smartbax pursues novel small-molecule antibiotics with a lead program that was in-licensed from AiCuris and targets an unexploited step in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis. The lead candidate has demonstrated in vivo efficacy, including against multidrug-resistant pathogens, and shows potential for oral administration; the company plans to complete preclinical work and submit an IND. In parallel, smartbax is developing proprietary programs that activate bacterial hydrolases to trigger bacterial self-digestion, targeting both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens and showing efficacy against biofilms with no observed development of resistance so far. The company was founded in 2021 with scientific origins at the Technical University of Munich and benefitted from early support including €700,000 from BIVF and recognition tied to the m4 Award. Financially, smartbax has expanded its pre-Series A to €6.3 million to fund IND-enabling studies and pipeline development.

Total raised

$9M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Jul 2026