Silvacx secures EXIST II funding to advance clinical development (2 July 2026)
Following a recent jury decision by Projektträger Jülich (PTJ), the organization responsible for administering the EXIST program on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), Silvacx has been awarded EXIST II funding.
The funding period will commence immediately after the conclusion of EXIST I on 1 August 2026, and will extend over 15 months. During this time, Silvacx will focus on advancing SilvacxBooster toward clinical Phase I readiness. Key activities will include GMP-compliant manufacturing and the design of the Phase I clinical study.
In parallel, the company will expand its development pipeline by introducing a new indication in the field of oncology. A further strategic priority will be the acquisition of additional investors to support critical next steps, including GMP production and the execution of the planned Phase I trial.
Budget increase accelerates preclinical development of SilvacxBooster (6 November 2025)
Projektträger Jülich (PTJ) has approved a substantial budget increase for the Silvacx project. This additional funding is intended to enable the near-complete execution of the preclinical development program for SilvacxBooster within the current funding period ending August 31, 2026.
The approved funds will support several key work packages, including the production of a technical batch at a contract manufacturing organization (CMO) to enable GLP-compliant toxicology studies, a full GLP toxicology study, a dose-ranging study, a genotoxicity study, and a biodistribution study.
All activities are aligned with the preclinical development program for SilvacxBooster as agreed with BfArM, ensuring a structured and regulatory-guided progression toward clinical readiness.
The total amount of funding Silvacx has received through EXIST I now exceeds €2.2 million.
Positive Scientific Advice from BfArM strengthens SilvacxBooster development (23 October 2025)
Today the Silvacx team held a Scientific Advice meeting with the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) via videoconference.
During the meeting, we presented our data demonstrating the efficacy of SilvacxBooster. BfArM responded very positively to the results and confirmed that no additional preclinical studies are required to further substantiate efficacy. This represents a significant milestone, streamlining the development pathway and reducing both time and resource requirements.
Regarding the ongoing preclinical safety program, BfArM largely endorsed our proposed strategy and accepted our preclinical development roadmap. This alignment with the regulatory authority provides strong validation of our scientific approach and supports efficient progression toward the next stages of development.
Silvacx and DKFZ published results of their scientific collaboration on therapeutic HPV vaccination (29 August 2025)
The two working groups, together with colleagues from the DZNE in Bonn, Heidelberg University, and Heidelberg University Hospital, have published their findings on the development of a therapeutic HPV vaccine. The team demonstrated that virus peptides coupled to surface-functionalized silica nanoparticles can elicit effective T-cell responses against HPV-related tumors. In a mouse model, the nanoparticle-based vaccine was able to partially or completely suppress HPV-related tumors. The paper is published in OncoImunnology, Vol. 14, No 1, 2025, 2548002 (DOI 10.1080/2162402X.2025.2548002).
Project extension enables continued preclinical progress (17 April 2025)
Projektträger Jülich (PTJ) has approved an application by Heidelberg University to extend the Silvacx project by an additional 12 months on a budget-neutral basis.
This extension will enable continued advancement of the preclinical development of SilvacxBooster, particularly through the ongoing collaboration with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. The extended timeframe provides important continuity to further strengthen the program’s scientific foundation and prepare for subsequent development stages.
Strategic collaboration with OHRI to advance first-in-class iImmunotherapy (13 September 2023)
Heidelberg University has entered into a collaboration agreement with the research group of Dr. Rebecca Auer at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) in Canada as part of the Silvacx project.
The objective of this partnership is to evaluate and further develop a proprietary immunostimulatory compound developed by Silvacx. This “immunobooster” is intended to support cancer patients by counteracting surgery-induced immune dysfunction associated with oncologic procedures.
By restoring immune competence in the perioperative setting, the approach aims to reduce the incidence of tumor recurrence and metastasis, with the ultimate goal of significantly improving both progression-free and overall survival.
If successfully developed, this immunobooster has the potential to become a first-in-class therapy for perioperative immune stimulation in oncology.
Today Silvacx started at University of Heidelberg (1 April 2023)
On April 1st 2023 the EXIST project Silvacx started at Heidelberg University. Our new location with office and lab is now at Im Neuenheimer Feld 329.
Silvacx receives EXIST I funding (16 December 2022)
Today we got the official confirmation that Silvacx will receive an EXIST Transfer of Research grant from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany. The planned project start is on 1 March 2023 and the funding period is 30 months. It will be carried out at the Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology at Heidelberg University. Professor Gert Fricker is our mentor.
Our successful pitch was on 17 November 2022 in Berlin.
Silvacx heads BMBF founded R&D program MUNAVAC (1 February 2021)
Today the BMBF founded program MUNAVAC started. MUNAVAC is an acronym für "mucosal nanoparticulate vaccination". The R&D consortium is formed by the following partners:
- Silvacx - as a project of Life Science Inkubator - is the consortium leader.
- DKFZ Heidelberg, the German cancer research center
- University Hospital Heidelberg
- University of Heidelberg
The aim of the project is the development of a novel vaccine platform for needleless mucosal vaccination. Silvacx silica nanoparticles are an integral part of this project. Project duration is 2 years.
Silvacx Team in the local press (30 April 2020)
"Bensheimer entwickeln Impfplattform"
Rolf Brockmeyer joined the Silvacx Team too (1 February 2020)
Rolf Brockmeyer strengthens the Silvacx Team with his extraordinary expertise in Regulartory Affairs. Rolf has a PhD in pharmacy and worked for decades a Bayer AG. Welcome to the team!
Thomas Kessler joined the Silvacx Team (1 Januar 2020)
Today Thomas Kessler has officially joined the Silvacx Team. He takes care of business development, marketing and investor relations. With his complementary knowledge (chemistry and business administration) he understands both "worlds" very well. Welcome and enjoy our journey!
Silvacx is one of eight finalists of the BioRiver Boost! 2019 (4 October 2019)
Silvacx has been selected as one of eight finalists of the BioRiver Boost! 2019. We'll give a pitch presentation on 15 October 2019 at Miltenyi Biotec, Bergisch Gladbach. More information about this event can be found here.
Take the opportuity and meet us in Bergisch Gladbach!
Life Science Inkubator (LSI) Bonn for the first time supports pharma industry spin-out (1 February 2018)
Merck spin-off Silvacx receives seed financing of almost EUR 2 million
Bonn, Germany, February 1, 2018 -- Life Science Inkubator GmbH (LSI) for the first time supports a research project originating from a pharma company. The project called Silvacx is a spin-off from Merck AG and is developing novel delivery technologies for cancer immunotherapy. The Silvacx team headed by Armin Kuebelbeck (previously Merck KGaA) also received public funding totaling EUR 1.93 million from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia´s Ministry of Culture and Science, which will be dedicated to further research and development activities over the next three years. Subsequently, clinical evaluation of the platform technology is planned.
The Silvacx technology licensed from Merck is based on silicon dioxide nanoparticles, which will be used as...