Annuncio • Jul 23
Veraxa Biotech AG Announces Executive Changes On July 23, 2026, Veraxa Biotech AG announced the appointment of Christoph Erkel, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), effective immediately. Mr. Erkel, previously Vice President of Research & Development of the Company, succeeds Rick Austin, Ph.D. Christoph Erkel is an accomplished scientific leader with 20 years of expertise in antibody therapeutics, with a career bridging early-stage discovery and clinical readiness. His expertise includes antibody engineering and preclinical development, advancing candidate molecules up to IND submission. Prior to joining the Company, he served as Research Program Leader at MorphoSys AG (acquired by Novartis), where he led cross-functional teams and therapeutic programs in immuno-oncology, including the development of conditionally active T cell engagers for solid and hematologic tumors. Earlier, he held senior roles in Discovery Biology and Antibody Engineering,as well as scientific and leadership positions at Sloning BioTechnology GmbH. Christoph Erkel earned his Ph.D. in Biology from Philipps University in Marburg and conducted postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology. Annuncio • Jul 21
Veraxa Biotech AG Announces Regulatory Progress with Its BiTAC -TCE Development Plan Veraxa Biotech AG announced that it has received Scientific Advice from the German regulatory authority, the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute (PEI), regarding the underlying biology and proposed non-clinical development plan for its most-advanced development program based on its proprietary BiTAC-TCE technology. In the PEI's Scientific Advice procedure, drug developers can consult with regulatory experts on how to best evaluate their new drug candidates with a key focus on safety and tolerability. The advice was given in a meeting in which Veraxa Biotech AG presented the scientific rationale for the BiTAC-TCE mechanism together with its proposed safety assessments and pharmacokinetics strategy. The supportive feedback indicates that the authorities understand the biological concept behind the dual-targeting, conditionally active BiTAC-TCE format, which provides an initial derisking of the development path and greater clarity as the company advances its BiTAC-TCE program. Initial data from Veraxa Biotech AG's most advanced BiTAC-TCE program were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026, in April. In those studies, Veraxa Biotech AG's BiTAC-TCE candidate performed as intended in vitro and in vivo, attacking cancer cells displaying both target molecules while sparing cells expressing only one of the two targets. The data demonstrated a superior safety profile with matching efficacy compared with a more traditional TCE, pointing to the possibility of a meaningfully improved therapeutic index. Annuncio • Jul 12
Veraxa Biotech AG Announces CFO Changes Veraxa Biotech AG had announced the appointment of Carl von Halem as Interim Chief Financial Officer. He succeeded Torsten Bürgermeister. In his position as Interim Chief Financial Officer, Mr. von Halem acted as the Company's principal financial officer and principal accounting officer until the Company identified Mr. Bürgermeister's successor. Mr. von Halem is a finance executive, entrepreneur and board member with extensive experience in corporate finance, venture building, life sciences and technology-driven businesses. Since December 2021, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Xlife Sciences AG, a Swiss-listed incubator and accelerator for life science innovations. In this role, he was responsible for finance, corporate development, capital markets activities, M&A transactions and investor relations. In addition, he served as Managing Director of Xlife Sciences GmbH (since February 2022) and Managing Director of XRNA Biotech GmbH (since January 2023), supporting the development and commercialization of innovative biotechnology and healthcare companies. Since June 2025, he had been a Board Member of Axenoll Life Sciences AG, and since August 2025 a Board Member of FUSE-AI AG, where he contributed his expertise in corporate governance, strategic development and financing. Alongside his activities in the life sciences sector, he had been Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of CommneX GmbH since 2016. The Munich-based FinTech company operated a digital tendering and matchmaking platform connecting municipalities, public corporations and municipal-related companies with banks, insurance companies and institutional investors. In this role, he had been instrumental in building and scaling the company, establishing strategic partnerships and developing innovative financing solutions for the public sector. Earlier in his career, Mr. von Halem advised start-ups and scale-ups at Berlin Startup Consulting, supporting founders and management teams in business development, fundraising, financial planning, operational scaling and growth strategies. Prior to that, he worked as Senior Associate at SaEnergy Systems, a company active in the renewable energy sector, where he gained experience in project development, infrastructure financing and strategic business development. Mr. von Halem holds a degree in Economics from the Technical University of Berlin. Annuncio • Jul 07
Veraxa Biotech AG Announces the Initiation of Cell Line Development for Its Lead Bitac T-Cell Engager (BiTAC-TCE) Program VERAXA Biotech AG announced the initiation of cell line development for its lead BiTAC T-cell engager (BiTAC-TCE) program. VERAXA has engaged ATUM, a global leader in bioengineering and cell line development, to apply the proprietary Leap-In Transposase technology to support stable clonal cell line generation. The collaboration marks a key step in progressing VERAXA’s most advanced T-cell engager candidate toward IND/CTA-enabling activities and supports future clinical development. Cell line development is an important milestone in translating a therapeutic candidate into a manufacturable product. The collaboration with ATUM is intended to support the generation of stable and high-producing clonal cell lines that will be used throughout CMC development, including early process, analytical, and formulation development, as well as the supply of material for nonclinical studies. ATUM’s Leap-In Transposase technology is designed to support efficient stable cell line generation and is particularly relevant for multi-chain antibody formats where balanced expression of multiple components is important, such as VERAXA’s BiTAC-TCEs. ATUM’s Leap-In Transposase technology has supported the generation of stable cell lines used in over 50 IND submissions, providing VERAXA with an established cell line development approach for advanced biologic formats. T-cell-engaging bispecific molecules redirect cytotoxic T-cells to eliminate cancer cells, typically by binding the CD3 receptor on T-cells while simultaneously engaging a target protein on the tumor. While effective in select indications, conventional TCEs remain limited by toxicity; because their tumor target is often also present on healthy tissue, on-target but off-tumor T-cell activation can drive serious side effects and narrow the therapeutic window. A large proportion of conventional bispecific TCEs fail in development for this reason. VERAXA’s BiTAC-TCE approach is designed to address this challenge at its source. Rather than delivering a single, fully active molecule, the BiTAC strategy splits the T-cell engager into two complementary precursors. In their isolated form, each precursor retains its tumor-binding capability while the CD3-binding function remains inactivated. Only when both precursors bind their respective targets on the same cell is the CD3-binding domain reconstituted and activated. This “AND”-gated mechanism restricts T-cell activity to cells displaying both tumor markers, sparing healthy cells that carry only one. A dual-target, conditional-activation design distinguishes BiTAC-TCEs from both traditional TCEs and from masked-TCE approaches that rely on a single antibody whose effector function is shielded until cleaved in the tumor microenvironment. By requiring the simultaneous engagement of two distinct antigens to assemble the active engager, BiTAC-TCEs are engineered for greater tumor selectivity, with the goal of enabling higher dosing and a meaningfully wider therapeutic window. Initial data from VERAXA’s most advanced BiTAC-TCE program were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026, in April. In those studies, VERAXA’s BiTAC-TCE candidate performed as intended in vitro and in vivo, attacking cancer cells displaying both target molecules while sparing cells expressing only one of the two targets. The data demonstrated a superior safety profile with matching efficacy compared with a more traditional TCE, pointing to the possibility of a meaningfully improved therapeutic index. VERAXA Biotech AG provided a company and pipeline update. The company’s pipeline currently consists of four BiTAC-based therapeutic programs aimed at treating various solid tumor indications. Mirroring the more advanced state of development of the BiTAC-TCE platform, all of these programs are T cell engagers. Complementing our BiTAC portfolio are currently two bispecific ADCs (bs ADCs) with more traditional molecular design. This includes the bsADC program pursued within a strategic partnership with OmniAb Inc. The formally most advanced program in VERAXA’s portfolio, the Fc-enhanced FLT3-targeting monoclonal antibody VXA-901 for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and the company’s HER2-targeting ADC program are available for partnering. 
