Biotech

4.7 million euros pre-series A for smartbax

Medical innovation made in Oberschleissheim. smartbax aims to get to the root of the global resistance problem with novel mechanisms of action.
News by Marc Nemitz Marc Nemitz · Oberschleißheim, 22. October 2025

Bayern Kapital, the venture and growth capital company of the Free State of Bavaria, is investing for the first time in smartbax GmbH, a Munich-based biotech start-up that is developing innovative antibiotics against multi-resistant germs. The investment is being made via the ERDF II innovation fund, which is also equipped with European STEP funds (Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform).

In addition to Bayern Kapital, Anobis Asset GmbH and UnternehmerTUM Funding for Innovators as well as the existing investors High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF) are participating in the Pre-Series A financing round of 4.7 million euros. The new funds will flow into the expansion of the drug pipeline and the preclinical development of the most promising candidates.

Increasing resistance to antibiotics poses huge challenges for the healthcare system worldwide.

Monika Steger, Managing Director of Bayern Kapital

The fight against multi-resistant bacteria

According to the WHO, antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest global health risks. More and more pathogens are developing mechanisms that render common drugs ineffective. This has dramatic consequences for patient care and healthcare systems.

smartbax is tackling this with a two-pronged approach:

  1. New inhibitors against previously unused targets in the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria.
  2. Enzyme activators that trigger bacterial self-destruction processes. A completely new mechanism of action that circumvents classic resistance patterns.

The company's main drug candidate has already demonstrated its efficacy in vivo and shows broad activity against multi-resistant strains with a low tendency towards resistance. In parallel, smartbax is working on two further activators that are currently being prepared for preclinical studies.

New paths in antibiotics research

"smartbax is currently the only German biotech company that focuses exclusively on the development of small molecule antibiotics - an area with enormous medical urgency and global relevance," explains Dr. Robert Macsics, CEO of smartbax."Our compounds address bacterial targets for which there are currently no therapeutic options. The aim is to open up new treatment options for patients with life-threatening infections."

smartbax GmbH was founded in Munich in 2021 and develops novel antibiotics that target innovative bacterial target structures. The company combines classic inhibitors with enzyme-activating approaches to circumvent resistance and increase efficacy against particularly critical pathogens. smartbax focuses on pathogens classified as priorities by the WHO and aims to create new treatment options for difficult-to-treat infections.


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