antibiotics of a new generation!
We develop novel multi-targeted, antibacterial compounds with extraordinary potency against multi-drug resistant bacteria and difficult-to-treat biofilms.
antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global concern
Bacterial infections, caused by multi-drug-resistant pathogens, represent one of the greatest threats to human health. They are predicted to cause up to 10 million annual casualties by 2050 if no new antibiotics are developed.
combatting AMR is challenging
80 % of the antibiotics approved since 2017 are part of existing classes with well established and widespread resistance mechanisms. Resistance against these drugs will develop quickly, exacerbating the problem of multi-drug-resistant pathogens. New antibiotics with unprecedented modes of action are desperately needed!
we develop a new generation of antibiotics
We develop antibiotics with new modes of actions which address multiple unexploited targets simultaneously and therefore aggravate the development of resistances. With our first-in-class compounds, we target the multi-drug resistant pathogens methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE).
our research development
Prof. Dr. Stephan Sieber and his team at TU Munich are specialised on the discovery of novel antibiotics with unprecedented modes of action. Recently, the Sieber lab developed a new class of antibiotic compounds with potent activity against Gram-positive, multi-drug resistant bacteria (Le et al, Nat Chem 2020, 12, 145-158). The most active molecule shows no development of resistance and is even able to kill persister cells and biofilms, which are bacterial populations that cannot currently be treated with available antibiotics. Its novel multi-targeted mechanism of action is substantially different to all currently approved antibiotics. The compound’s efficacy has also been demonstrated in an animal model. Taken together, this molecule represents the starting point of a new generation of antibacterial compounds, whose further exploration and preclinical development is at the heart of smartbax’ research activities.
our mission
We aim for new, innovative solutions to fight multi-drug resistant bacteria. Due to the increasing prevalence of resistance against marketed antibiotics, we address a need which is growing dramatically. A lack in the innovation of antibiotics must not be considered only by itself but would be associated with high co-morbidity by untreatable infections affecting other clinical areas such as oncology, COVID-19 and surgery. For this reason, innovation in the field of antibacterial agents is essential for an overall functioning healthcare system. At the same time, developing a new drug takes many years, so preventing a resistance crisis tomorrow means taking action today.
Team
Dr. Robert Macsics
CEO & Co-Founder
Robert holds a PhD in the field of Biochemistry from the Technical University of Munich, an MSc in Pharmacology from the University of Oxford, and an MBA from the Collège des Ingénieurs. During his PhD, which was funded by the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds, he investigated the mechanism of action of a novel antibiotic against multi-drug resistant bacteria, which formed the basis for the foundation of smartbax. With his experience, he is now CEO at smartbax, responsible for both scientific and business development, fundraising, and investor relations.
Dr. Elisabeth Karg
Operations & Finances
Elisabeth holds a PhD in Biology from LMU Munich and is now Partner at Blue Ribbon Partners where she supports science ventures in the field of operations & finances as well as with her scientific expertise. At smartbax, Elisabeth is responsible for overseeing finances and controlling.
Dr. Sylvia Varland
Senior Scientist
Sylvia holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Bergen and carried out postdoctoral research at University of Toronto focusing on molecular and cellular consequences of N-terminal protein modifications. As a Senior Scientist at smartbax she is responsible for overseeing high-throughput screening efforts.
Dr. Eric Juskewitz
Senior Scientist
Eric holds a PhD in Microbiology from the University in Tromsø, where he was part of the antibiotic discovery pipeline DigiBiotics. He did his MSc at the University of Greifswald where he focused on mutations in bacterial isolates from cystic fibrosis patients. Following his drive to see science becoming a product, he further joined start-ups and the BioInnovation Institute summer school. Now, as a Senior Scientist at smartbax, he uses his experience to support the discovery and development of our compounds.
Simona Schindler
Operations & Finances
Simona holds a Master of Science in Molecular Biotechnology with a focus on drug development and is currently working as a Venture Manager at Blue Ribbon Partners. In this role, Simona is responsible for embedding young science ventures into an international ecosystem. At smartbax, she is responsible for operational and administrational processes as well as supporting finances.
Patrícia Graça
Research Intern
Patrícia is finishing her PhD at the Jena School for Microbial Communication (JSMC), where she elucidated the biosynthesis and physiological function of a new mycobacterial redox cofactor. She did her MSc at the University of Porto on the bioactivity of marine bacteria, and during her research stay at the Fundación MEDINA she performed compound extractions and HTS assays against bacterial and fungal pathogens. Patricia joined smartbax as part of an Industry Placement Grant awarded by the Federation of European Microbiological Societies to support the fight against AMR pathogens.
executive advisory board
Prof. Dr. Stephan Sieber
Scientific Advisor & Co- Founder
Prof. Stephan Sieber is the Chair of Organic Chemistry II at TU Munich since 2009 and member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences. With a strong scientific focus on the discovery and characterization of numerous antibacterial agents, his revolutionary research led to 4 patent applications and prestigious support by inter alia the Emmy Noether Programme and the Merck Future Insight Prize. Prof. Sieber’s pioneering research led to the foundation of smartbax where he is Co-Founder and Scientific Advisor.
Marco Janezic
Entrepreneurial Advisor & Co-Founder
Marco Janezic is an entrepreneur and investor with activities in a variety of sectors, with focus on Life Science and Biotech. He is Founding Partner of Blue Ribbon Partners, a company builder for life science companies, and Managing Director of the life science factory, the incubation initiative of Sartorius AG: With his 20+ years of expierence in company building and business development he has been supporting the smartbax founding team since 2017. He holds an M.A. in Theoretical Physics and Philosophy from the University of Oxford.
scientific advisory board
Prof. Dr. Peter Hammann
Scientific Advisor
Prof. Peter Hammann, a chemist and biochemist by training, is a consultant in the field of antibiotic and natural product R&D. He has 30+ years’ pharmaceutical industry experience in several leading positions in Germany, India and in the USA. Based on his strong interest to ensure knowledge transfer between academia and industry he serves at several scientific advisory boards at both sides and lectures at universities. Currently he is Honorary Professor at the University of Giessen (JLU) and at the Saarland University.
Prof. Dr. Rolf Müller
Scientific Advisor
Prof. Rolf Müller is Full Professor for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at Saarland University and Managing Director of the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS). He is not only a leading expert in microbial natural products, but also a successful entrepreneur as co-founder of PharmBioTec GmbH and MyBiotech GmbH. He has been performing cutting-edge academic research for 25+ years in Germany and the US and is an elected member of both acatech and Leopoldina. In 2021, Prof. Müller was awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize.
Our Partners
News
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Munich, Germany, May 23, 2023 – smartbax, a biotech company developing next-generation antibiotics against multi-drug resistant bacteria, today announced the close of its seed financing round of €1.2 million from Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF) and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), bringing smartbax’s total capital raised to €1.9 million. The funds will be used to advance smartbax’s small molecule antibiotics through preclinical studies, expand the company’s scientific team to further develop its innovative research platforms and identify novel solutions against multi-drug resistant pathogens. In contrast to classical anti-bacterial approaches, smartbax's product candidates act via a unique, double-targeted mechanism of action. This not only inhibits essential processes in the energy metabolism of multi-resistant bacteria, but also creates a stimulation of the bacteria's protein secretion, which leads to a self-digest of the cells.
“The growing number of multi-drug resistant infections, which are accountable for 1.3 million annual worldwide deaths, highlights the need for completely new approaches in treating resistant infections. We are convinced that our differentiating approach can overcome the limitations of currently available antibiotics and that we can thus develop effective therapeutics against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria,” said Dr. Robert Macsics, CEO and Co-founder of smartbax.
smartbax was founded in 2021 by Dr. Robert Macsics, Marco Janezic, and Prof. Dr. Stephan Sieber and was supported by BIVF with a first pre-seed financing of €700,000. The company’s scientific foundation is based on revolutionary research derived by Prof. Dr. Sieber’s research group from the Technical University of Munich. The research was awarded the VIP+ validation prize by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as well as the m4 award by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy.
“The novel mechanisms of action being developed by smartbax could open new pathways in the treatment of severe bacterial infections. Moreover, the approach has the promise to overcome existing resistance mechanisms and makes a rapid spread of new resistances unlikely. I am glad that we can support smartbax’s scientifically strong team on their journey to address a challenge of utmost societal relevance,” said Dr. Angelika Vlachou, partner at HTGF.
“The development of novel antibiotics is an important contribution to fight multi-drug resistant bacterial infections. smartbax’s founding team takes a highly innovative approach with the potential for broad applicability in numerous indications. We are delighted to accompany smartbax in their future research activities and to thereby support the development of new and urgently needed therapeutic strategies concerning bacterial infections,” added Dr. Sebastian Kreuz, investment manager at BIVF.
About smartbax
smartbax is developing a new generation of antibiotics to address the increasing spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Their team of experts works on innovative solutions focusing on substances that simultaneously address several targets, thus hindering resistance development in bacteria. Moreover, the company specializes in the tailored activation of enzymatic pathways, as this approach is particularly promising in the context of difficult-to-treat biofilms. Knowing that preventing a resistance crisis tomorrow means taking action today, smartbax was founded in 2021 in Munich with the aim of making innovative research applicable in creating novel antibiotics that add true value for patients worldwide.
For more information visit our website: https://www.smartbax.de/
About High-Tech Gründerfonds
The seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) funds technology start-ups with growth potential and accompanied more than 700 start-ups since 2005. With the start of its fourth fund, HTGF has about EUR 1.4 billion under management. The team consisting of experienced investment managers and start-up experts supports young companies with knowhow, entrepreneurial expertise, and passion. HTGF’s focus are high-tech incorporations in the areas digital tech, industrial tech, life sciences, chemistry and related business fields. To date, external investors invested more than EUR 4.5 billion over more than 2,000 follow-up financing rounds into the HTGF portfolio. Moreover, the fund successfully sold its shares on more than 160 companies.
The fund investors of this public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, KfW Capital, the Fraunhofer Society, as well as more than 40 companies from various fields.
https://www.htgf.de/de/
About Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund
Created in 2010, the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund GmbH (BIVF) invests in groundbreaking therapeutics-focused biotechnology companies to drive innovation in biomedical research. BIVF is searching for significant enhancements in patient care through pioneering science and its clinical translation by building long-term relationships with scientists and entrepreneurs. BIVF’s focus is to target unprecedented therapeutic concepts addressing high medical needs in immuno-oncology, regenerative medicine, AMR infections and digital health. These may include novel platform technologies to address so far undruggable targets or new biological entities.
BIVF takes an active role with its portfolio companies – delivering significant added value through its own extensive drug discovery, scientific and managerial expertise. BIVF has a volume of EUR 300 million, is represented with offices in Europe (Germany), USA (Boston and San Francisco) and China (Beijing and Hong Kong) and currently supervises a portfolio of 40 companies.
For more information, please visit: www.boehringer-ingelheim-venture.com
Contact smartbax
Eric Juskewitz
Senior Scientist
eric.juskewitz@smartbax.de
Media relations for smartbax
Eva Mulder or Veronika Máté
Trophic Communications
+31 652331579 or +49 16090816161
smartbax@trophic.eu