RNhale wins Daiichi Sankyo Golden Ticket for BioM incubator MAxL

The Bio^M incubator MAxL (Munich Accelerator Life Sciences & Medicine), funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, offers a unique infrastructure on 900 m² for pre-seed teams and early-stage start-ups in the fields of life sciences and health tech. The aim is to accelerate the translation of academic research into application and to accompany young founders on their way to establishing their own life science companies.

In MAxL’s state-of-the-art, fully equipped laboratory and co-working spaces, start-up RNhale can now further develop its inhalable RNA therapeutics based on their proprietary platform technology. The focus of RNhale is on the targeted treatment of severe lung diseases such as asthma, COPD and viral infections through direct administration of a therapeutic into the lungs, which involves embedding RNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles into an inhalable dry powder form.

With the Golden Ticket, RNhale benefits from state-of-the-art infrastructure and Bio^M’s customized mentoring and networking program, as well as access to the global network of experts at Daiichi Sankyo.

“With our first Golden Ticket, we want to offer particularly promising founders a decisive head start in transforming their research into marketable innovations,” said Dr. Masakatsu Suzuki, Head of Daiichi Sankyo Research Institute Munich. “The partnership with Bio^M and MAxL also gives us the opportunity to gain early insights into forward-looking technologies and to develop new therapeutic approaches together with the RNhale team.”

Benjamin Winkeljann, CEO at RNhale is delighted about the Golden Ticket: “The award gives us the opportunity to further develop our platform technology in a targeted manner and to advance new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of severe lung diseases. Through close networking with experts from research and industry, we are gaining crucial inspiration for the next steps on the path to application.”

“We highly appreciate the support of Daiichi Sankyo. The partnership with Daiichi Sankyo strengthens our mission to promote the transfer of scientific ideas into clinical and industrial applications,” explains Christina Enke-Stolle, Co-Lead MAxL and Incubation at Bio^M. “The winning team benefits not only from state-of-the-art infrastructure, but also from valuable exchanges with a leading global pharmaceutical company.”

Dr. Petra Burgstaller, Co-Lead MAxL and Incubation at Bio^M, also emphasizes the importance of the cooperation: “We are very pleased with the commitment of Daiichi Sankyo. The Golden Ticket offers the selected team the opportunity to further develop its technology under optimal conditions and to establish early contacts with strategic partners and investors.”

Other pharmaceutical and life science companies are also invited to become Golden Ticket Sponsors of MAxL and thus actively help shape the next generation of biomedical innovations.

About Bio^M Biotech Cluster Development GmbH

Bio^M has been the network organization for the biotechnology industry in Munich and Bavaria for more than 25 years on behalf of the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs. Bio^M supports the Bavarian biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry with an extensive network for the initiation of new business contacts. The cluster management offers interested parties from Germany and abroad centralized access and a wide range of information about the industry. Bio^M offers comprehensive advice and special coaching, training and mentoring programs especially for prospective company founders. With its incubator MAxL (Munich Accelerator Life Sciences & Medicine), Bio^M also offers optimal conditions for pre-seed projects and early-stage start-ups in the biotech and healthtech sector. Bio^M has also been coordinating the m⁴ Award pre-seed competition in the field of biomedicine since 2011, which is funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs every other year with 2.5 million euros. In total, Bio^M has supported over 250 start-ups. In addition, Bio^M organizes a wide range of training courses, events and network meetings.

About Munich Accelerator Life Sciences & Medicine (MAxL)

The early-stage incubator Munich Accelerator Life Sciences & Medicine (MAxL) is an initiative of Bio^M to promote pre-seed and early-stage start-ups in biotechnology and healthtech. The program, which is funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, offers state-of-the-art laboratories, co-working spaces, training and networking events as well as targeted support for young founders.

More information: www.bio-m.org/en and www.maxl-biotech.org