INCATE PRESS RELEASE 08, May 2023 For immediate release

INCATE has selected Invitris as the first venture to receive €250,000 in “Stage II Funding” that will allow Invitris to complete spin-out from Chair of Physics of Synthetic Biological Systems at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and further its mission to scale the production of phages, phage-derived and other antimicrobial proteins in the fight against Antimicrobial Resistance.

Invitris was selected in INCATE stage I in January 2022 with advice being provided to support the scale of manufacturing and company founding. The team have built momentum since selection with key experiments to de-risk the fundamental science and opening of a new laboratory in the heart of Munich’s biotech ecosystem.

The INCATE selection committee was convinced by the dynamic team and the opportunity of a platform that can bring scalability to manufacturing of phages, endolysins, and other antimicrobial proteins. Phages in particular have potential to treat multi-drug resistant bacteria due to their ability to be tailored to the target disease. The funding allows Invitris to complete Technology Transfer from TUM and continue development toward a GMP ready process.

“INCATE stage I was integral to validating our technology and business model. We would not have been so well prepared to transfer out of an academic setting without INCATE. To be selected as the first team to win stage II is a confirmation of our potential to build a successful company.” – Patrick Grossmann, CEO Invitris GmbH

“We hope that Invitris will contribute to the social implementation of phage-related therapies as a breakthrough. In particular, we expect Invitris to dramatically improve flexibility, speed, quality control, and cost in the production process, and more importantly, to stimulate phage-related research activities.” Hideki Maki, INCATE Selection Committee member, Principal Scientist, Laboratory for Drug Discovery and Disease Research, Shionogi& Co.,Ltd.

This non-dilutive investment, ongoing advice from INCATE and further support including inclusion in the Winter ‘23 batch at Y Combinator will help Invitris to develop and scale an innovative platform technology that can have a significant impact on the fight against multidrug resistant infections.

About Invitris

Invitris is a Munich-based biotech company that developed a universal technology platform to synthesize phages, phage-derived and other antimicrobial proteins completely in vitro. This platform enables to scale both drug development & manufacturing of novel compounds by providing an open system for bioengineering. Ultimately, this leads to agents with new compositions, properties, and functions. While Invitris primary focus is on phages, its platform can also address endolysins and other antimicrobial proteins. Invitris puts a strong emphasis on building lasting partnerships with other biopharmaceutical companies engaging in new therapeutic modalities to beat antimicrobial resistance.

About INCATE

INCATE is a not-for-profit partnership which brings together translational and basic research, industry, experienced entrepreneurs and investors from across Europe and beyond. The German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), the Leibniz Hans Knöll Institute, the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research AntiResist and the Innovation Office of the University of Basel are the academic founding members of INCATE. Together with the four industry partners Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Roche, SHIONOGI and MSD Germany as well as other organizations, funders and investors, INCATE want to ensure that the pipeline of new antibiotics and diagnostics is filled and strengthened. INCATE was launched in August 2021 and has made 5 rounds of Stage I funding of up to €10,000. This is the first Stage II funding selected from previous Stage I recipients.

Ventures looking for support should read more and make contact via www.incate.net or info@incate.net.

Contact INCATE: Douglas.haggstrom@incate.net or +41799542252

www.incate.net

Twitter and Linkedin: @INCATEurope

Contact Invitris: mailto:Grossmann@invitris.com

www.invitris.com

Linkedin: @invitris

Photos: Invitris team. Kilian Vogele and Patrick Grossmann