Entries by Georg Kääb

A fresh start for Molecular Health: technology core becomes start-up Lucera

A restart from within: Molecular Health is becoming Lucera. After years of shifting corporate fortunes, a substantial part of Heidelberg-based Molecular Health is continuing in a new form. An investor consortium has acquired the company’s pharma technology business and relaunched it as Lucera GmbH. Dr Friedrich von Bohlen remains at the helm, while Dr Stephan Brock, the mind behind the Dataome data engine, also stays on board as CTO.

T-CURX buys Pantherna as the race for in vivo CAR-T gathers pace

T-CURX acquires Pantherna: does this mark the start of a new race for the next generation of CAR-T therapies? The Würzburg- and Munich-based CAR-T company T-CURX is acquiring the Berlin-based mRNA and LNP company Pantherna Therapeutics. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Pantherna is to continue operating in Hennigsdorf as a wholly owned subsidiary.

Extra boost for Nuclidium: financing round reaches €115 million

Basel-based Nuclidium AG has secured an additional tranche for its ongoing Series B financing round, bringing the total to approximately €115 million. The theranostics company is developing copper-based radiopharmaceuticals that are used both for diagnostic imaging and therapeutic applications.

Three in One Go: LimmaTech, Curevo, Vaccine Company

Shopping spree at Eli Lilly? The US pharma giant is acquiring no fewer than three companies, all active in infectious diseases. Among them is Swiss biotech LimmaTech Biologics AG, led by former CureVac CEO Franz-Werner Haas. Yet Lilly’s ambitions extend well beyond classical infectious disease markets, targeting areas ranging from autoimmune disorders and antimicrobial resistance to chronic immune dysfunction and even cancer.

$55m financing round for NVision

With $55m in fresh capital, Ulm-based NVision is expanding its quantum technology platform from MRI sensing into quantum computing for drug development. The diagnostics company Abbott is the round’s anchor investor.

Millions for Preclinical Immunology: Boehringer Teams Up with Immunitas

German Boehringer Ingelheim is doubling down on next-generation autoimmune therapies with a deal worth up to €407.5m for a preclinical Immunitas (USA) antibody programme. The agreement highlights the growing race for selective immune-cell depletion approaches — and adds another strategic win for Novartis-, Merck-, Bayer- and Evotec-backed Immunitas.

InflaRx attracts strong investor interest with US share offering turning to kidney

As Amgen’s competing therapy has come under growing regulatory scrutiny, an opportunity has emerged for InflaRx N.V. to position its own oral C5aR inhibitor in the market. The Jena-based biotech company is now moving quickly to capitalise on that opening: InflaRx is refocusing its pipeline on severe renal diseases while simultaneously advancing a US$150m capital raise intended to fund development through key clinical milestones.

Switzerland’s biotech sector defies tough markets with record revenue

If one follows the figures in the Swiss Biotech Report 2026, the green lights are more prominent than the red warning signals. The Swiss biotech industry continued its growth momentum in 2025 and even reached new record highs. According to the industry report presented in early May at Swiss Biotech Day in Basel, total revenue among companies classified as biotech — which in this case explicitly does not include Roche and Novartis, for example — rose to CHF 7.5 billion, up from CHF 7.2 billion the previous year. The drivers were a growing number of market-ready products and persistently strong demand for specialized CDMO services.

,

Macrocycles: big is the new beautiful

In the evolving landscape of drug discovery and new design, scientists and pharmaceutical innovators ­continually strive to develop therapies that are both highly ­selective and clinically effective, while addressing targets ­previously deemed “undruggable”. In recent years, macrocycles – a class of large, ring-shaped molecules – have emerged as a compelling solution at the crossroads between ­traditional small molecules and large biologics, offering a blend of high specificity, rich chemical diversity and promising pharma­cological profiles.