A curious team of explorers, deeply rooted in science, and constantly on the lookout for a very particular novel drug modality. This is us – Proxygen. We hunt for glue degraders. They are the key to unlocking new treatments for patients. They revolutionize how we see diseases and how we will cure them.
Being successful in a new field of science is hard. In glue degrader discovery, there is simply no precedent. No standard way of doing things. To become pioneers, we had to develop the virtues of hunters: patience, instincts, intuition, the ability to learn from failure, and the confidence that there is no one single way to achieve our goal.
We are working in a microcosmos of cells, proteins, and molecules. Our scientists must be smart, deliberate, and tricky to reveal their secrets and to find the right glue degrader for the right protein. And they must rely on the basic science. It’s not only a unique skill, but also an art. The art of glue hunting.
Our team, our advisors, and our founders are world-leading experts in their disciplines. We bring them together to combine their knowledge and experience with ours, forming an organization with one overarching goal: finding the best glue degraders.
„We founded Proxygen because we felt a strong need for the industrial application of groundbreaking academic research. It is exciting to see how quickly the team scales new ventures and successfully tackles the tough questions in glue degrader discovery.”
Georg Winter
"Stepping on the shoulders of giants like Charles Darwin to lead the glue hunting field is unlocking massive potential for more precise and effective pipelines than ever before."
Werner Lanthaler
"Proxygen is at the forefront of advancing protein degradation technologies, offering groundbreaking solutions that could redefine how we think about drug discovery. The team’s remarkable approaches have the potential to target diseases that were previously considered undruggable. I am excited to contribute to the impact they will have on transforming therapeutic development."
Brenda Schulman
In case you might wonder why we are inspired by Charles Darwin: when he started his journey on the HMS Beagle, he was 23 years old. He had to broaden his horizon constantly as he was getting deeper and deeper into uncharted territory.
His knowledge grew with every experience he made. He had to blaze his own trail. Needing a lot of patience to build and consolidate his theory, he was never non-controversial. He changed biology forever. How could he not be an inspiration for what we are doing at Proxygen? Charles Darwin shares our spirit of glue hunting.
![](https://proxygen.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Charles_Darwin_by_G._Richmond-892x1219.jpg")
„Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.“
Charles Darwin
Brenda Schulman is the Director at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Munich, Germany. She is a leading biochemist and structural biologist who is highly regarded for her significant contributions to understanding the regulation of E3 ubiquitin ligases. Her lab at the Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry, and at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, is recognized for illuminating mechanisms of ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like protein ligation, and for using a distinctive biochemical reconstitution approach to identify novel in vivo regulatory pathways. Brenda is an elected member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences and EMBO. She has been awarded several prizes including the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, the Ernst Jung Prize for Medicine, and the Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine. Prior to joining the Max Planck Institute in 2017, Brenda’s career also included conducting pioneering research at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Giulio Superti-Furga is a highly respected scientist and leader in the field of systems biology and personalized medicine. He serves as the Scientific Director and CEO of CeMM, the Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Giulio holds a professorship for systems biology at the Medical University of Vienna. Throughout his career, he has made significant contributions to the fields of gene regulation and pharmacology and has published numerous papers in prestigious scientific journals. In addition to his scientific work, he also has profound experience in building and leading scientific organizations, managing large projects and diverse teams in parallel, and connecting research institutions around the globe. He has co-founded various successful biotech companies throughout his career. Giulio holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Zurich and has received countless awards and honors for his research. Giulio is a founder of Proxygen.
Giulio Draetta is a physician scientist who has spent nearly three decades in oncology research and drug discovery in both academia and industry. He is Chief Scientific Officer at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX where he is widely recognized for spearheading fundamental research in the biology of the eukaryotic cell division cycle and of DNA damage induced checkpoints. Currently, his research focuses on pancreatic cancer and glioblastoma, using functional genomics to identify novel tumor dependencies and evaluate their potential for therapeutic translation. Over the years, Giulio has leveraged his translational expertise as a co-founder of several biotechnology companies and a leader of global research in large pharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining MD Anderson, he had been Chief Research and Business Development Officer and Deputy Director of the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, as well as Head of Oncology Drug Discovery at Pharmacia and Merck.
Stefan Kubicek is a highly regarded researcher focused on chromatin, epigenetics, and small molecules that change cell fates in oncology and diabetes. He is a Principal Investigator at CeMM, where he previously headed the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Chemical Epigenetics and Anti-infectives and now serves as Head of the Molecular Discovery Program. An organic chemist by training, his research focuses on the discovery and characterization of bioactive small molecules. This resulted in developing the first selective histone methyl transferase inhibitors as part of his Ph.D. and multiple chemical probes during his postdoctoral research with Stuart Schreiber at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT and in his own laboratory. Research in Stefan’s lab is funded by several organizations including the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the European Union, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), among others. Stefan is a founder of Proxygen.
Bernd Boidol serves as CEO of Proxygen. With a strong background in general management and life sciences, Bernd has played a pivotal role in advancing Proxygen’s mission to develop innovative therapies targeting previously undruggable proteins. His leadership is marked by a commitment to driving scientific innovation and fostering strategic partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry. Under his guidance, Proxygen has made significant strides in drug discovery, positioning the company at the forefront of next-generation therapeutics. Before joining Proxygen, Bernd worked as management consultant enabling pharma companies to scale up innovative business models around new modalities. He holds a BSc and MSc in Molecular Biology from the University of Vienna and, in parallel to completing a PhD in Oncology at the Medical University of Vienna, earned a BSc in Business Administration from the University of Economics and Business Administration in Vienna.
Matthias Brand is the Chief Technology Officer of Proxygen, where he leads the company’s research and early discovery efforts in the field of targeted protein degradation. With a robust background in molecular biology and drug discovery, Matthias has been instrumental in driving Proxygen’s scientific innovations. His expertise in developing novel therapeutic strategies has positioned the company as a leader in the targeted protein degradation industry. Matthias is committed to advancing the potential of protein degradation to address unmet medical needs and improve patient outcomes. He trained in the laboratory of Dr. Georg Winter at the Center for Molecular Medicine where he earned his PhD from the Medical University of Vienna. Matthias is a founder of Proxygen.
Georg Winter is Proxygen’s Chief Scientific Advisor and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board. He is a pioneer in the emerging field of protein degradation, having been credited with publishing the first paper reporting on in vivo target protein degradation. Today, his research as a Principal Investigator at CeMM is focused on using the unique pharmacology of targeted protein degradation to understand and disrupt aberrant gene control circuits in cancer. In particular, his group develops and implements functional genomics and chemical biology technologies to mechanistically characterize how E3 ligases can be hijacked with small molecules. His contribution to the field of targeted protein degradation has been honored through multiple international prices and awards, including the Tetrahedron Young Investigator Award (2023), the Wilson S. Stone Memorial Award from MD Anderson (2021) and the Eppendorf Award (2019). Georg is a founder of Proxygen.
Werner Lanthaler is the CEO of WLanholding GmbH and serves as head of the Proxygen Supervisory Board. Werner has had a distinguished career in biotechnology, previously leading Evotec AG as CEO for nearly 15 years. Known for his forward-thinking approach, Werner was instrumental in transforming Evotec into a global leader in drug discovery and development, particularly in the realms of precision medicine and artificial intelligence. His vision helped streamline research collaborations and bring innovative therapies closer to market. Before his tenure at Evotec, Werner held leadership positions in various sectors, including as CFO of the biotech company Intercell AG, where he played a pivotal role in bringing vaccines to the market and taking the company public. His commitment to transformation has been a consistent theme in his career, where he focused on integrating cutting-edge technologies to enhance the efficiency of drug development. Werner serves also in the Boards of AC Immune (NASDAQ), Cerabyte GmbH, Soravia GmbH, and is an Advisory to several leading private equity firms (e.g. Hevolution, Forbion).
Nina Kjellson is a highly experienced biotech investor and entrepreneur. She is a General Partner at Canaan, a venture capital firm, where she focuses on investing in biopharma and digital health companies that serve unmet therapeutic needs. Nina is a member of the Board of Directors for several biotech companies both private and publicly listed. Her expertise and experience allow her to quickly identify and support promising biotech companies with high growth and returns potential. Nina is a vocal advocate for women entrepreneurs and investors. She is on the boards of non-profits, Essential Access Health, Girl Effect, Life Science Cares and on the Leadership Council for the Oliver Wyman Health Innovation Center. She is also a 2018 Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellow. Nina holds a B.A. in human biology from Stanford University.
Constanze Ulmer-Eilfort is a highly accomplished attorney who has dedicated her career to helping clients navigate the complex world of intellectual property and licensing. With over 30 years of experience, she has become a leading expert in the life sciences industry and is known for her innovative approach on negotiating transactions and solving challenging IP issues. Constanze is a Partner at PSP Peters, Schönberger & Partner in Munich. Before that, she was a Partner at the international law firm Baker McKenzie, where she served as Managing Partner of the German and Austrian offices and as member of the Global Executive Committee. During her term on the Global Executive Committee, she served as Chair of the Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, as Chair of the Global Financial Committee and as Chair of the EMEA Region. Constanze’s interests lie in the area of leadership development, in developing purpose-led and value based high performing organizations and in establishing sustainability objectives in the organizational strategy. Constanze has been listed among the 100 most influential women in business in Germany in 2020. Constanze holds a doctorate degree in law from the Free University Berlin, an LL.M. from the University of Pennsylvania, executive management degrees from Harvard University and INSEAD and is admitted to the German and New York Bar.
Reinhard Kandera is a seasoned finance professional with over 25 years of experience in banking and the healthcare industry. He has served as CFO of Hookipa (Nasdaq: HOOK), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies against infectious diseases and cancer. Previously, he was CFO of Valneva SE (Euronext: VLA) and Intercell AG (VSE: ICLL) after starting his professional career at Deutsche Bank. Reinhard has a strong track record of driving growth, building organizations and transforming businesses through strategic thinking and creative solutions. Throughout his career as a biotech executive, he has managed many private and public equity raises, including IPOs, as well as debt financings, M&A transactions and strategic partnerships. He holds doctorate degrees in business administration and law from the University of Vienna.