The team of the biotech startup Epiqmax met in the histone modification group at the Biomedical Center in Munich. With their knowledge and many years of experience in the field of mass spectrometry and epigenetic modifications They want to contribute to the development of epigenetic drugs.
Who are you and what do you do? Please briefly introduce yourself and your service!
At Epiqmax, we measure so-called epigenetic modifications. These modifications are located in the nucleus of our body's cells and can be altered by environmental influences. These modifications also influence a variety of diseases, allowing us to establish a direct connection between previous lifestyle and potential diseases with our measurements. We currently offer this service to the pharmaceutical industry and research laboratories to develop better, more personalized medications. In the long term, we hope to further develop this expertise into a diagnostic test in hospitals.
We founders all met at LMU Munich. Victor (bioinformatician, 32) and Moritz (biochemist, 30) completed their doctorates together under Axel (biologist, 51) at the Chair of Molecular Biology. This sparked a strong desire to apply the benefits of epigenetics and thus achieve medical progress in personalized medicine.
Epigenetic modifications analyzed
But that's been around for a long time!
Antibodies are largely used to analyze epigenetic modifications. However, these pose many problems in the field of epigenetics and lead to ambiguous results.
We solve these problems by using a mass spectrometer for analysis. This device measures the modifications very sensitively and specifically. This allows us to even scale our workflow and further develop the entire process flow for clinical application.
What has been your biggest challenge so far?
As beautiful and practical as such a mass spectrometer is, the price for such a machine is in the mid-six-figure range. So we are eagerly looking for investors who understand the potential of our idea and are willing to support us.
Let’s get to the point: How is business going?
We're more than satisfied after six months of our founding. We already have customers we're working with. The early interaction with these customers, in particular, shows us what we still need to adjust to fully enter the market.
Oh yeah, and then the numbers: We're able to measure over 60 modifications in under 10 minutes while simultaneously playing three quick rounds of table football. That's something to behold.
Munich: Ideal location for biotech companies
What does Munich mean to you?
As a founding team consisting of locals, national newcomers, and even international newcomers, we see Munich as an ideal location for our team. Especially on the Martinsried campus, we are in close contact with many biotech companies and other biotech startups. This means we receive a wealth of support and are simply looking forward to the next steps!
How can your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
Neither. We've decided to put on the "real" glasses and develop our company step by step. This means that, on the one hand, we have no plans to fly to the moon (like Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk), but at the same time, we won't be disappearing from the scene anytime soon.
Bavaria or '60?
That's a very delicate question. To maintain internal peace within the team, we can only say this: Our corporate colors were meticulously chosen to convey the greatest possible football neutrality and thus not reflect any fan base within the team...
