Feb 12, 2026
Strong signal for Dresden as a biotech and start-up hub: TUD spin-off signs up to billion-dollar research collaboration
Prof. Frank Buchholz, whose research group at the Chair of Medical Systems Biology investigates effective and safe cell and gene therapies, is the co-founder of the TUD start-up “Seamless Therapeutics.”
Groundbreaking collaboration for the development of outstanding biotech solutions: The biotech start-up Seamless Therapeutics, a spin-off from TUD Dresden University of Technology, has signed a cooperation agreement with Eli Lilly worth up to USD 1 billion. Eli Lilly is one of the world's largest and most research-intensive pharmaceutical companies. The company is known for its groundbreaking drugs for the treatment of diabetes, obesity, and cancer, among other things.
Seamless Therapeutics is based, among others, on patented research results from TUD and has been comprehensively supported since the early research phases by the transfer and start-up center TUD|excite and the SaxoCell future cluster. The startup has developed a technology that can be used to correct errors in the genome directly. This so-called gene editing platform can not only treat genetic diseases—such as genetically caused hearing loss—but also repair them at their core.
With around 100 patent applications, TUD is one of the universities with the most patents in Germany and Europe and produces around 20 startups every year, strengthening the economic power of the Dresden region.
Prof. Ursula Staudinger, Rector of TUD: "The research collaboration between the TUD start-up Seamless Therapeutics and Eli Lilly is more than just an economic success – it exemplifies how cutting-edge university research can give rise to a globally active biotech company that sustainably strengthens Saxony as a center of innovation and business. Seamless Therapeutics represents a new generation of precision gene therapies based on pioneering genome editing technology developed in Dresden. The investment volume impressively underscores the potential of this technology and the international competitiveness of our research. At the same time, this milestone shows how consistently and successfully TUD embodies the transfer concept. As one of the universities with the most patents in Germany and Europe, and with around 20 spin-offs each year, we have established a powerful transfer and start-up ecosystem with TUD|excite, which systematically translates scientific excellence into economic and social value creation."
Prof. Frank Buchholz, Professor of Medical Systems Biology at TUD and co-founder of Seamless Therapeutics: “The collaboration with Eli Lilly is a validation of Seamless Therapeutics' gene editing platform and its disease-modifying potential. Building on our groundbreaking fundamental research, the company has further developed the technology to offer promising potential in the treatment of patients with genetic diseases."
TUD|excite: Consistent transfer and startup support
The TUD|Excellence Center for Innovation, Transfer and Entrepreneurship (TUD|excite) is TU Dresden's central service center for knowledge and technology transfer to companies and for supporting startup companies from the scientific community. TUD|excite offers a wide range of services that protect commercially relevant research results at an early stage through patents, makes research results available to companies, and closely involves them as strategic partners. Researchers benefit from comprehensive advice and support on their way to starting their own company through information and training formats and various incubation programs.
Background: SaxoCell
SaxoCell, the Saxon precision therapy cluster, aims to develop effective, safe, and affordable cell and gene therapies for patients with serious diseases that have been hitherto difficult to treat. The network brings together excellent research from Saxony with industrial resources and national and international partners. Its main partners are TU Dresden and Leipzig University with their university hospitals, the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, and Chemnitz Hospital. As the winner of the BMFTR Clusters4Future initiative, SaxoCell will receive a total of EUR 15 million in funding over two phases (2021–2024 and 2024–2027). SaxoCell is currently spearheading seven innovative research projects, including CAR-T and (CAR-)NK cell therapies, designer recombinase-based gene therapies, and regenerative therapies.
Background: Seamless Therapeutics
Seamless Therapeutics is revolutionizing the treatment of genetic diseases with a novel gene editing approach. The company's proprietary technology has the potential to address the previously unmet medical needs of patients with these serious conditions. Seamless' platform enables the programming of recombinases in a targeted manner—a versatile class of enzymes. Based on this specific expertise, the company is developing a pipeline of disease-modifying product candidates for a broad spectrum of indications to significantly expand the medical potential of gene therapies.