What Sibylla Biotech does

Sibylla Biotech is a preclinical-stage Italian biotechnology company founded in 2017, headquartered in Bresso with a registered office in Verona, that develops a novel class of therapeutics called Folding Interfering Degraders (FIDs) using its proprietary PPI-FIT (Pharmacological Protein Inactivation by Folding Intermediate Targeting) platform. The company targets transient folding intermediates of proteins — states normally invisible to conventional structure-based drug design — and engages these states with small molecules intended to derail proper folding and trigger degradation, with applications in oncology (notably cyclin D1) and central nervous system disorders. The underlying science was originally developed at the Universities of Trento and Perugia by founders including Emiliano Biasini, Pietro Faccioli, Maria Letizia Barreca, Graziano Lolli, and Giovanni Spagnolli, and is exclusively licensed to Sibylla.

The company's discovery engine is built on three interconnected components: physics-based protein folding simulations, the in-house Oneiros AI Platform for computational prediction and design, and an integrated drug discovery and development pipeline. The Oneiros platform is layered onto the simulation infrastructure to create a closed loop of target identification, intermediate-state modeling, and degrader optimization, with a data flywheel generated from internal simulations and partner-derived datasets.

Sibylla operates a hybrid business model combining platform-as-a-service licensing with proprietary pipeline development. Commercial validation has come through two major pharma collaborations — Takeda (May 2021, CNS) and Ono Pharmaceutical (March 2024, CNS, with three-digit million USD potential deal value) — alongside an internal Cyclin D1 oncology program. The company is led by CEO Lidia Pieri, CSO Sonia Poli, and Chairman Dieter Weinand (former Bayer Pharmaceuticals CEO, appointed May 2025), and has been funded by approximately €25.4 million in disclosed equity across a seed round (2019) and a €23 million Series A (October 2022) led by V-Bio Ventures with a syndicate including Seroba, 3B Future Health, Claris Ventures, CDP Venture Capital, VI Partners, Indaco, and Vertis SGR. The company was a finalist for the Nature Spin-off Prize in 2021.

Name

Sibylla Biotech

Legal name

Sibylla Biotech S.p.A.

Website

https://sibyllabiotech.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Preclinical Italian biotech developing Folding Interfering Degraders (FIDs) through its proprietary PPI-FIT platform, combining physics-based protein folding simulations with the in-house Oneiros AI Platform. It serves pharmaceutical companies via research collaborations and advances an internal oncology pipeline.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Drug Discovery Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

In Silico / Computational Toxicology & PK/PD Modeling (HLAGAFAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Small-Molecule API Process Development & Route Scouting (HLAGAHAA)

Keywords

• Protein folding simulations
• Small molecule degraders
• AI drug discovery
• Targeted protein degradation
• Drug discovery services

Headquarters

HQ city

Trento

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Platform-as-a-Service Licensing: Sibylla markets its PPI-FIT technology platform-as-a-service to biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Under collaboration agreements, the company receives upfront payments, research funding, development milestones, sales milestones, and royalties on products developed using the platform.
2. Proprietary Drug Pipeline Development: Development of proprietary pipeline of small molecule Folding Interfering Degraders (FIDs) targeting therapeutic areas including oncology. The company advances lead assets through preclinical evaluation with goal of bringing therapeutics to clinical stage.
3. Strategic Collaboration Agreements: Strategic drug discovery collaborations with pharmaceutical companies such as Ono Pharmaceutical (CNS disorders) and Takeda. These agreements provide total deal values in three-digit millions of USD including upfront, research, development, sales milestones, and royalties.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Sibylla Biotech is a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops small molecule Folding Interfering Degraders (FIDs) using its proprietary PPI-FIT (Pharmacological Protein Inactivation by Folding Intermediate Targeting) platform. The company identifies druggable pockets in transient intermediate folding states of proteins and designs small molecules that induce target protein degradation. It also offers its drug discovery platform through strategic collaboration and licensing agreements with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Product overview

Sibylla Biotech is a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a portfolio of small molecule Folding Interfering Degraders (FIDs) that induce protein degradation by interfering with the protein folding pathway. The company's core offering is the PPI-FIT technology platform — a novel Mechanism of Action distinct from traditional protein degradation approaches. PPI-FIT identifies druggable pockets in transient intermediate folding states of proteins, enabling access to previously undruggable targets. The technology stack comprises the Protein Folding Simulations Platform (powered by proprietary acceleration algorithms), the Oneiros AI Platform (for binding site identification, hit discovery, and chemical entity design), and the integrated Drug Discovery & Development Platform (bridging in silico predictions through preclinical development). Sibylla maintains a proprietary pipeline anchored by its Cyclin D1 degrader (lead asset progressing toward the clinic), supplemented by additional oncology programs and a target in another therapeutic area. The company also offers PPI-FIT as a platform-as-a-service to pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners. Key strategic collaborations include deals with Takeda (CNS, exploratory) and Ono Pharmaceutical (CNS, strategic discovery and development) that apply the technology to partners' targets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PPI-FIT Drug Discovery Platform Proprietary drug discovery technology platform that identifies druggable pockets in protein folding intermediate states and designs Folding Interfering Degraders (FIDs) — small molecules that bind folding intermediates to induce target protein degradation. Licensed to pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners for applications in oncology, CNS disorders, and other therapeutic areas.
• Oneiros AI Platform
• Protein Folding Simulations Platform Computational platform that reconstructs protein folding conformational rearrangements at all-atom resolution using proprietary algorithms that accelerate conformational landscape exploration by over 10,000 times. Includes co-translational and co-translocational simulation capabilities and enables characterization of folding pathways and identification of intermediate states.
• Drug Discovery & Development Platform End-to-end integrated platform spanning in silico protein folding predictions, AI-based drug design, biological characterization, and preclinical development. Combines physics-based computational methods with the Oneiros AI platform to discover, optimize, and advance Folding Interfering Degraders through preclinical stages toward clinical candidates.
• Cyclin D1 Degrader (Lead Asset)
• Internal Oncology Pipeline Programs
• Platform-as-a-Service / Strategic Collaboration Agreements

Quantifiable outcome

• Validated PPI-FIT technology on prion protein (PrP) - identified four different small molecule ligands capable of selectively lowering protein load by promoting degradation
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and foundational.

• Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 March 2024Strategic drug discovery collaboration in Central Nervous System disorders. Sibylla provides access to its PPI-FIT technology to identify and develop candidates for multiple therapeutic targets in CNS disorders. Total deal value in three-digit millions of USD including upfront, research, development, sales milestones, and royalties on sales. Ono Pharmaceutical brings extensive CNS research experience and will apply Sibylla's technology to challenging neurological targets.
• Takeda Pharmaceutical Company LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 May 2021Research collaboration to discover novel small molecules modulating activity of selected pharmacological targets. Sibylla uses PPI-FIT technology to identify druggable binding pockets in folding intermediates of Takeda-supplied targets and generates small molecules for testing. Focus on neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. Financial terms remain undisclosed.
• Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN)foundationalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2020Collaboration on COVID-19 research providing substantial computing resources. INFN redirected 30,000 computing units from subnuclear physics analysis to Sibylla's anti-COVID-19 research efforts. Sibylla is a spin-off of INFN, University of Trento, and University of Perugia.
• University of TrentofoundationalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2020Academic founding institution of Sibylla Biotech. Co-founded with University of Perugia and INFN. Home to academic founders Emiliano Biasini and Pietro Faccioli who developed PPI-FIT technology.
• University of PerugiafoundationalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2020Academic founding institution of Sibylla Biotech. Home to co-founder Maria Letizia Barreca and contributed to development and validation of PPI-FIT technology.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Recursion Pharmaceuticals: AI-driven drug discovery company combining high-throughput wet-lab experimentation with proprietary ML models. Comparable to Sibylla in the AI-driven small-molecule discovery thesis and platform-as-a-service orientation, though uses phenotypic imaging rather than protein folding simulations.
• Insilico Medicine: AI-driven drug discovery company with proprietary generative chemistry and target discovery platforms. Comparable as a peer preclinical-stage AI biotech pursuing novel target classes with pharma partnerships, including oncology and CNS indications.
• Schrödinger, Inc. Publicly listed computational/AI drug discovery company combining physics-based molecular simulation with ML for small molecule discovery. Most directly comparable to Sibylla on the physics-based simulation + AI platform architecture and the hybrid partnered-proprietary revenue model.
• C4 Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing targeted protein degraders (dTAGs and degraders) with a hybrid partnered-proprietary model. Comparable to Sibylla on the protein-degradation modality, oncology focus, and pharma-partnership-anchored commercialization path.
• Arvinas: Clinical-stage biotech pioneering targeted protein degradation (PROTACs). Direct peer on the protein-degradation modality thesis and pharma-partnership model (Arvinas has partnerships with Pfizer, Bayer, Genentech), though Arvinas targets native protein structures via PROTAC chemistry.
• Exscientia: AI-driven drug design company with partnered programs across multiple therapeutic areas and a hybrid platform-plus-pipeline model. Closely comparable to Sibylla on business model (collaborations + proprietary assets), therapeutic breadth, and target-class ambition.
• Relay Therapeutics: Clinical-stage precision medicine company combining computational biology (including protein motion modeling) with structure-based drug design. Most directly comparable to Sibylla on the protein-motion / dynamic-structure drug discovery thesis.
• Kymera Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing targeted protein degraders across oncology and immunology. Comparable to Sibylla in the protein-degradation mechanism class and the strategy of pursuing targets previously considered undruggable, with a similar pharma-partnership-anchored business model.

Regional players

• Dompé Farmaceutici: Major Italian biopharmaceutical company with R&D capabilities and a CNS focus. Comparable as a regional benchmark for an Italian biotech of meaningful scale, though Dompé operates a much broader commercial and late-stage portfolio than Sibylla.

Broad incumbents

• Isomorphic Labs: Alphabet-owned AI drug discovery company with deep computational biology capabilities and pharma partnerships with Novartis and Eli Lilly. Comparable on AI-driven drug design and partnership economics, with materially greater resources and a broader remit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sibyllabiotech
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCL6k1WWagbfjdg4RBRnKnrQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/sibyllabiotech
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sibyllabiotech

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors8 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sibylla Biotech