Simris Group Announces Thursday July 16 the Appointment of ADC Expert Professor Andreas Pahl (Former Heidelberg Pharma CEO Who Advanced the Amanitin-Based ADC Platform Into the Clinic) as Chief Executive Officer of Subsidiary Simris Biologics GmbH to Lead the Company's Cyanobacterial Microcystin-Based Antibody-Drug Conjugate Payload Platform for Targeted Cancer Therapies
Swedish biologics company Simris Group announced Thursday July 16, 2026 the appointment of Professor Andreas Pahl, former chief executive of Heidelberg Pharma, as CEO of its German subsidiary Simris Biologics GmbH. Simris Biologics develops microcystin-based ADC payloads derived from naturally occurring cyanobacterial compounds; the payloads are being evaluated for targeted cancer therapies. Pahl brings more than 25 years of experience across drug discovery, translational science, clinical development, and corporate leadership. At Heidelberg Pharma he helped build the company into a leading ADC developer and led advancement of the amanitin-based ADC platform (payload derived from the death cap mushroom Amanita phalloides); under his leadership the platform advanced into the clinic and was validated in a Phase 1 study. The Simris move extends the July 2026 payload-and-linker chemistry deal wave anchored by Novartis's July 6 $1.5 billion acquisition of UK biotech Myricx Bio (N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor NMTi payload platform), Lonza's July 2 acquisition of Nona Biosciences' TfR1 blood-brain-barrier delivery technology, and SOTIO's July 14 FDA Fast Track Designation for the CDH17-targeting SOT109 ADC in metastatic colorectal cancer.