AATec Medical works with the active ingredient Alpha-1-Antitrypsin (AAT). This human serine protease inhibitor (SERPIN) protects tissue from damage caused by proteases and has both anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects. The startup has found a way to synthesize AAT, previously only producible from human blood plasma, on an industrial scale. This significantly reduces the cost of the active ingredient.
ATL-105 is the startup’s first product candidate based on AAT and will now be tested further in collaboration with Sprind. This includes the use of so-called “lung-on-a-chip” models, in which human lung tissue and computer-based simulations are used to examine the distribution of the active ingredient in the lungs. In this way, the partners want to generate clinically relevant data on efficacy in the human lung before clinical trials begin. Sprind supports the testing and provides funds for project work.
AATec Medical wants to “develop effective solutions for the globally growing threat of respiratory diseases”
Sigrid Koeth, Innovation Manager at Sprind, emphasizes the importance of the project:
“With Sprind, we want to create new disruptive innovations from Germany. The collaboration with AATec Medical is an example of our commitment to link scientific research with entrepreneurial action and thereby promote innovative solutions in healthcare.”
Dr. Rüdiger Jankowsky, co-founder and CEO of AATec, comments on the cooperation:
“The partnership with Sprind enables us to accelerate our research and development work and realize our innovation potential faster. Our goal is to use recombinant alpha-1-antitrypsin with state-of-the-art protein inhalation technology to develop effective solutions for the globally growing threat of respiratory diseases. In addition to treating viral respiratory infections, we are focusing on inflammatory diseases such as COPD, asthma, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and other respiratory diseases with high medical need.”
AATec’s technology is based on research by co-founders Dr. Manfred Stangl, head of kidney and pancreas transplantation at the University of Munich Hospital and Chief Scientific Officer of AATec, and Dr. Michael Strassmair, head of the hand surgery department at Manus Sana Hospital in Starnberg/Munich and Chief Medical Officer of AATec. Last summer, the startup successfully completed its first financing round. Unnamed private investors, industry experts, and family offices invested €2.7 million in the company.
