the highest quality standards and industrial best practices at a very early project stage and creates a sustainable transfer solution for excellent innovative ideas from academia and the industry.

“With the expansion of LDC activities to include biological agents we are responding to the wish of our industry partners to offer a solution not only for chemical compounds, but also for biological ones. In doing this, we will continue with the established and proven LDC translation model of close cooperation with our partners from academia in respect of biological agents. The “LDC Biologics” department is ideally located in the Munich Biotechcluster, the centre of research of biological agents in Germany“, states Dr. Bert Klebl, Managing Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the LDC.

In addition, the entire drug discovery value chain at the Munich site is supported by LDC´s well-proven global pharmaceutical and investor network through licencing and/or a spin-off of new companies.
The new site of the antibody group is in direct proximity to the Martinsried Biotech Campus, which connects academic basic research and applied development.

“We are very pleased that LDC has located its biologics division in the Greater Munich Area. Our location provides the best scientists and an excellent LifeScience ecosystem, which has been established for years, for the successful translation from academia to medical use”, adds Prof. Horst Domdey, Managing Director of the BioM Biotech Cluster Development GmbH.
There is also a close interconnection with the newly founded ISAR Bioscience GmbH which will also cooperate closely with LDC in the future. LDC Biologics has already entered into active partnerships in the field of antibody development with local research facilities, such as Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health. One project of the LDC Biologics portfolio is funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Economy.

Contact

Dr. Johannes Bange
E.: Bange@lead-discovery.de

Public Relations LDC
E.: pr@lead-discovery.de
T.: +49 231 9742 7000

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