VERAXA Biotech GmbH Appoints Dr. Lars Hufnagel to Chief Technical Officer

Dr. Lars Hufnagel has been appointed Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of VERAXA Biotech, based in Heidelberg, Germany. Hufnagel joins VERAXA from Bruker Corporation, where he served as CTO for the company’s fluorescence microscopy business, and General Manager and Vice President of the Luxendo business unit, VERAXA  said in its press release.

“With his broad experience in the life sciences and extensive knowledge of software and hardware solutions for high-performance fluorescence microscopes, we are confident that Lars Hufnagel will help us in our goal to scale antibody screening and take our unique platform to an even greater level of precision,” said Dr. Christoph Antz, CEO of VERAXA. “We are excited to have him join our management team.”

VERAXA’s technology enables rapid screening of functional antibodies, tumor-specific antibodies, and anti-bacterial and anti-viral antibodies. Combining principles of physics and biology, the process encapsulates millions of single B-cells and target cells in microfluidics droplets so they can be rapidly analyzed and sorted using the company’s proprietary Hitmaster platform. The platform enables the scanning of millions of B-cells with unprecedented speed to identify functional antibodies, the company explaines.

“VERAXA has rapidly developed its proprietary technology in antibody discovery and conjugation and is poised to become a leader in the field. I am looking forward to working with a highly talented team to help achieve our mission of transforming the field of antibody therapeutics and engineering,” said Dr. Hufnagel.

Hufnagel is the founder of three technology startups and holds patents in microscopy and light-sheet imaging. From 2007-2020 he was Group Leader of the Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg.