Pitches & Posters 2025

2NA FISH is a plug-and-play spatial transcriptomics platform that turns a bladder-cancer biopsy into a high-plex RNA atlas in < 72 h.
DNA-nanotech probes (7-plex today, 20-plex ready) and an AI web-app reveal Nectin-4, Trop-2, HER2 and more, guiding ADC therapy now and fuelling R&D screens. RUO kits ship this year; a repurposable IVD follows.

Alithea revolutionizes cancer treatment with end-to-end solutions, transforming patient samples into personalized therapies.

www.alithea-bio.com

The Next Frontier in Precision Oncology  Berking Theranostics is unlocking a new era of targeted radiotherapy with RadioNabs®—ultra-specific nanobodies derived from alpacas, engineered to deliver radioactive payloads directly to cancer cells. These next-generation radioligands offer unmatched precision, reduced toxicity, and faster development timelines. With a scalable platform, global partnerships, and a clear path to clinical validation, RadioNabs® is set to redefine the treatment.

Webseite Berking Theranostics

We take the fear our of cancer.

www.bioexotec.com

Revolutionizing Cardiovascular Gene Therapy.

http://markherzen.com/

Leopard Biosciences is redefining molecular diagnostics with an "upside-down CRISPR" platform that flips the traditional paradigm — enabling ultra-sensitive, multiplex detection at the point of care. Designed for pandemic preparedness and aligned with WHO’s ASSURED criteria, our technology brings lab-quality testing to the front lines of healthcare.

www.leopard.bio

AutoImmunity Modifying Biologics - Inspired by Pregnancy

https://toleris.com/

Tuari Therapeutics’ mission is to develop first-in-class small molecule GTPases inhibitors to treat KRAS-addicted cancers which have a poor prognosis and no curative treatments available. The KRAS pathway is very complex and there are opportunities to develop unique and superior approaches to treat KRAS mutated cancers by targeting GTPases, different from KRAS itself, but which are playing a crucial role in mediating KRAS oncogenic signal.

95% efficacy, single-dose application. Residue-free, resistance-safe, and easy to use. LIMITEX targets a €2B global market with strong IP in the EU and US. VAROLIS now seeks partners to bring this lithium-based innovation through approval—an opportunity that combines ecological impact with high commercial potential.
www.varolis-apimed.de

Systematic discovery of RNA-targeted small molecules through MatrixFOREST and structure activity relationships (SAR) study at single-nucleotide-resolution 

Authors: Dr Georg Urtel

In recent years, there has been a lack of protein-based drug targets, leading to a growing interest in small molecule drug discovery targeting RNA, such as Evrysdi® (Risdiplam).

However, the development of systematic screening methods to target RNAs remains challenging, and it is still unclear how to optimize the hit compounds for drug candidates. Our proprietary technology, MatrixFOREST, enables the simultaneous and parallel evaluation of all combinations between a large number of RNAs (>1,000) and compounds (>10,000). This allows for the assessment of RNA structural changes at the single-nucleotide level and the selectivity of compounds against multiple RNAs. Through the analysis of extensive combination data, we have discovered selective and potent small molecules binding to RNAs. 

This poster represents the following 4 key points: I. Hit identification by our FOREST technologies, II. Structure-activity relationships (SAR) studies for compound-RNA interactions at single-nucleotide resolution, III. An analysis of the physicochemical properties of small molecules binding to RNA from both chemical and target RNA structure perspective, IV. Cellular assay with RNA-targeted small molecule hit from our internal screening.

2. Identification Rho GTPase signaling related gene signature in osteoarthritis based on machine learning 

Authors: Dr. Shenxi Zhong

Background:
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease with increasing incidence due to aging. Rho-GTPases regulate chondrocyte homeostasis, but the role of RHO signaling-related genes in OA remains unclear. This study explores their diagnostic and predictive value in OA pathogenesis.

Methods:
Primary chondrocytes from OA patients underwent IL1β-induced inflammation, with CDC42, RAC1, and RHOA modulation. RNA sequencing, qRT-PCR, and GLISA assays were performed. Key RHO signaling-related DEGs (RHO-DEGs) were identified using WGCNA and PPI analysis. Public datasets (GSE114007, GSE129147) were analyzed via machine learning to develop diagnostic models, including a nomogram and ROC curves. Functional enrichment, GSVA, and GSEA were conducted.

Results:
IL1β increased CDC42-GTP and RAC1-GTP, indicating RHO pathway activation. Eleven hub RHO-DEGs were enriched in cytoskeletal regulation, focal adhesion, and oxytocin signaling. Two OA subtypes were identified, with FLNA, ACTG1, COL2A1, MMP13, NOS2, and ADAMTS4 overexpressed in subtype 2. GSEA showed upregulation of apoptosis, insulin, JAK-STAT, Wnt, and autophagy in subtype 2. Machine learning identified five diagnostic RHO-DEGs with strong predictive potential, validated via ROC analysis. Correlation and PPI analysis revealed interactions between hub and diagnostic RHO-DEGs, enriched in motor protein-related pathways. GSVA showed RAC1 inhibition and Rho activation increased apoptosis and reduced ACAN degradation. CDC42 inhibition promoted senescence but decreased calcified cartilage genes, while Rho activation suppressed hypertrophic markers. Autophagy-related genes were upregulated after CDC42 and RAC1 inhibition. ALDH3A2 and WWP2 were downregulated in OA, with ALDH3A2 further suppressed by CDC42 inhibition and WWP2 upregulated by Rho activation. TUBB3 exhibited inconsistent expression patterns. RHOQ and DIAPH3 showed subtype-specific changes and were dynamically regulated by CDC42 and RAC1 inhibition.

Conclusion:
This study highlights RHO-DEGs as potential OA biomarkers, identifying molecular subtypes and diagnostic models that offer insights into OA classification and targeted therapies.

3. Biophysical  Solutions to Challenging Questions in Drug Discovery 

Authors: Dr. Frank Becker

For over 20 years we apply Fluorescence Cross Correlation Spectroscopy (FCCS) as a versatile platform technology to interrogate molecular interactions under physiological conditions. The approach has been successfully applied on small molecule drugs, peptides, antibodies, membrane proteins, and nucleic acids to yield equilibrium binding constants and kinetic parameters. Assays were carried out in crude cell lysates, body fluids, living cells, blood plasma and tissue homogenates. FCCS analysis provides a precise and complex read out including exact concentrations, molecular size, binding state, complex half-life and allows for differentiation between on- and off target binding. Taken together FCCS is capable of providing all necessary information for knowledge-based drug discovery and development. This presentation will highlight a set of examples on the use of FCCS throughout the value chain and the critical impact on the projects.

4. Rapid and specific detection of pathogenic bacteria using recombinant receptor binding proteins of bacteriophages 

Authors: Dr Peter Braun

For infections caused by highly pathogenic bacteria, such as Bacillus anthracis or Yersinia pestis, timely antibiotic therapy for infected patients is paramount. To ensure the correct treatment regimen, rapid and unambiguous pathogen detection is essential. While polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the gold standard for diagnostics of most infectious diseases, antibody-based assays that detect specific antigens of the pathogen are commonly used for rapid point of care (POC) testing or as confirmatory methods in diagnostic laboratories. Nevertheless, antibodies often feature insufficient specificity due to the high degree of relatedness of the target pathogens to their non- or less pathogenic relatives. Receptor binding proteins (RBPs) of bacteriophages, which mediate recognition and binding to host bacteria, represent a promising alternative to antibodies. Here, we identified RBPs derived from various phages targeting Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis. These RBPs were engineered into bio-probes and recombinantly expressed, incorporating fluorescent proteins or enzymes to enable specific detection of the target pathogens. Additionally, the RBPs were coupled to magnetic beads to serve as highly specific capture molecules for the enrichment and isolation of bacterial pathogens from different matrices. Using the same techniques, we are currently expanding our library of RBP bio-probes to specifically target other pathogens of interest, including Burkholderia spp., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

5. High-Throughput Signal Peptide Engineering to Accelerate Biologics Development 

Authors: COO, PhD Katja Rosti

Protein production remains a challenge in affordable biologics development. We introduce a novel approach to modulating protein biogenesis using signal peptides – key regulators of protein expression but underutilized in the biotechnology industry. This poster presents results of a high-throughput screening enabled by machine learning to optimize signal peptides in mammalian CHO cells. By testing thousands of variants in parallel, we achieved up to 5-fold yield increases across several medically relevant proteins without compromising quality. This approach has wide applicability in biologics development, including antibody engineering, mRNA therapeutic development, AI-designed proteins and more.

6. Devmab: Improving In-silico Developability Assessment for Monoclonal Antibodies 

Authors: Mr Paul Wissenberg

We curated a database of natural and clinical-stage monoclonal antibodies, performed 3D modeling, and annotated with 100+ properties. Analysis revealed differences between therapeutic and natural mAbs, including higher aromaticity and small residue content. We identified critical biases from mouse-origin sequences, framework regions and phage-display artifacts impacting developability predictions.
 

7. SpecPlate – Revolutionizing High-Throughput UV/Vis Analysis from Biomolecule Quantification to Cell Density Measurement 

Authors: Dr. Carsten Radtke

UV/Vis spectroscopy is a key method for determining the concentration of biomolecules and monitoring biological processes. However, conventional multi-well plates are prone to meniscus effects, pipetting errors and can only be used within a limited detection range without dilution, often requiring complex dilution series.

The SpecPlate overcomes these limitations by using closed measurement chambers with physically defined path lengths, enabling more accurate and reproducible concentration measurements over a wide dynamic range and reducing the number of dilution steps.

Since the introduction of the SpecPlate, we have been able to demonstrate in further studies that the SpecPlate is suitable for a variety of important applications in research and industry:
- DNA quantification at 260 nm - High dynamic range for nucleic acid analysis
- OD600 measurements for cell density - Improved reproducibility for monitoring microbial cultures without dilution errors
- Bradford assay for protein determination - Optimized dye absorbance measurement through defined optical path lengths, improving accuracy and consistency.

The SpecPlate has been successfully integrated into high-throughput workflows and is compatible with leading liquid handlers and plate readers, enabling fully automated UV/Vis analysis. Serial production is now underway to ensure consistent quality and global availability.

At the BayOConnect 2025 we will present practical case studies that demonstrate the versatility of the SpecPlate in high throughput analysis. In particular, we will look at new applications in cell culture, protein and DNA analysis and discuss how SpecPlate can help to optimize existing laboratory processes.

I look forward to exchanging ideas with the community on future applications and developments of this technology.

8. MobiuSCOPE: A novel single cell RNAseq library construction method to achieve full-length RNA information with short-read sequencing 

Authors: Dr. Jacqueline Nakel 
Singleron Biotechnologies

Accurate and comprehensive RNA sequencing at the single-cell level is crucial for understanding cellular heterogeneity, gene regulation, and the complexities of disease mechanisms. Traditional short-read single-cell RNA sequencing methods often capture either 5’ or 3’ end of the transcripts for their quantification, which can miss critical information such as alternative splicing events, gene fusion, and allele-specific gene expression. This limitation can obscure the true complexity of cellular transcriptomes and hinder the discovery of novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

MobiuSCOPE addresses these challenges by providing a full-length RNA sequencing solution that captures the entire mRNA transcript at single cell level. A microwell chip (SCOPE-chip) is used for partitioning thousands of cells into individual wells, followed by capturing and barcoding mRNA from each single cell. An optimized reverse transcriptase (RT) formulation which has improved enzyme processivity is then used to generate full length 3’ barcoded cDNA, each with a unique cell barcode and UMI next to the 3’ sequence of the mRNA. A circularization step combined with subsequent reverse PCR is then used to bring the 5’ sequence of the same mRNA to the proximity of the cell barcode and UMI, generating a 5’ barcoded cDNA. Sequencing libraries are constructed by random fragmentation of both 3’ and 5’ cDNA pools and ligating the fragments to Illumina sequencing adaptors. All reads coming from the same transcript have the same cell barcode and UMI allowing the assembly by a proprietary bioinformatics pipeline to yield full-length transcript information.

The MobiuSCOPE technology combines advanced molecular barcoding technology with a highly sensitive workflow that minimizes technical biases, ensuring precise and reproducible results. It is scalable, supporting the analysis of hundreds to thousands of single cells, making it suitable for a wide range of applications, including detecting and defining the functions of splicing isoforms, fusion genes, expressed mutations or SNPs, under diverse physiological conditions, at single cell level.

10. Secarna Pharmaceuticals: Leading independent European antisense drug discovery & development company 

Authors: Secarna Pharmaceuticals

Secarna Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the discovery and development of next-generation antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapies – both targeted and unconjugated –  to address challenging or previously undruggable targets in indications of high unmet medical need.

The Company employs its proprietary, AI-powered ASOarchitect platform for the discovery, testing and selection of best-in-class ASOs. The platform covers all aspects of drug discovery and preclinical development. It has proven to be fast, reliable, scalable and efficient, including targeted delivery for an optimized therapeutic window. Secarna’s technology integrates the powerful proprietary Oligofyer™ bioinformatics system, a streamlined AI-guided screening process, the Company’s proprietary LNA-Vit(r)ox™ in vitro safety test system and target-specific functional assays or animal models. This approach has been validated through numerous inhouse and external collaboration projects across multiple indications including oncology, immunology, neurodegenerative and cardiometabolic diseases. Secarna’s proprietary lead program SECN-15 is an ASO targeting Neuropilin-1 for the treatment of a range of solid tumors.

www.secarna.com 

The measurement of neurobiomarkers in blood is often challenging due to the high sensitivity required. This often necessitates the time-consuming sampling of cerebrospinal fluid. Smartprobes has developed an innovative platform technology for highly sensitive biomarker measurements utilizing DNA Origami technology. DNA Origami serves as a molecular construction kit, allowing for precise arrangement of antibodies and labels. This advancement enables a 1000x increase in sensitivity without altering the test protocol. The incorporation of a user-friendly reader system facilitates single molecule counting assays in a point-of-care format. Currently, Smartprobes is working on the development of a blood test for stroke. The company is supported by Exist Forschungstransfer and has plans for seed funding in 2025.

Finding diverse hit candidates through phenotype-guided Virtual Screening using Artificial Intelligence on molecular and morphology data High Content Screening is a well-established technology used in the drug discovery process.

Recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence, computer vision, and computational capabilities increase phenotypic screening potential; leveraging the massive amounts of information encoded in multicolor images at single-cell resolution.

We focus our research on exploring a combination of images and chemical structures from High Content Imaging experiments. Recently, we have demonstrated that utilizing a multimodal approach significantly improves the efficiency of mode of action predictions. In this work, we replicate this approach for Virtual Screening of a library of publicly available compounds, to find molecules that are most likely to induce a phenotype of interest.

We implemented Artificial Intelligence tools that combine image-to-structure retrieval and contrastive learning. Application of Ardigen’s proprietary multimodal approach to large Cell Painting and publicly available datasets yielded superior results to conventional approaches, with significantly improved chemical diversity and biological coherence. This method enables optimized hit searching by using a desired phenotype, accelerating phenotypic drug discovery process.

www.ardigen.com

Deep biofluid proteomics for analysis of large patient cohorts 

Authors: Carleen M. Kluger1 , Samira Vautrin1, Frank Rolfs1, Till Kindel1 , Oliver Kardell1, Christian Schiffmann2, Barbara Kracher1, Andreas Tebbe1 

Mass spectrometry-based proteomics analyses of human biofluids are a promising strategy to monitor health and disease in a completely unbiased way. However, analysis of biofluids is challenging due to the large dynamic range of high and low abundant proteins. The nanoparticle-based ProteographTM platform is a method of choice for high-throughput, in-depth and accurate biofluid proteome investigation. Here, we report on the long-term performance of the platform by comparing results from a pooled healthy control sample prepared on different Proteograph and Mass spectrometry instruments along-side with multiple large patient cohort studies over the time frame of months. In addition, we comment on the depth of the data generated by our platform, enabling not only to study intensity levels for thousands of proteins from patient biofluid samples but also providing access to information about post-translational modifications, protein isoforms and patient specific amino acid modifications.

Student-led conference < interact >
April 3-4, 2025
Biomedical center Munich
Großhaderner Str. 9, 82152 Planegg

Who are we?
We are PhD candidates organizing an international scientific conference for master, PhD students, and postdocs.

What is <interact>?
<interact> offers networking, research presentations, workshops, and career exploration in academia and industry.

Topics?
• AI in life sciences
• from basic to translational research
• synthetic biology
• science communication and policy P

Previous success
> 300 attendees
> 24 sponsors (PacBio, New England Biolabs, Eurofins, Promega, etc)

Join us as sponsors and speakers!
Share your insights, connect with future talent, and support the next generation of 
changemakers.