Post by Leonard Rinser 🤘🏼

The largest german biotech exit ever?? A German Biotech Company - GmbH - just got acquired for $5 billion by Gilead Sciences. One of the largest, if not the largest, exits for a private German biotech company. From a university lab to a $5 billion exit in seven years. Made in Germany. Not an Inc. A GmbH. Tubulis GmbH. Based in Munich. Founded in 2019. Spun out of two German research institutions. Acquired $3.15 billion upfront. Up to $1.85 billion in milestones. This makes me incredibly proud, working with most of the biggest research institutes in Europe on technology transfer in health and life sciences since around 7 years this is exactly the reason why I do what I do! Because this is not just a biotech deal. This is a statement about what Germany and Europe can do. The story: → 2019: Dr. Dominik Schumacher and Dr. Jonas Helma-Smets spin Tubulis out of LMU Munich and the Leibniz Institute in Berlin. → 2020: €10.7M Series A. Co-led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Germany's state-backed seed investor. → 2022: €60M Series B. → 2024: €128M Series B2. → 2025: €344M Series C. The largest Series C for a European biotech company. Ever. → 2026: $5 billion acquisition by Gilead. From a university lab to a $5 billion exit in seven years. HTGF (High Tech Gründer Fond) a German government-backed VC was there from the beginning. Co-led the Series A. Invested in every follow-on round. This is as I found out so far their highest-valued exit in over 20 years of existence. Let that sink in: a German government-backed seed fund helped build a $5 billion company. Absolute congratulations to Dominik Schumacher, Jonas Helma-Smets, the entire Tubulis team, and every investor who believed in this from day one. Especially HTGF, Bayern Kapital, and coparion. What Tubulis built matters beyond the numbers: → Next-generation antibody-drug conjugates for cancer → FDA-relevant clinical data in ovarian cancer → Proprietary platforms published in Nature Communications → Munich becomes Gilead's dedicated ADC hub Germany debates every day whether it can still innovate. Whether we are falling behind. Whether the ecosystem works. This is the answer: a $5 billion exit. From a GmbH. Built on German science. Backed by German capital. Yes, one day I hope a German company will acquire a US biotech for billions. We should dream that big. But today, let us celebrate what we have. Because this is world class. Made in Germany. Let's build health that works for real life. Source: Gilead Press Release (April 7, 2026), Reuters, Bloomberg, HTGF, Tubulis, TechCrunch, Fierce Biotech Picture: Traded VC