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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Cardiac Ca2+/Calmodulin-dependent Kinase II (CaMKII) plays a central role in maladaptive processes in the diseased heart. The partners aim to develop a new class of CaMKII modulators by using an innovative strategy, expected to block the aberrant effects of CaMKII while preserving physiological CaMKII functions.

The approach was discovered and validated by Prof. Johannes Backs and his team at the Heidelberg University Hospital, and further advanced together with the LDC. During this phase, Prof. Backs´ research was supported by the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) with a programme that promotes the translation of approaches from basic research into clinical application. In their year of collaboration, the partners succeeded in generating a range of promising hit compounds.

“It is a great pleasure for us to continue working with the excellent team around Prof. Backs and to welcome Novo Nordisk on board for the second phase of our collaboration, focusing on hit-to-lead development. We very much appreciate their early involvement and look forward to their input which will be extremely valuable in guiding project progress”, says Bert Klebl, CEO & CSO of the LDC. “Heart failure is one of the most prevalent and deadly diagnoses upon hospital admission, and despite therapeutic progress we still see high rates of mortality and morbidity”, adds Prof. Johannes Backs. “Our approach has the potential to offer a new, effective and safe treatment, and we are thrilled to be working with the LDC and Novo Nordisk to advance it towards application”.

“We are very excited to enter this collaboration leveraging on decades of research supporting CaMKII as a target in heart failure. This is a unique opportunity to enter a partnership with deep biological understanding and excellent technical skills aiming at discovering novel treatments for patients living with heart failure. This in addition, supports the ambition of Novo Nordisk to deliver disease modifying treatments for patients suffering from this condition”, says Karin Conde-Knape,
SVP of Global Drug Discovery at Novo Nordisk.

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>> Contact
PR Lead Discovery Center
+49 (0)231-97 42 70 00
pr@lead-discovery.de
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About LDC
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 robust 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 drug candidate compounds with exceptional medical and commercial potential. The LDC has formed alliances with e.g. AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck KGaA, Daiichi Sankyo, Qurient, and sustains a long-term partnership with the Max Planck Society and KHAN-I GmbH & Co.KG. In addition, LDC also works with leading translational drug discovery centers and with various investors to provide its assets for company creation.
For more information, please visit: www.lead-discovery.de

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The collaboration builds on the complementary expertise of both organisations. LDC contributes a proven track record in drug discovery and a team of scientists with the expertise and the deep insights necessary to develop assets modulating a range of oncology targets derived from its large academic network. Cumulus Oncology brings a team of successful life science entrepreneurs with a recognised track record in translational oncology drug development, as well as oncologists, scientists and pharma sector business professionals.

This collaboration is based around the reciprocal contribution of each group and the motivation to develop a growing portfolio of small molecule and biological assets with exceptional medical and commercial potential. Each party provides targets and assets in the oncology area for collaboration and potential future company co-creation as well as bringing a wider access to funding partners and collaborators globally.

“We anticipate that joining forces with Cumulus Oncology will leverage early-stage novel oncology approaches from our research networks, turning these early-stage assets into true innovations in cancer research and therapies”, stated Bert Klebl, CEO and CSO of the LDC. “This strategic partnership with one of the leading drug discovery centres in Europe provides a unique opportunity for Cumulus Oncology to fuel its pipeline of next generation novel oncology assets” said Alan Wise, Chairman of Cumulus Oncology.
“We are very much looking forward to working with our colleagues at LDC to the mutual benefit of both our organisations and ultimately to the benefit of the cancer research community, most especially, the patients dealing with a cancer diagnosis” added Clare Wareing, Founder and CEO of Cumulus Oncology.

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> Contact
PR Lead Discovery Center
+49 (0)231-97 42 70 00
pr@lead-discovery.de
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About Cumulus Oncology
Founded in 2017, Cumulus sources novel oncology assets from academic institutes, commercial drug discovery groups and biopharmaceutical companies. The company also identifies novel targets for drug discovery programmes which it supports and collaborates on. Following rigorous due diligence and market assessment activities, negotiations on deal terms and in-depth feasibility on the investment case, selected assets are spun out into newly created companies. These NewCos are managed to key value inflection points by Cumulus which also takes responsibility for further investment into each Newco via its network of VC partners. The founding team consists of successful life science entrepreneurs, oncologists, scientists and other oncology drug development and pharma sector business professionals. Asset classes of interest include small molecules and biologics which target known and novel pathways in cancer, where there is a clear path forward into clinical development, often in molecularly selected sub-groups.
For more information, please visit: www.cumulusoncology.com

About LDC
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. The LDC sustains a long-term partnership with the Max Planck Society, KHAN-I GmbH & Co.KG and has formed alliances with AstraZeneca, Apeiron, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck KGaA, Daiichi Sankyo, Qurient, e.g. In addition, LDC also works with leading translational drug discovery centers and with various investors to provide its assets for company creation.
For more information, please visit: www.lead-discovery.de

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Q702 is an orally available triple kinase inhibitor targeting Axl, Mer and CSF1R. It was discovered at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry and further developed at the LDC, before it was licensed to Qurient for further optimization and preclinical and clinical development. The candidate was shown to boost immune cells in the tumor microenvironment and to raise tumor visibility to the immune system. It may provide new options to patients for whom available therapies are ineffective.

For the original press releases, see:

Qurient’s latest press release from January 26th, 2021
Qurient’s and LDC’s press release on IND approval from May 2020

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>> Contact
PR Lead Discovery Center
+49 (0)231-97 42 70 00
pr@lead-discovery.de
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About Qurient
Qurient is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company listed in Korea Exchange (KRX 115180). Qurient mainly focuses on development of novel therapeutics from discovery to human proof of concept stages through virtual R&D project management platform. Qurient currently has three programs in clinical development: Q301, a topical leukotriene inhibitor for atopic dermatitis, completed Phase 2b study; telacebec (Q203), a first-in-class orally available cytochrome bc1 inhibitor for tuberculosis, completed Phase 2 study; and Q702, entering Phase 1/2 study. Qurient recently nominated Q901, a selective CDK7 inhibitor, as a preclinical candidate for solid tumors, which is expected to enter the clinic in 2021. For more info, please visit www.qurient.com.

About LDC
Lead Discovery Center GmbH 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 Lead Discovery Center 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. In close collaboration with high-profile partners from academia and industry, the Lead Discovery Center is building a strong and growing portfolio of small molecule leads with exceptional medical and commercial potential. The Lead Discovery Center sustains a long-term partnership with the Max Planck Society, KHAN-I GmbH & Co.KG and has formed alliances with AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck KGaA, Daiichi Sankyo, Qurient, e.g. In addition,LDC also works with leading translational drug discovery centers and with various investors to provide its assets for company creation. Further information at: www.lead-discovery.de.

About Max Planck Innovation
Max Planck Innovation (MI) is responsible for the technology transfer of the Max Planck Society and, as such, the link between industry and basic research. With an interdisciplinary team, MI advises and supports scientists at Max Planck Institutes in evaluating their inventions, filing patents and founding companies. MI offers industry unique access to the innovations of the Max Planck Institutes. Thus, MI performs an important task: the transfer of basic research results into products that contribute to economic and social progress. Further information at: www.max-planck-innovation.com.

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