Winners 2023
Contact persons
Dr. Petra Burgstaller
Co-Lead Venture Creation & MAxL
Christina Enke-Stolle
Co-Lead Venture Creation & MAxL
Those were the 2023 m4 Award winners!
Tülay Aydin
Rahmetullah Varol
Dr. Dirk Stauder
Stephanie Wißmann
Dr. Dimitra Makri
Universität der Bundeswehr München
BIOspire - Lensfree Holotomographic Imaging Systems
BIOspire was established to combine multimodal AI and live cell imaging to address clinical issues. Our technology introduces a novel hardware solution integrated into software. The hardware images living cells at nanometer scales, uncovering previously hidden cellular features. The software tracks patients' health data, predicts potential outcomes and facilitates proactive treatments. Together, the hardware and software redefine the clinical experience, merging advanced cell imaging with insightful software for enhanced fertility care insight.
Prof. Dr. Oliver Hayden
Sarah Wali
Katharina Thöne
Azur Causevic
Henning Sabersky-Müssigbrodt
Technical University of Munich, School of Computation, Information and Technology TranslaTUM
BugSense - A paper-based test to detect antimicrobial resistance in urinary tract infections for near-patient applications
Roughly one-third of all infections are urinary tract infections, primarily affecting women, the elderly, and diabetics. Diagnosis requires a multi-day process in a central laboratory - time that is not available for quick therapy decisions. BugSense (www.bugsensedx.com/) is a paper-based and industrially scalable solution that allows for decentralized testing of pathogens, including resistance testing, through automated image analysis. The team led by Sarah Wali is developing and validating this technology in collaboration with Prof. Oliver Hayden (TUM) at TranslaTUM, to expedite therapy decisions sustainably, thereby simplifying patient logistics.
Stefan Schrüfer
Ruben G. Scheuring
Janik Altenhöfer
Alexander Björk
FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg Chair of Polymer Materials
RevoBITs - Analyze. Optimize. Automize
RevoBITs is developing the first smart bioprinter to enable medical research and the pharmaceutical industry to establish and reliably produce meaningful human tissue models. With a new print head technology and integrated quality control, RevoBITs offers the technological basis to reduce animal testing in drug discovery and to provide tissue for transplantation medicine in the long term. www.revo-bits.com
Prof. Dr. Ulrike Protzer
Dr. Marian Wiegand
Prof. Dr. Percy Knolle
Dr. Frank Thiele
Helmholtz Munich
TherVacB - Spin-off to establish a therapeutic hepatitis B vaccine for an HBV cure
With nearly 300 million people affected worldwide and 820,000 deaths annually, chronic hepatitis B is a global health problem for which no curative therapy exists. TherVacB represents a promising therapeutic hepatitis B vaccine that is able to reactivate antiviral immune responses. TherVacB’s efficacy to cure chronic infection has been demonstrated in preclinical models; first clinical trials will start soon. With the help of the m4 Award, essential development steps for a final formulation of TherVacB will be carried out, and a spin-off company's foundation will be prepared to drive further clinical development.
Dr. Kamyar Hadian
Juliane Tschuck
Helmholtz Munich
TUBiRA - Lead Optimization of first-in-class TRAF6-Ubc13 inhibitors for treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) relies on interfering with immune cell signaling. This project, led by Dr. Kamyar Hadian, is targeting TRAF6-UBC13-mediated signaling to develop RA therapeutics. First-in-class TRAF6-UBC13 inhibitors have been developed that improve disease outcome in a preclinical RA mouse model. In this m4-Award-funded project, the current lead molecules will be optimized to nominate preclinical candidates. This will enable the creation of a spin-off company dedicated to advancing these molecules from preclinical to clinical proof-of-concept for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.