Co-Founder, CEO

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 has been heading smartbax as CEO since its foundation in 2021, responsible for both scientific and business development, fundraising, and investor relations.

Head of Medicinal Chemistry

Kamal holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (India) and is a recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellowship. After postdoctoral research in Germany, he led an independent research group for over 12 years at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, focusing on natural product–inspired small-molecule design and chemical biology. He has authored nearly 100 scientific publications across his academic and industrial career. In 2019, Kamal transitioned to industry, joining Aicuris Anti-infective Cures to lead medicinal chemistry in antibacterial drug discovery. He currently serves as Head of Medicinal Chemistry at smartbax, where he leads the development of next-generation antibacterial therapeutics.

Senior Scientist

Sylvia holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Bergen, Norway, and and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Toronto, Canada, as a Marie Curie Fellow.

She joined smartbax in 2022, where she currently leads internal biological research projects and manages scientific collaborations, including partnerships with industry. Sylvia has co-authored 15 peer-reviewed publications and brings extensive expertise in molecular biology and translational research to support the discovery of next-generation antibiotics.

Senior Scientist

Eric is a Senior Scientist specializing in microbiology, with a focus on mode-of-action studies in antibiotic discovery. His work examines bacterial responses to small molecules to support structure–activity relationship (SAR) analysis and data-driven decision-making.

He has over nine years of experience in drug discovery and has contributed to the antibiotic discovery pipeline Digibiotics at the University of Tromsø. In addition to SAR and microbiology, Eric supports data, and IT workflows, helping translate science into actionable insights for the discovery of novel antibiotics.

Scientist

Laboratory technician

Sophie holds a Master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Bayreuth and with her bioanalytical background and experience in immunology, biomaterials, and antibacterial diagnostics and research, she supports the smartbax team as a laboratory technician.

Member

Anobis Asset

Dr. Martin Falk studied chemistry with a focus on biochemistry in Mainz and Freiburg and received his doctorate in 1999 from the Chair of Pharmaceutical Technology in Freiburg.

In the following years until the end of 2003, he worked, among others, as a consultant in the healthcare practice of Arthur D. Little in Zurich and London.

From 2004 to 2009, he served as managing director of Dr. Falk Pharma and chairman of the Falk Foundation e.V. Following this, Dr Martin Falk was managing partner of Benevi Med until 2022 and has also been a board member and shareholder of Dr. Falk Pharma since 2017. In addition, he has again been chairman of the Falk Foundation e.V. since 2020.

Since 2018, he has been managing director of the single-family office Anobis Holding GmbH (formerly Acondis GmbH). One pillar of the investment strategy that Dr Martin Falk continues to drive forward are investments in the field of venture capital.

Member

Head of BI Venture Fund EU

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Dr. Sebastian Kreuz, a seasoned investor and life-science professional with more than 20 years of experience at Boehringer Ingelheim, has been serving as an Investment Manager at the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF) since June 2019 and leads the BIVF EU team as Head since 2025.

Sebastian embarked on his industrial career in 2004, by joining Boehringer Ingelheim as a research scientist. His initial focus was on early drug concept research by applying functional genomics approaches. Over the years, he has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility within Boehringer’s research organization, thereby further expanding his drug discovery expertise across a broad range of disease areas and therapeutic modalities.

Sebastian holds a PhD in Molecular Biology and Immunology, which he obtained from the University of Stuttgart.

Member

Partner at HTGF

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Dr. Angelika Vlachou has been investing venture capital in biotech, pharma and life science start-ups for over 10 years. Over the course of her career, she has managed many transactions ranging from seed-stage venture capital and growth financing to licensing agreements, trade sale transactions and IPOs. Her expertise is also based on her virology-molecular biology research experience. One of her strengths is to combine scientific innovation with commercial potential. She is a valued sparring partner for founders, investors and stakeholders. With a doctorate in biology, she started her professional career in investment banking.

Member

Co-Founder and Chair of Organic Chemistry II at the Technical University of Munich

Prof. Stephan Sieber has been 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. 

Non-voting observer

Director Life Science and Senior Investment Manager at Bayern Kapital

Dr. Nathalie Weitemeyer is Director Life Sciences/ Senior Investment Manager at Bayern Kapital, the venture capital company of the Free State of Bavaria. She has been responsible for life science and medical technology investments for more than 20 years. She started her career as a scientist in a biotech start-up company in the field of drug delivery systems. Nathalie holds a PhD in Chemistry from Eberhard-Karl University in Tübingen and a degree in Economics (Dipl. Wirtschafts-Chemikerin) from FernUniversität Hagen.

Co-Founders and entrepreneurial advisor

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 experience 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 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 in ensuring 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.

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.