Smartbax Raises €4.7M To Tackle Germany’s Growing Drug-Resistant Infection Crisis

The round was led by Anobis Asset and Bayern Kapital, with participation from UnternehmerTUM Funding for Innovators, HTGF, and Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund. A second closing is still open.

“Small-molecule antibiotics remain one of the most effective tools in combating the rapidly growing threat of antimicrobial resistance. smartbax is currently the only German BioTech dedicated exclusively to developing these crucial tools, and we are proud to advance complementary approaches with both a classical inhibitor against a novel target and enzyme activators with a truly novel mode of action in the antibiotic realm,” said Dr Robert Macsics, CEO of smartbax.

This pre-Series A places smartbax among a rising cohort of European companies addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

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In 2025, notable funding rounds include Denmark’s SNIPR Biome (€35 million Series B for CRISPR-based therapies) and France’s Phagos (€25 million Series A for bacteriophage treatments). Unlike many peers focused on gene or phage therapies, smartbax develops small-molecule antibiotics, offering a complementary approach in the AMR innovation space.

“Our programs focus on WHO priority pathogens and aim to provide new treatment options for critically ill patients who currently have limited alternatives. We are delighted to have assembled such a strong consortium of investors who share our commitment to addressing this urgent public health threat,” added Dr Macsics.

Founded in 2021 as a spin-off from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), smartbax is developing next-generation antibiotics to combat multi-drug resistant bacteria.

The company’s pipeline focuses on small molecules with novel bacterial targets and innovative mechanisms to prevent resistance. Its lead program inhibits lipopolysaccharide synthesis in Gram-negative bacteria. Additionally, smartbax develops enzymatic activators that induce bacterial self-digestion, a promising strategy against tough biofilms, with two activators targeting Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria separately.

Martin Falk, managing director at Anobis Asset, said: “Antibiotic resistance is one of the most urgent medical challenges of our time, and there is a clear need for new therapeutic approaches. In Germany alone, nearly 10,000 people die each year as a direct consequence of infections with multi-drug resistant bacteria; many more are hospitalized and often face lengthy recovery times.

“We are proud to support a team focused on developing solutions that could help patients and protect public health worldwide.”

smartbax will use the funds to advance its proprietary pipeline of small-molecule antibiotics, designed to combat bacterial resistance through novel mechanisms of action.

The lead candidate inhibits a previously untargeted step in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) synthesis in Gram-negative bacteria. It has shown in vivo proof of concept against multi-drug resistant strains, demonstrates potential oral availability, and will now progress through preclinical development.

Monika Steger, Managing Partner at Bayern Kapital, commented: “Rising bacterial resistance to antibiotics poses an enormous burden on global healthcare. smartbax is tackling this problem with two novel drug approaches that are already showing great potential at their current stage. At the same time, the market for new antibiotics is opening up a highly attractive growth area with great economic opportunities. Our investment in smartbax is therefore a promising investment in the local BioTech ecosystem and the resilience of our healthcare system.”

In parallel, smartbax is developing small-molecule activators of bacterial hydrolases. Unlike traditional antibiotics that block bacterial functions, these compounds trigger bacteria to self-digest from within.

This novel approach, not yet used in commercial antibiotics, targets Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, eliminates biofilms, shows no resistance development, and will be advanced toward lead selection and in vivo proof of concept with the current funding.

Inga vom Holtz, Director Investments at UnternehmerTUM Funding for Innovators, added: “smartbax has grown from academic research into a BioTech company with a clear focus on antibiotic innovation. We are pleased to join this financing round and to support a team that is advancing both classical inhibitors and entirely new antibacterial mechanisms with enzyme activators, and we are proud that such innovation has its origins at the Technical University Munich.”