Spin-offs from Max Planck Society
Research meets entrepreneurial spirit

Innovative spin-offs

Since as early the 1990s, we have been advising scientists at the Max Planck Institutes, who wish to set up a company based on their research results. That makes us some of Germany’s real pioneers.
Max Planck Innovation helps spin-offs to a successful start based on many years of interdisciplinary expertise. Our tasks also include conscientious quality checking, intensive advice and help when applying for funding programs to assist start-ups, the provision of industry and management expertise as well as the transformation of projects into foundation incubators founded by us.
Risk capital for financing could be acquired for a wide variety of spin-offs supported by us. Some of the companies are meanwhile listed on the stock market. The spin-offs were able to raise a financing volume of over 2.2 billion euros and create over 5,600 jobs in promising and growth-intensive sectors.

Track record

Our success – since we launched our professional support for founders in 1990 – is clearly visible:

  • 146 companies founded
  • 107 spin-offs actively accompanied by Max Planck Innovation
  • 61 venture capital instances (13 of these with corporate financing)
  • 44 MPG participations, 16 of these exits, 4 liquidations and 9 amortizations, thus 15 active participations
  • 7 listed companies
  • 26 company sales or fusions (M&A deals), some of these in the two-digit million range
  • approx. 5,600 new workplaces, all in industries with a bright future
  • 18 participations or economic revenue shares of Max Planck Innovation, one insolvent, two in liquidation and one sold
  • 77% of the companies founded since 1990 are still in existence

News from our spin-off companies

Spin-offs Life Sciences

Extract:

 

Acus Laboratories GmbH

Cologne

2018

Alacris Theranostics GmbH

Berlin

2008

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.

USA

2002

ARTEMIS Pharmaceuticals GmbH 
(now: Taconic Biosciences, Inc.)

Cologne/Tübingen

1998

b. Fab GmbH

Dortmund

2018

Bionaut Labs Ltd.

USA

2016

Cardior Pharmaceuticals GmbH

Hannover

2016

DeveloGen AG
(now: Evotec AG)

Göttingen

1997

Dewpoint Therapeutics Inc.

USA

2018

DIREVO Biotech AG
(now: Bayer Healthcare AG)

Cologne

2000

Epigenomics AG

Berlin

1997

Eupheria Biotech GmbH

Dresden

2010

Evotec AG

Hamburg

1993

glyXera GmbH 

Magdeburg 

2012 

GreenTec GmbH 
(now: Phytowelt GreenTechnologies GmbH)

Cologne

1997

Hawkeye Bio Inc.

USA

2018

Ingenium Pharmaceuticals AG 
(now: Probiodrug AG)

Martinsried

1998

Jymmin GmbH

Leipzig

2019

KINAXO Biotechnologies GmbH 
(now: Evotec AG)

Martinsried

2005

Lipotype GmbH

Dresden

2012

metanomics GmbH

Berlin

1998

MicroDiscovery GmbH

Berlin

2000

MODAG GmbH

Wendelsheim

2013

MorphoSys AG

Martinsried

1992

nadicom GmbH

Marburg/Karlsruhe

2002

PlantTec GmbH 
(now: BayerCropScience AG)

Potsdam
(Monheim)

1996

Plastomics LLC

USA

2017

PreOmics GmbH

Martinsried

2016

Protagen AG

Dortmund

1999

ProteoPlex GmbH

Bonn

2017

proteros biostructures GmbH

Martinsried

1998

Quench Bio Inc.

USA

2018

Rheos Medicine Inc.

USA

2018

Ribocon GmbH

Bremen

2005

Scienion AG

Dortmund/Berlin

2000

SUGEN Inc. (jetzt: Pfizer Inc.)

USA

1991

SuppreMol GmbH 
(jetzt: Baxter International Inc.)

Martinsried

2002

Systasy BioScience GmbH

Munich

2012

Tacalyx GmbH

Berlin

2019

terraplasma medical GmbH

Garching

2016

Targenomix GmbH

Potsdam

2013

Thermosome GmbH

Martinsried

2010

Toplab GmbH

Martinsried

1993

U3 Pharma AG
(jetzt: Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.)

Martinsried

2001

Vaxxilon AG

Reinach (Switzerland) / Berlin

2015

 

Spin-offs Chemistry, Physics, Technology & Software

Extract:

 

Abberior GmbH 

Göttingen 

2011 

Abberior Instruments GmbH

Göttingen

2012

Aircloak GmbH

Kaiserslautern

2014

Algorithmic Solutions Software GmbH

Saarbrücken

1994

bbi biotech GmbH

Wildau/Magdeburg

2008

BinNova Metal Fiber Technology GmbH

Jena

2016

Body Labs, Inc.

New York

2010

Brain Innovation B.V.

Maastricht

1996

The Captury GmbH

Saarbrücken

2013

CarbonVision GmbH

Unterschleissheim

2009

DOK Predictive Motion Cueing GmbH

Tübingen

2019

Dodecon Nanotechnology GmbH

Stuttgart

2005

ECMTEC GmbH
(now: EMAG ECM GmbH)

Holzgerlingen

2003

FAccTs GmbH

Köln

2016

Fountain Hydrothermal Technology GmbH

Munich

2018

hte AG

Heidelberg

1999

Image Science Software GmbH

Berlin

1990

Intelligent Imaging Solutions GmbH

Tübingen

2012

K | Lens GmbH

Saarbrücken

2016

KonTem GmbH
(now: FEI)

Bonn

2011

Linnowave GmbH

Erlangen

2018

Lumics GmbH

Berlin

2000

MenloSystems GmbH

Martinsried

2001

Meshcapade GmbH

Tübingen

2018

Nanofilm Technologie GmbH
(now: Accurion GmbH)

Göttingen

1991

Nanopta GmbH

Lonsee

2018

Neaspec GmbH

Martinsried

2007

PreSens - Precision Sensing GmbH

Regensburg

1997

Rapid Sampling Technologies AG

Magdeburg

2005

terraplasma GmbH

Munich

2011

Terraplasma emission control GmbH

Garching

2018

UltraLumina GmbH

Erlangen

2016

 

Max Planck Innovation has accompanied SuppreMol right from the start. As early as the pre-foundation phase, the startup and portfolio managers advised SuppreMol intensively, supporting it successfully in the search for an initial investment community. They later accompanied us as part of the supervisory board until takeover by Baxter.

 

Professor Dr. Uwe Jacob
Co-founder and former CSO of
SuppreMol GmbH

I experienced Max Planck Innovation as a valuable and trustworthy partner in two spin-offs. All our many contacts there supported KonTEM GmbH as well as ProteoPlex GmbH from the pre-foundation phase over the entire life cycle to a successful exit (in the case of KonTEM) with tremendous commitment and major expertise, thereby contributing significantly to entrepreneurial success.

 

Jorg Wamser
Managing Director
ProteoPlex GmbH

Max Planck Innovation accompanied Abberior Instruments in an advisory role in the pre-foundation phase, having contributed its sound expertise regarding all aspects of startup foundation. Thanks to numerous license agreements with Max Planck Innovation, Abberior Instrument is able to implement innovative inventions from the Max Planck Institutes rapidly in its products.

 

Dr. Lars Kastrup
Research & Development | Manager Intellectual Property Rights
Abberior Instruments GmbH

Max Planck Innovation has already advised Ambiverse before its foundation, having helped it to secure money as part of the EXIST Transfer of Research. Following the foundation, we successfully agreed the licensing of the resultant software together.

 

Dr. Johannes Hoffart
CEO & Co-Founder
Ambiverse GmbH

Max Planck Innovation has accompanied Targenomix right from the start. Especially in the pre-foundation phase, the legal and foundation experience of Max Planck Innovation was extremely important for a successful conclusion of the complex and extensive cooperation agreement between Bayer Crop Science and Targenomix.

 

Prof. Dr. Lothar Willmitzer
Co-founder
Targenomix

The collaboration with MI really helped us to incorporate our scientific knowledge in a commercialization concept. It is very important to have such experienced advisors on board to assist founders with help and advice and always act in their interests.

 

Dr. Moritz Horn
CEO
Acus Laboratories GmbH

My experience with Max Planck Innovation has revealed it to be a highly competent and knowledgeable partner in the patenting of substance classes for oligomer modulation in conjunction with neurodegeneration, the spin-off of the company MODAG between 2009 and 2013 and the series A financing of the same company in 2019. As such, it acted highly constructively and with success in mind – not only in respect to content and legal questions but also in the negotiations with a sense of proportion and diplomacy. Special thanks for the cooperation now in its 10th year to the responsible management team, who pondered over contract texts sometimes well into the midnight hours under time pressure for series A, thereby ensuring the success of the round and now enabling the testing of neurodegeneration drugs in humans.

 

Prof. Dr. Christian Griesinger
MPI for biophysical chemistry
Co-founder MODAG GmbH