Best Life Sciences Companies in State of Hessen, Germany
The 71 best Life Sciences companies in State of Hessen, Germany in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: sterna biologicals.
Our analysis of 50 Life Sciences companies
$3.3b in tracked funding; 51% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2024.
Ranked: Best Life Sciences companies in State of Hessen
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | sterna biologicals Developer of an antisense molecule for treating chronic inflammatory diseases | $27M | 65 mo ago | Series A | — | 2006 | — | 72 patents DNAzyme hydrogel therapeutics and molecular diagnostics for ulcerative colitis | — |
| 2 | Activaero Inhaler devices | $23M | 184 mo ago | Acquired | — | 2004 | — | 119 patents Inhalable aerosol drug formulations and delivery devices for respiratory and antiviral therapies | — |
| 3 | CardioSecur Heart health monitoring device | $9M | 113 mo ago | Series B | — | 2008 | Cart FunctionalityTYPO3 CMSOdoo+22 | — | — |
| 4 | Akribion Therapeutics Developer of RNA-guided technology with applications in cancer therapy and other indications 16Talent top 28%Funding top 47%Global bottom 48%Market bottom 25% All 5 signals ▾Talenttop 28% Fundingtop 47% Globalbottom 48% Marketbottom 25% Techbottom 18% Talent: 3 named leaders on record · 3 C-suite/founder profiles curated Funding: Raised $8.2M across 1 rounds · 1 rounds over 1 yrs (1.0/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 16/100 | $8M | 16 mo ago | Seed | Michael Krohn Co-Founder & Co-CEO | 2024 | WordPressApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+10 | — | — |
| 5 | Leica Microsystems Manufacturer of microscopes, microscope software, cameras, parts, and accessories | — | 37 mo ago | Acquired | Young Park CEO | 1914 | Cart FunctionalityIntershopTYPO3 CMS+32 | 3,699 patents Advanced optical microscopy systems for fluorescence, spectral analysis, and confocal imaging | 2 launchs |
| 6 | Green Elephant Biotech Manufacturer of sustainable adherent cell culture solutions | — | 52 mo ago | Seed | Joel Eichmann Co-Founder & Managing Director | 2021 | WordPress Block EditorCart FunctionalityWooCommerce+38 | — | — |
| 7 | Pfeiffer-Vacuum | — | 54 mo ago | Public | Arthur Pfeiffer Founder | 1890 | WordPressMySQLPHP+25 | 1,484 patents High‑vacuum scroll and turbomolecular pump technologies for industrial and scientific applications. | 1 award |
| 8 | Curia Provider of an online information platform for cancer and patient sourcing for clinical trials | — | 72 mo ago | Funding Raised | — | 2019 | — | — | — |
Top 12 Life Sciences companies in State of Hessen
#1
Seed · Zwingenberg, State of Hessen · founded 2024$8.2Mraised▾
Developer of RNA-guided technology with applications in cancer therapy and other indications. It offers RNA-guided nuclease-based technology for programmable cell depletion using its G-dase E payload by targeting HPV-induced Oropharyngeal Head and Neck Cancer.
- Feb 2025Seed$8.2M
#2
Series A · Marburg, State of Hessen · founded 2006 · 10 employees$27.1Mraised▾
Sterna Biologicals has developed a therapeutic antisense molecule for treating chronic inflammatory diseases. The company has developed hgd40, a DNAzyme which acts as an antisense molecule by targetting the key transcription factor involved in regulating type-2 inflammation. The molecule is used to treat chronic diseases such as asthma, COPD, atopic dermatitis, and ulcerative colitis.
- Jan 2021Series A$12.3M
- Apr 2020Series A$13.1M
#3
Acquired · Gemunden, State of Hessen · founded 2004 · 50 employees$22.6Mraised▾
Activaero was focused on the development of controlled breathing technologies. Products included AKITA, a controlled breathing device with smart card technology for the pulmonary delivery of inhaled therapeutics; and Watchhaler, an inhalation device tailored to the needs of children. Acquired by Vectura in 2014.
- Feb 2011Series A$6.8M
- Nov 2009Series A$15.8M
#4
Series B · Frankfurt, State of Hessen · founded 2008 · 14 employees$8.6Mraised▾
CardioSecur offers a mobile EKG device for monitoring heart health. Device consists of 4 disposable electrodes connected a mobile app which can record clinic-quality 15-lead ECG. App can monitor the data for any abnormalities and recommend further doctor consultation if required.
- Jan 2017Series B$5.3M
- Jan 2016Series A—
- Apr 2013Series A$3.3M
- Nov 2010Seed—
#5
Acquired · Wetzlar, State of Hessen · founded 1914 · 67 employees—raised▾
Manufacturer of microscopes, microscope software, cameras, parts, and accessories. The company provides light, digital, surgical, and stereo microscopes, along with related components. It offers solutions for electron microscopy sample preparation, objective finding, and illumination. The company also develops software and ergonomic accessories, including incubation systems and stages.
#6
Seed · Giessen, State of Hessen · founded 2021 · 8 employees—raised▾
Manufacturer of sustainable adherent cell culture solutions. They develop and produce innovative cell culture systems, including plant-based 96-well plates, designed for efficient and scalable biopharmaceutical manufacturing. These solutions aim to improve the efficiency and sustainability of cell expansion processes, reducing costs and time-to-market for cell and gene therapies, vaccines, and biologicals. The company offers a range of products and supports clients throughout the process, from laboratory to large-scale production. A focus on quality management and supply chain control ensures reliable and high-quality products.
- Feb 2022Seed—
#7
Public · Asslar, State of Hessen · founded 1890 · 3444 employees—raised▾
#8
Funding Raised · Eschborn, State of Hessen · founded 2019 · 25 employees—raised▾
Provider of an online information platform for cancer and patient sourcing for clinical trials. The app provides information on therapies, drugs, clinical trials, and experts, based on cancer profiles. Users can access recruiting clinical trials based on cancer type by answering a few questions and can track the progress of an application.
- 2020Grant (prize money)—
#9
Funding Raised · Marburg, State of Hessen · founded 2018 · 15 employees—raised▾
CrystalsFirst is a provider of crystals and machine learning for biopharmaceutical industry. It has developed proprietary scaling lab technology using protein crystals and machine learning. Its proprietary technology helps in the potential of 3D-models for structure-guided drug design and meets the high demand for bio-structural data to tailor the compounds for high affinity, selectivity, safety, and efficacy. It helps to identify new modes of action for drug candidates, enter design paths of the allosteric modulators and increase the efficiency of the drug pipeline.
- May 2019Grant (prize money)—
#10
Series C · Eschborn, State of Hessen · founded 2011 · 141 employees—raised▾
AI-based life Sciences company that provides solutions for discovering and developing safer and more successful medicines by leveraging its proprietary ontosight AI search platform.
- Apr 2019Series C—
- Dec 2016Seed—
#11
Acquired · Hanau, State of Hessen · founded 1935—raised▾
Manufacturer of intraoral 3D scanners which scan the teeth using dynamic light reflections. The company also offers a material solution (Baseliner), the coating material for the equipment. Utilizing the Light Booster technology, the Paste Opaque, it claims to enable Stabilised Leucite Structure (SLS).
#12
Late Stage · Ehringshausen, State of Hessen · founded 1997 · 126 employees—raised▾
schwa-medico is developing and manufacturing pain management, rehabilitation, and wellness devices. The company provides portable TENS, muscle stimulation units, ultrasound therapy units, laser, biofeedback units, acupuncture needles, and supplies. Its flagship product StimaWELL is a portable electrostimulation therapy for pain treatment.
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Life Sciences coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Biotechnology is moving in Germany
A read on the academic research around Biotechnology — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 1,297 Germany-affiliated papers.
- Heidelberg University85
- German Cancer Research Center49
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München48
- Technical University of Munich43
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology33
- Gene3→29
- Mutant3→19
- Transcription (linguistics)3→16
- Messenger RNA1→14
- Immune system1→12
- Gene3→20
- Agriculture2→12
- Extracellular1→11
- Immune system1→11
- Transcriptome1→9
- Antibiotic resistance2→9
- Gene1→7
- Agriculture4→9
- Antimicrobial1→4
- Microbiome1→4
Where biotechnology is researched across Germany
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing biotechnology patents in Germany
Germany biotechnology patent filing is cooling — 53,233 filings from 8,000 assignees (2016–2025), led by Immatics Biotechnologies, BASF Plant Science, BASF SE; annual filings 4819→4267.
- Immatics Biotechnologies4872
- BASF Plant Science3982
- BASF SE3543
- Boehringer Ingelheim INT3438
- Merck Patent3133
- MAX Planck Gesellschaft1799
- Evonik Degussa1680
- Amgen RES Munich1665
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.