• An expert panel has chosen Dragan Grabulovski, Ph.D., Philipp Spycher, Ph.D., and Isabella Attinger-Toller, Ph.D. of Araris Biotech as the winners from a pool of talented life science entrepreneurs.
  • The team is being recognized for their innovative technology aimed at creating a new generation of targeted cancer treatments.
  • The award, including a EUR 100,000 prize, was presented by committee members on Thursday, July 3, 2025.

Munich, Germany, July 04, 2025 – The selection committee announced today that the founders of Araris Biotech, Dragan Grabulovski, Ph.D., Philipp Spycher, Ph.D., and Isabella Attinger-Toller, Ph.D., are the recipients of this year’s award. This award is designed to support significant entrepreneurial and scientific achievements, as well as novel ideas within the life sciences. Araris Biotech’s founding team stood out for its development of a groundbreaking technology in the antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) area, further validating the innovation through partnerships and a pre-clinical exit. This novel class of drugs holds promise for significantly improving targeted cancer therapies, benefitting cancer patients globally.

“On behalf of the award committee and expert jury, we congratulate Isabella Attinger-Toller, Dragan Grabulovski and Philipp Spycher. The jury and committee selected the Araris Biotech founders based on their combined leadership, entrepreneurial skills, and scientific expertise. We believe this award, following the acquisition of Araris by Taiho Pharmaceuticals, further acknowledges the founding team’s ongoing growth and promising future. The trio has impressively shown how a new idea, a focus on translation, and entrepreneurial spirit can combine to create a new generation of targeted cancer therapies,” said Andreas Strüngmann, M.D., and Thomas Strüngmann, Ph.D., in a joint statement. “It was a privilege to engage with a diverse group of forward-thinking start-ups from the DACH region. Learning about the finalists and their achievements made the final decision a challenge.”

The finalists included Araris Biotech, [company name], and [company name], whose founders represent the entrepreneurial potential and scientific diversity present in the DACH region’s life sciences sector. These finalists represented various disciplines, including targeted cancer therapies, regenerative neuroscience, and cancer drug resistance. Following presentations to an expert jury about their entrepreneurial and scientific accomplishments, Dragan Grabulovski, Ph.D., Philipp Spycher, Ph.D., and Isabella Attinger-Toller, Ph.D., were announced as the winners and will share a EUR 100,000 prize.

“We are honored to have our vision and achievements recognized by the Strüngmann Award. As founders, we have always believed in the potential of our technology and its value for patients. This award, along with the acquisition by Taiho Pharmaceuticals, validates our commitment, journey, and hard work in achieving this success,” stated Dragan Grabulovski, Ph.D., CEO of Araris Biotech, on behalf of the founding team.

The Araris Biotech founders – Dragan Grabulovski, Ph.D. (CEO), an experienced biotech entrepreneur; Philipp Spycher, Ph.D. (CSO), a visionary scientist; and Isabella Attinger-Toller, Ph.D. (CTO), an outstanding translational scientist – have built one of the most successful Swiss biotech startups in recent years. Spun out of the Paul Scherrer Institute (part of the ETH domain) in 2019, the team developed AraLinkQ™, a novel ADC linker-payload technology that allows one-step payload attachment to off-the-shelf antibodies without needing prior antibody engineering. This innovative approach opens up new possibilities in oncology and has potential in other therapeutic areas.

In just a few years, the Araris team raised over CHF 40 million, established a strategic partnership with Chugai (Roche) and Johnson & Johnson, and were acquired by Taiho Pharmaceutical in March 2025 for up to USD $1.14 billion. Through these achievements, the three winners demonstrate the DACH region’s potential to translate scientific excellence into global innovation.

About the Strüngmann Award
Established in 2024, the award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs with revolutionary ideas in the DACH life science sector. It aims to reward exceptional achievements with a prestigious prize and promote the next generation of leaders. The award is named after twin brothers Andreas Strüngmann, M.D., and Thomas Strüngmann, Ph.D., prominent entrepreneurs, visionaries, and investors in life sciences. As founders of Hexal, they achieved entrepreneurial success and, as investors, have built and developed leading companies across the industry for over 20 years, including BioNTech in Mainz. Learn more at [website address].

About Araris Biotech AG
Araris Biotech is a leading biotech company at the forefront of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), aiming to redefine targeted cancer therapy and beyond. Araris envisions a world without chemotherapy, and its proprietary conjugation and multi-payload technology marks a significant advancement in ADC design, transforming any antibody into an ADC with improved safety and efficacy. By enabling the attachment of multiple, synergistic cancer-fighting payloads to a single antibody in a one-step process, Araris is creating a new generation of smart weapons that deliver the potency of combination chemotherapy in a targeted manner to address cancer resistance. Araris is a wholly owned subsidiary of Taiho Pharmaceutical, acquired in March 2025. More information about our science and pipeline is available at [website address].

Media Contact
Trophic Communications
Stephanie May, Ph.D. and Anja Heuer
Phone: +49 (0) 171 185 56 82
Email: [email address]

Attachment

“`