We design custom enzymes that let pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturers replace harsh, energy-intensive synthesis with clean, efficient biocatalysis. This includes reactions for which nature never evolved an enzyme.

Using advanced algorithms, we design and optimize custom enzymes that efficiently produce small-molecule pharmaceuticals, cutting costs, supply dependencies, and environmental burden. Our ETHZ founding team – Lucas, Jannik, Moritz, Lukas, and Ilya – combines machine learning, structural biology, and chemistry with a strong Basel pharma network. We're running an industrial pilot with the Swiss CRO SpiroChem and are closing our initial funding round.

hephaistos.bio began as a student project we presented at the BioIncubate Ignite competition. Back then, we came together with the goal to transition de novo biocatalysis from an academic idea toward an industrial technology.