The biotech company NBE Therapeutics was founded by Ulf Grawunder in summer 2012. In the first year of its existence the start-up achieved several important milestones: NBE secured seed financing, obtained two grants, filed two patents and set up functional laboratory infrastructure at Technology Park Basel.
Ulf Grawunder is an experienced entrepreneur. He co-founded the Swiss Biotech company 4-Antibody, where since 2004 he served as founding CEO and after 2006 assumed the role of CSO. During his tenure at 4-Antibody, Ulf Grawunder raised about CHF 50 million capital for the company, secured two pharma/biotech collaborations and grew the company to 50 employees
Last year Grawunder started NBE-Therapeutics. The company has a promising technology in the field of Antibody Drug conjugates (ADCs). ADCs combine the principle of targeted therapies using highly specific antibodies that carry a toxic small molecule payload to a desired target, e.g. a cancer cell, such that the cancer cell is specifically killed by the toxic payload. Despite the recent success of developing effective ADCs, it remains a significant challenge to attach small molecule toxins to antibodies.
NBE-Therapeutics has developed a new and unique enzyme-based technology to attach toxic small molecule drugs specifically and with a controlled ratio to antibodies. Due to the enzymatic reaction, the conjugation conditions are mild and keep the structure of the antibody fully intact.
In addition two this new conjugation technology the company has two proprietary discovery platforms for monoclonal antibodies.
At the Event of the Technologiepark Basel last week Grawunder presented NBE Therapeutics and impressed the audience with his list of achievements:
- Seed financing by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund in January 2013
- CTI grant (CHF 1.0 M) obtained for collaboration with ETH D-BSSE Institute (Basel)
- EU grant (€ 1.4 M) for ADC technology development, coordinated by NBE-Therapeutics
- Close collaborations established with The Scripps Research Institute, USA, and ETH
- R&D activities are further supported by an active Scientific Advisory Board with eminent experts in antibody and ADC research from Scripps, ETH, and University of Erlangen
- Functional laboratory infrastructure was established at Technology Park, Basel.
- Filed two patents for antibody discovery & antibody-drug conjugation technologies
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