Biotechnology projects shaping our future -three life science start-ups convinced the jury at the11th BioRiver Boost!

The winners are ingineeon – advanced immunpotherapeutics (1st place), TCBalance Biopharmaceuticals GmbH (2nd place) and Sweethoven Biotech (3rd place).

Düsseldorf/Hilden, 1 October, 2024: The winners of the 11th BioRiver Boost! 2024 have been announced. First place went to Munich-based ingineeon – advanced immunoptherapies. The company develops cytokine-based immunotherapies for cancer, infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders. Second and third place went to TCBalance Biopharmaceuticals GmbH from Berlin, Germany and Sweethoven Biotech from Bonn, Germany. A special prize in the form of a wild card to participate as a finalist in the BioRiver Boost! 2025 competition went to the TumiKo start-up project from Essen, Germany.

With its annual start-up competition BioRiver Boost!, BioRiver e. V., the association representing the biotechnology and life science sectors in the German Rhineland area, offers young promising life science start-ups companies and projects valuable support and the opportunity to broaden their network and become visible in the industry. Access to renowned experts from global life science companies and investors can be decisive for the future success of a start-up. The prospect of an association membership is an additional incentive for the winning teams as they benefit from BioRiver e.V.'s resources and broad network.

These are this year's winners:

1st place:
ingineeon – advanced immunoptherapeutics, Munich, Germany
Cytokine-based first-in-class immunotherapeutics for cancer and autoimmune diseases

Therapeutics that harness the power of our immune system offer tremendous opportunities in modern precision medicine. Cytokines are immune signalling proteins that regulate the entire immune system. Ingineeon has developed several cytokine-based first-in-class immunotherapeutics. These therapeutics can precisely modulate immune responses. For example, some of these can restore immune functions while others can specifically dampen immune responses. The former is important in cases of e.g. cancer or sepsis, and the latter in cases of autoimmunity. As of today, the spin-off’s pipeline comprises several first-in-class biologics for infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders and oncology. Each of these compounds has a unique mode of action with the potential of a therapeutic breakthrough in the respective indication. This pipeline is based on the combination of expertise in (pre-)clinical research, molecular immunology and rational protein engineering concerted in the ingineeon team.

“I am very excited about our 1st place and especially about the positive feedback that we, and thus the entire ingineeon team, received from the top-level  BioRiver Boost! jury as well as from representatives of the industry and the financial markets,” said Dr. Julia Behnke, Chief Executive Officer of ingineeon. “For some of our programs, we already have proof-of-concept data from ex vivo studies with patients. We are therefore currently looking for suitable investment and cooperation partners. With this award, our previous successes and a core team that combines >100 years of synergistic expertise in science, clinical development and industry, we are now ideally positioned for the next steps: the spin-off of ingineeon from the Technical University of Munich and the start of the clinical development of our first programs."

2nd place:
tcbalance Biopharmaceuticals GmbH, Berlin, Germany
Pioneers of a therapeutic concept based on regulatory T cells

More than 10% of chronic diseases are caused by unwanted/pathogenic immune responses. Conventional therapies only provide partial relief and usually require lifelong immunosuppression, which is often associated with numerous side effects and high costs. tcbalance is developing a sustainable therapeutic concept that could revolutionize the current treatment strategy for such diseases. The targeted use of so-called regulatory T cells (Tregs) restores the balance of the immune system. Using a highly innovative modular technology platform to generate and apply novel Treg products resistant to immunosuppressives, tcbalance is developing autologous bridging therapies and allogeneic “off-the-shelf”- products for various immune disorders, such as in transplantation medicine and autoimmune diseases.

“We are delighted about the recognition, that gives us and our therapeutic approach visibility in the scientific, industrial and financial environment,” says Prof. Dr. O. Weber, Chief Executive Officer of tcbalance Biopharmaceuticals GmbH. “Especially in areas such as cell therapy, which is still very much underestimated due to its complexity and the fact that it is still in its early development phase, it is important to remain in the discussion and to highlight the opportunities and the enormous potential, especially in areas with a high medical need to investors and partners.”

3rd place:
Sweethoven Biotech, Bonn, Germany
Sweet fiber with nutritional value as healthy and sustainable sugar substitute

Sweethoven Biotech focuses on the development, production and marketing of a sustainable sweet-tasting fibre that combines natural sweetness and nutritional benefits.

Unlike synthetic sweeteners, which are mostly based on fossil raw materials, Sweethoven's healthy sweetener is made from renewable resources and offers decisive advantages over available sugar alternatives. The sweet fibre enables the production of sweet foods with increased nutritional value, contributes to a sustainable and healthy diet, and counteracts both the excess sugar and the fibre deficiency in the Western diet. In contrast to synthetic sweeteners, which accumulate in aquatic habitats in worrying amounts, this substitute is digested by beneficial intestinal bacteria.

“We are very proud to have been recognized by this year's BioRiver Boost! competition. As a university project, it is extremely important for us to engage with industry as early as possible and to be able to present our ideas to a jury of such high-ranking experts from well-known companies,” said Dr. Marcel Hövels, Chief Executive Officer of Sweethoven Biotech. “The award is particularly important for us as we are about to start developing the processes to scale-up our production volumes in order to attract potential long-term customers for a pilot study,” added Dr. André Neff, Head of Research at the Company.

The winners of this year's BioRiver Boost! 2024 from left to right: Dr. André Neff, Deputy Head and Dr. Marcel Hövels, Head of Sweethoven Biotech, Dr. Julia Behnke, Chief Executive Officer of ingineeon - advanced immunotherapeutics and Prof. Dr. O. Weber, Chief Executive Officer of TCBalance Biopharmaceuticals GmbH.

"On behalf of all those involved, I would like to congratulate the three winning teams of the 11th BioRiver Boost! 2024. I am impressed by how diverse and professional the projects in the competition were. We will see an excerpt of these in the award ceremony. I am impressed by the innovative strength and drive of young founders in our industry in Germany and throughout Europe," said Dr Bettina Möckel, Vice President of Corporate Development at QIAGEN and Chairwoman of the Board of BioRiver e. V. "We are very proud to have been supporting promising start-ups for consecutive 11 years with the BioRiver Boost! initiative, giving them visibility and access to leading life science experts and investors. This year, our competition received more applications than ever before, and these came not only from all over Germany, but also from the UK, France and India. I would like to thank the BioRiver Boost! partners as well as our board and members of BioRiver for their continued commitment and support in making this competition a fixture in the biotech start-up scene."

The winning teams receive personalised coaching from experienced entrepreneurs to help them refine their business strategies and strengthen their entrepreneurial skills. In addition, they receive marketing support from experts and are offered membership of BioRiver, which gives them long-term access to an extensive network of professionals and companies in the life sciences industry. This combination of coaching, marketing and networking creates valuable opportunities for the winning teams to develop and grow.

The award ceremony took place 27 September 2024 at the headquarters of Johnson&Johnson &J Innovative Medicines Germany in Neuss, Germany. The eight finalists took the opportunity to present their company to a panel of experts in the form of pitch presentations followed by a Q&A sessions and in-depth discussions. As in previous years, this year's jury was composed of highly renowned executives from global life science companies such as BAYER CropScience, BAYER Pharma, Johnson&Johnson, LONZA, Miltenyi Biotec, QIAGEN, UCB and financiers such as High-Tech Gründerfonds and NRW.Bank. The jury was very impressed by the quality of the presentations and emphasised the high standards of the numerous applications when announcing the winners.

One of the projects the jury would like to continue to observe as it develops is the start-up project TumiKo from Essen, Germany. The team develops a smart medical device to monitor and manipulate skull-based guardian immune cells for minimal invasive care of neurological disorders such as brain tumors. This year, the jury therefore decided to award a special prize in the form of a wildcard for this project, which ensures that the TumiKo team participates in the BioRiver Boost! 2025 competition as a finalist.

About the start-up competition BioRiver Boost!

Every year since 2014, young companies that develop market-changing and/or innovative technologies or services for the biotechnology or life science sector have been able to apply for the BioRiver Boost! Startup competition. Organised by BioRiver e. V. and made possible by the commitment of the association's members, partners and life science companies, BioRiver Boost! is now the best-known competition in Germany that accepts applications without regional restrictions and thus attracts start-ups from all over Europe.

In a two-stage process, a jury first selects eight finalists from all the applications, who then give short presentations and answer questions from the jury on the day of the awards ceremony. The finalists are selected based on specific criteria, such as customer benefit and degree of innovation of the technology as well as the experience of the team and the quality of the business plan. After the so-called pitch sessions in front of the jury and the audience, the jury decides on the best three start-ups or start-up projects in a secret ballot. After the competition, all finalists are invited to become part of the extensive BioRiver network and benefit from the expertise of the association and its members. The programme of the final event also includes reverse pitches by investors and corporations, as well as a designated networking session.  Another highlight is the participation of previous winners and finalists and the motivational talk by last year's winner.

The BioRiver Boost! is supported by numerous sponsors: The event was hosted by Johnson&Johnson, platinum sponsors included KölnBusiness Wirtschaftsförderungs-GmbH and the City of Düsseldorf. Gold sponsor was NRW.Bank.

The BioRiver Boost! 2024 was once again funded as a Startup-Event.NRW (#DWNRW) by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

About BioRiver - Life Science im Rheinland e. V.

BioRiver - Life Science im Rheinland e.V. has a long tradition of supporting start-up projects and start-ups, making it a particular focal point. The vast majority of the more than 65 life science companies in the association, which include industry giants Johnson&Johnson, Bayer, Qiagen Miltenyi Biotec, LONZA and Charles River, were founded at universities in the Rhineland. Managing directors and senior management of the companies are involved as chairmen, on the board and in the BioRiver e.V. working groups. In total, BioRiver has over 100 member organisations.

Further information can be found at www.bioriver.de.

Contact:

BioRiver - Life Science im Rheinland e.V.
Dr. Frauke Hangen
Managing Director
+49 (0)211 316 0610
hangen@bioriver.de