What Kez.biosolutions Gmbh does

Kez.biosolutions GmbH is a German biotechnology company developing a proprietary bioengineering platform for the site-specific chemical modification of polyketide scaffolds during fermentation. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Potsdam-Golm, the company is built around the kezbio platform, which combines proprietary KEZ® substrates with a patent-pending Selectase® enzyme to install targeted chemical functional groups on polyketide backbones at predetermined positions — a capability the company positions as not achievable through conventional total or semi-synthesis. The founders, Dr. Alexander Rittner (biochemist with 10+ years in protein engineering) and Jan Degen (business informatics specialist), lead a 1-10 employee team supported by a multi-disciplinary advisory board.

The current product portfolio consists of (i) a Starter Package bundling KEZ substrates, plasmid systems, and strains for customized polyketide derivatization, (ii) individual research components — fine chemicals, plasmids, derivatives and strains — sold to academic and industrial users, (iii) joint research projects conducted with academic and industry partners, and (iv) a proof-of-concept erythromycin-based drug library generated via parallel fermentation across strain variants and substrate combinations, claimed to enable up to 138,510 derivative variants from a single lead structure. Target customers span academic research groups working on polyketide lead structures and pharmaceutical/biotech firms developing antibiotic candidates and small-molecule therapeutics; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is quote-based.

Revenue mechanics are mixed and pre-commercial at scale: one-time component sales, bespoke Start-Up Packages on multi-year contracts, joint research arrangements including third-party grant acquisition, and a stated but unrealized future licensing/royalty stream from the KEZ-Selectase pair. R&D is funded substantially through three German public grants (ProFIT Brandenburg, European Social Fund co-financing for student researchers, and ZIM/BMWK). Selectase is filed as a patent application (pending and published) and KEZ is a registered trademark, but no paying customers, contract values, or revenue figures are disclosed.

Name

Kez.biosolutions Gmbh

Legal name

kez.biosolutions GmbH

Website

https://kez.bio

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kez.biosolutions GmbH is a German biotech startup developing a proprietary protein-engineering platform (KEZ®|Selectase® pair) for site-specific chemical modification of polyketide scaffolds, selling customized starter packages, research components, and joint research services to academic and pharmaceutical drug-discovery teams.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Polyketide Drug Discovery Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (3254), Chemical Manufacturing (325)

SIC

Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Bioprocess Consumables & Reagents (resins, membranes, media components, buffers) (HLAAAJAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Biorefinery Co-product Recovery, Purification & Separation (Downstream Processing Systems) (EUAAAIAN)

Keywords

• Polyketide biosynthesis
• Drug discovery platforms
• Protein engineering services
• Bioreactor drug production
• Antibiotic lead optimization

Headquarters

HQ city

Golm

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Start-up packages: Customized start-up packages consisting of development work, plasmids, strains and fine chemicals for individualized derivatization of any polyketide.
2. Research components: Sale of fine chemicals, plasmids, derivatives and strains for further utilization in research.
3. Joint research projects: Collaborative research projects with academic institutions and industry partners, potentially funded through third-party funding acquisition.
4. Technology licensing: Platform technology based on KEZ-Selectase pair may be licensed to pharmaceutical companies for drug development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

kez.biosolutions provides customized polyketide derivatization services through its proprietary kezbio platform, combining KEZ substrates and the Selectase enzyme to install site-specific chemical modifications on polyketide scaffolds during fermentation. The company delivers tailored starter packages (substrates, plasmids, strains), research components (fine chemicals, plasmids, derivatives, strains), polyketide building blocks, and erythromycin-based drug libraries to academic researchers and pharmaceutical industry partners.

Product overview

Kez.biosolutions GmbH operates as a biotech company developing novel polyketide-based drugs through its proprietary kezbio Platform. The core offering consists of the kezbio Platform combined with KEZ® Substrates and the Selectase® Enzyme, which together enable site-specific chemical modifications of polyketide scaffolds during biosynthesis. Products are offered as a Starter-Package bundle (substrates, plasmids, strains) for customized derivatization, along with erythromycin-based Drug Libraries for screening, and individual Polyketide Building Blocks for fragment-based drug discovery. The company targets both academic research institutions and pharmaceutical industry partners seeking novel antibiotic candidates and optimized small molecule therapeutics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• kezbio-Plattform: The company's proprietary platform technology for modifying polyketide scaffolds through protein engineering and bio-synthesis.
• KEZ®|Selectase® Pair

Products and services

• Starter Package Customized startup package bundling development work, KEZ substrates, plasmid systems, and strains for individualized derivatization of polyketide scaffolds, targeting academic and pharmaceutical research customers.
• KEZ Substrates Proprietary substrates added during fermentation that determine which functional groups are installed on the polyketide backbone, sold as standalone reagents for researchers conducting polyketide modification work.
• Selectase Enzyme Patent-pending enzyme component introduced into production strains that determines the position of chemical modification in the polyketide backbone, provided as part of the platform offering.
• Erythromycin-Based Drug Library Drug library based on the erythromycin polyketide, generated through parallel fermentation with different production strain variants and KEZ substrates for activity screening and molecular property optimization.
• Polyketide Building Blocks Small polyketide synthons or pharmacophores prepared with orthogonal functional groups, sold as starting materials for fragment-based drug discovery and advanced materials research.
• Fine Chemicals, Plasmids, Derivatives and Strains Individual research components (fine chemicals, plasmids, derivatives, and bacterial strains) supplied directly to researchers for further use in polyketide research and protein engineering.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 138,510 derivatives possible from a single lead structure like erythromycin through library generation approach
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Evotec: Evotec is a Hamburg-based drug discovery CRO providing end-to-end services including biology, chemistry, and bioprocessing to pharma partners. Comparable as a German-headquartered discovery services platform that targets the same pharma customers, though operating at vastly greater scale and breadth.
• Bachem: Bachem is a Swiss CDMO specializing in peptides and complex API manufacturing, including peptide-based and natural-product-derived compounds. Comparable to kez.biosolutions because both produce hard-to-make molecules for pharma, though Bachem operates at commercial CDMO scale via chemical rather than biological routes.
• Ginkgo Bioworks: Ginkgo operates a broad, large-scale synthetic biology platform serving pharma, agriculture, and industrial customers. It is a broad incumbent rather than direct competitor — overlapping technology (engineered microbes) but serving much larger customers across many end markets beyond polyketide drug discovery.
• Amyris: Amyris used engineered yeast to produce complex natural products (e.g., squalane, artemisinin) via fermentation at industrial scale. Comparable in the synthetic-biology-for-natural-products approach, though Amyris focused on consumer/industrial ingredients and is a much larger incumbent.

Direct peers

• Biosyntia: Biosyntia uses synthetic biology and precision fermentation to produce sustainable specialty ingredients, including vitamins and APIs. Comparable business model to kez.biosolutions: engineered microbial platforms producing high-value, hard-to-synthesize molecules for pharma and industrial customers.
• Codexis: Codexis engineers enzymes and biocatalysts for pharmaceutical manufacturing, including the production of complex small-molecule APIs. Directly comparable to kez.biosolutions because both build proprietary enzyme platforms that enable difficult chemical transformations, and both sell into pharma R&D and manufacturing.
• Ingenza: Ingenza is a synthetic biology and protein engineering service company that develops engineered microbial strains for chemical and pharmaceutical production. Comparable to kez.biosolutions because both apply protein engineering to microbial systems to produce specialty fine chemicals and pharma building blocks.
• Antheia: Antheia uses synthetic biology and engineered enzymes to produce plant-derived alkaloid APIs (e.g., opioids) via fermentation. Highly comparable: both companies bioengineer natural product pathways to make complex molecules that are difficult or costly to produce by traditional chemistry.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kez-biosolutions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Kez.biosolutions Gmbh