+++ BioVaria 2027, 3 - 4 May +++ Save the date! +++

PROGRAMME 2026

Monday 27/04

08:30
Registration & Poster Exhibition

The poster exhibition will be open all day.
09:20 - 09:30
Welcome and Opening Remarks
09:30 - 10:50
Presentation Stream 1: Advances in Cardiovascular, Immune and Respiratory Diseases

Chair: Dr Stefanie Possekel, Ascenion
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Gold Sponsor Talk: Munich Accelerator Life Sciences & Medicine (MAxL) – Not Lost in Translation
Regina Abendroth, BioM

A6
CRISPR-Cas9 Mediated Proteinase 3 Autoantigen Deletion as a Treatment Strategy for ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
Dr Stefanie Grunwald, Charité BIH Innovation
M5
Development of Gasdermin D Inhibitors for the Treatment of Stroke and Reperfusion Injury with an upside in ANCA and Autoimmune Diseases
Dr Nadine Sommerfeld, Lead Discovery Center GmbH
M6
Development of GRK5 Inhibitors for the Treatment of Acute and Chronic Cardiovascular Diseases
Cansu Cetiner, Lead Discovery Center GmbH
C4
Novel Treatment of Diseases Associated with or Caused by Mitochondrial Dysfunction
Prof. Jaya Krishnan, Goethe University Frankfurt
A8
Inhibition of TGFβ1-induced Long Non-Coding RNAs Prevents Cardiac Fibrosis
Prof. Christian Bär, Hannover Medical School
R3
Allosteric Modulation of Transglutaminase 2 to Treat Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis
Dr Gökay Albayrak, Aarhus University
M3
Optical Lung Function Measurement by Non-Invasive Chest Motion Tracking
Prof. Christian Dullin, MPI for Multidisciplinary Sciences, and University Medicine Göttingen
10:50 - 11:20
Networking & Poster Session
11:20 - 12:20
Startup Pitches

Chair: Dr Sören Rindfleisch, Ascenion

 

Emerging

  • Cogmotiv FlexCo, Dr Jana Lubec
  • Nanoflexion, Dr Markéta Hujerová
  • Santella AG, Dr Olivier Schären
  • SynuCa Therapeutics, Dr Lasse Reimer
  • VitaSeq GmbH, Dr Sanaz Bahari Javan

 

Rising

  • AATec Medical GmbH, Dr Rüdiger Jankowsky
  • Cambridge Medixine Ltd., Dr Virginia Castilla Llorente
  • KinCon Biolabs GmbH, Prof Eduard Stefan
  • OrganoTherapeutics SARL, Prof Jens C. Schwamborn
  • Panosome GmbH, Dr Katharina Urban
12:20 - 13:30
Lunch & Networking
13:30 - 14:00
Meet the Partners
14:00 - 15:20
Presentation Stream 2: Innovations in Drug Development, Cell Modulation and Sequencing

Chair: Dr Silke Uhrig-Schmidt, H3 Health Hub
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Silver Sponsor Talk: Lilly Gateway Labs Munich and Tunelabs - two new ways to work with Lilly

Dr Jan-Philipp Kruse, Lilly

H6
DrugSeq Solutions - A First-In-Class Single-Cell Sequencing Platform
Dr Violaine Goidts, German Cancer Research Center
I5
Quantum Mechanical Scoring for Computational Structure-based Drug Design
Dr Adam Pecina, IOCB Tech
E4
VARIOMIS: Deconvoluting Genetic Diversity to De-Risk Drug Discovery
Dr James Stephenson, EBML-EBI
I8
ChemCell - Creating a Universal Anchoring Point on Living Cells for Conjugation of Functional Molecules
Dr Katarina Psenakova, IOCB Tech - PharmTheon
M1
RiboSTS – Ribosome Signatures Targeted by High-Throughput Single-Cell Sequencing
Dmitrii Zagrebin, MPI for Molecular Genetics
I4
Beyond Antibodies: Aptamers as Next Frontier in Diagnostics and Therapeutics
Dr Marek Ondrus, IOCB Tech
M2
Generation of RNA Therapeutics by Conjugating NAD-Capped RNAs to Proteins
Prof. Katharina Höfer, Marburg University, MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology
15:20 - 16:00
Networking & Poster Session
16:00 - 17:15
Ascenion's 25th Anniversary
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Opening with the Animato String Quartet

Welcome from the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy
Video message from State Secretary Tobias Gotthardt, Bavarian 
Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy

LifeScience Foundation
Dr. Jörn Erselius, Board Member, LifeScience Foundation
Thomas Gazlig, Chairman, Board of Trustees, LifeScience Foundation & Managing Director Charité BIH Innovation 

Ascenion Advisory Board 
Dr. Joachim Rothe, Partner at EQT & Member of Ascenion’s Advisory Board 

CARMA Fund
Dr. Martin Raditsch, Managing Director, CARMA Fund

From Collaboration to Creation: Partnering with Ascenion and Launching a Spin-Off
Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Thum, Hannover Medical School & Founder and CSO, Cardior Pharmaceuticals 

Ascenion: Through the Looking Glass
Dr. Christian A. Stein, General Manager, Ascenion

25 years of Ascenion - A Trip Down Memory Lane
Video messages from Ascenion alumni, friends & collaboration partners

The Early Years
Prof. Dr. Dr. Martin Hrabĕ de Angelis, Scientific Director, Helmholtz Munich & serial entrepreneur 

Closing & Invitation to the Anniversary Reception in the Foyer 
Dr. Christian A. Stein, General Manager, Ascenion

17:15 - 17:45
Ascenion's Anniversary Reception
18:00
Evening Reception at the Augustiner Keller

Tuesday 28/04

08:30 - 09:30
Meet & Greet Breakfast **Invitation only**
09:30 - 10:00
Registration & Networking
10:00 - 10:50
Early-Stage Innovations (ESI)

Chair: Dr Rebecca Engels, Ascenion


ForTra

CheckBrain Therapeutics – developing novel break-through therapies for diseases of the central nervous system
Dr Hans-Christian Krumholz

AMDdetector
Prof. Dr Thomas Ach

Gene Therapy for micro- and macrovascular growth in peripheral artery disease
Prof. Dr med. Christian Kupatt

CollimateHealth - breakthrough radiation oncology 
Dr Hans Maria Heÿn

ViferaXS – Dual Force T Cell Activator: Tumor-Specific Immunopeptidome Antigens + TLR Adjuvant XS15 for Hematologic and Solid Tumors
Prof. Juliane Walz


GO-Bio initial

CytoSphreX
Yaroslav Zaplatnikov, University of Bonn

proP - Development of novel pro-proteins as dual agonists/antagonists for tissue-specific treatment of diabetes
Dr Maren Heimhalt, LMU Munich

VIVA-VEK 2
Dr Henning Jacobsen, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

Novel Therapeutics Targeting Protein Aggregation in Protein Misfolding Diseases
Dr Ernesto Llamas, University of Cologne - CEPLAS

MoProX – Molecular Proximity-based therapeutics
Prof. Dr Felix Hausch, TU Darmstadt
10:50 - 11:20
Networking & Poster Session
11:20 - 12:50
Presentation Stream 3: Oncology - Biomarkers, Therapeutics and Visualisation

Chair: Dr Simone Fratta, Cancer Research Horizons
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Silver Sponsor Talk: External Innovation Priorities for 2026
Dr Joachim Vogt, Abbvie

Q5
First-in-Class Highly Selective IKKα Inhibitors Targeting the Non-Canonical NF-κB Pathway to Combat Aggressive Inflammation Driven Cancers and Diseases.
Dr Eva Israel, University of Strathclyde
B2
Desaminotyrosine (DAT) as a GvHD Preventive/Therapeutic Adjuvant and Immunotherapy Outcome Predictor
Sascha Göttert, University Hospital Regensburg
Q2
CD74 as a Biomarker for Responsiveness to Cancer Immunotherapy
Dr Raúl Jiménez, The Francis Crick Institute
Q6
iTAG (“Inducible and TArgeted protein DeGradation”) Platform: Drug‑Inducible Degron Tags for Adoptive Cell‑Based Immunotherapies
Dr Britany Clarke, Cancer Research Horizons
Q1
First-in-Class Lead PROTAC ERK5 Degrader for Treatment of Solid Tumours
Dr Katherine Finnegan, University of Manchester
M4
RNA-Binding Small Molecules with a Rigid Core (R-Score)
Prof. Peng Wu, MPI Molecular Physiology Dortmund
H2
Real-Time Magnetic Resonance Imaging Guided Proton Therapy (rt-MRiPT)
Prof. Aswin Hoffmann, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf
A7
FAP-Targeted Dual Imaging for Guided Cancer Surgery
Giacomo Gariglio, Medical University Innsbruck
12:50 - 14:00
Lunch & Networking // Start-up Lunch
14:00 - 14:20
Startup Award Ceremony & Early-Stage Innovations Award Ceremony
14:20 - 15:10
Presentation Stream 4: Infectious Diseases, Diagnostics & Treatment

Chair: Dr Jürgen Walkenhorst, PROvendis
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Silver Sponsor Talk: External Innovation Partnering
Oskar Schoetschel, Johnson & Johnson

P2
Pan-Tuberculosis Signature
Dr Sebastian Theobald, University Hospital Cologne
C3
mRNA-Based Therapeutic Vaccine for Functional Cure of Chronic Hepatitis B
Dr Germán Islan, University Medical Center Mainz
A5
TReAT - A Novel Tacrolimus-Resistant Antiviral T-Cell-Therapy
Dr Leila Amini, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
I7
SeveriDx™ Prediction Kit
Dr Katerina Solcova, SeveriDx s.r.o.
15:10 - 15:50
Presentation Stream 5: Disease Management for Neurological and Metabolic Disorders

Chair: Dr Julie Proft, IOCB-Tech
R2
Next Generation Cell Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease that Restores Motor Function
Dr Mark Denham, Aarhus University
H1
EpiPhaGO: Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Risk Detection
Dr Matthias Prestel, Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen e. V. (DZNE)
B1
OrbitaTreat - A Device and System for a Minimally Invasive Orbital Floor Fracture Implantation
Prof. Thomas Schratzenstaller, OTH Regensburg
I3
MenoFitX - Post-Menopausal Obesity Treatment for Healthy Aging
Dr Katerina Psenakova, IOCB Tech - PharmTheon
15:50 - 16:10
Networking & Poster Session
16:10 - 16:45
Closing Reception