Serial Entrepreneur
Dragan
Grabuloski
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) allow cytotoxic drugs to bind specifically to cancer cells with the aim of destroying them. The process is not new, but to date has only partially fulfilled the high expectations. Therefore, there was great excitement when new studies were announced in May at ASCO 2025, the world’s largest conference for clinical oncology.
Dragan Grabulovski was among the audience at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. He recalls: “Interestingly, two studies provided statistical evidence for the first time that ADC therapy could replace conventional chemotherapy, as it is more effective and better tolerated by patients than standard chemotherapy.” This is a milestone for the co-founder and CEO of biotech start-up Araris, which is developing a platform that has two advantages over conventional ADC processes. First, it links the antibody and payload via a simple peptide bridge, and, second, it is able to bind different drugs to the same antibody.
The spin-off from the internationally renowned Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) currently employs 16 people; since March of this year, it has operated under the umbrella of Taiho Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of the Otsuka Group. The transaction volume exceeded USD 1 billion, of which USD 400 million was paid at closing, making it one of the world’s largest preclinical biotech deals ever.
Background
My parents came to Switzerland from Macedonia in 1974. My mother was a scientist; my father worked as a pharmacist. This may explain my choice of degree: I very deliberately chose to study pharmacy rather than biochemistry or pharmacology. I wanted to keep open the option of running my own pharmacy.
Greatest success
My first start-up was called Covagen, a spin-off from ETH Zurich. We sold it to Johnson & Johnson in 2014. At that time, I learned what it takes to achieve a successful biotech exit: the requirements of pharmaceutical companies mean you have to find the right balance between scientific rigour and flexibility. I am proud that together with a new team, I have once again succeeded in attracting Big Pharma’s interest in a technology.
Goal
I am convinced that ADC technology will take cancer medicine to a new level, just as immunotherapies have done in recent years. Our linker technology will enable us to fully exploit the potential. We expect our first drug candidate to enter clinical trials in 2026.
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