We at Invitris
Closing the protein gap
Encoded in DNA, proteins are the building blocks of biology. However, developing novel proteins and producing them at scale is a major technology issue. Advancements in protein expression, particularly through innovative methods like cell-free protein expression, are paving the way for scalable solutions. We are here to leverage these breakthroughs to solve this issue. For better health and a better life.
One of the biggest impacts lies with antimicrobial proteins: one of our largest health-economic burdens is antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR is predicted to cause 10 million deaths per year – or 25% more deaths than cancer. This is the future predicted by an expert panel if we do not create new drugs against AMR NOW!
Particularly, drug-resistant bacteria are threatening to catapult our global societies back into the pre-antibiotic era, inhibiting not only the successful treatment of common infections but also all therapies that rely on infection control, including surgeries and cancer therapy. Besides this endless suffering, this may cause an economic burden of several trillions of US Dollars to healthcare systems worldwide.
Through advanced protein expression technologies, including cell-free protein expression, we can create highly complex multiprotein structures such as bacteriophages, endolysins, and tailocins. These innovative solutions are key to combating AMR effectively—for human health, veterinary medicine, agriculture, and food industries alike.
Our Vision
A world, where the next generation of proteins are available for any industry, anywhere and anytime.
Our Mission
Eradicate antimicrobial resistance and other human diseases by leveraging cell-free expression with automation technology and AI to deliver personalized therapeutic proteins, such as bacteriophages and antibodies, to patients directly, on-demand and on-site.
Our Story
We are a spin-off of the successful iGEM (“International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition”) Munich Team of 2018, Phactory, which was hosted by the lab of Prof. Simmel. We started our journey in early 2018 with the formation of our iGEM Team, supported by the Chair of Physics of Synthetic Biological Systems. After several rounds of brainstorming, we came up with our project idea to leverage cell-free protein expression technology to assemble phages. We began building our first prototypes, worked hard, and organized the European Meetup with more than 200 participants.
Finally, in October, all iGEM teams from around the world met in Boston to present their results. That is where we won the first runner-up award among 350 other teams and were awarded several prizes, including “Best in Entrepreneurship.”
Motivated by this success, we formed a core team, acquired 2 million US dollars in non-dilutive capital, expanded our team, and are now working relentlessly to develop and validate novel drugs against therapeutic indications with a high unmet need, utilizing cutting-edge protein expression methods to drive innovation in drug development.
Our Founders
Our Team
