Nucleate Germany Presents: The Innovation Forum 2026
This June, Berlin becomes home to the founders, investors, and ecosystem builders shaping what's next in European biotech.
The Innovation Forum is Nucleate Germany's flagship Demo Day — and the finale of Activator 2026. Nine scientific founding teams. Months of company-building. One night to show what they've built.
The audience reflects the full early-stage biotech ecosystem:
- 60+ startup and founder-track guests
- 50+ academic and research profiles
- 40+ investors
- 30+ pharma-stage industry professionals
... alongside ecosystem builders, operators, and life science leaders from across Germany and Europe.
But the pitches are just the start.
The Room
Investors and VCs, scientific founders, industry professionals. Anyone who believes the best biotech companies start where bold science meets great people.
The Program
- 15:00 – 16:00 · Check-in & Arrival
- 16:00 – 16:25 · Welcome Remarks, Nucleate Germany & The Activator — Fabio Laredo, Co-MD of Nucleate Germany
- 16:25 – 17:05 · PANEL I — From Breakthrough Science to Scalable Companies: Europe’s Biotech Company-Building Gap and EU.INC
Why does Europe produce world-class biotech research but struggle to translate it into companies? Four operators, one structural conversation.
With:- Rabab Nasrallah — Partner, Earlybird Health (Earlybird Venture Capital)
- Johannes B. Woehrstein — CEO & Co-Founder, mbiomics GmbH
- Ruth R. Shah — Head of Bayer Co.Lab Berlin
- Viola Bronsema — Managing Director, BIO Deutschland
Moderated by David Rubert, Co-Director of the Nucleate Germany Activator Program
- 17:05 – 17:35 · The Activator 2026 Winners Pitches
- 17:35 – 18:35 · Activator 2026 Showcase · Poster Session
- 18:35 – 19:00 · KEYNOTE — Building a Biotech Venture Beyond the Science
With: Alexander Leutner — CEO at Cellbricks Tx
- 19:05 – 19:45 · PANEL II — Startups, Investors, Incubators and Big Pharma: How to Build Strategic Relationships Without Losing Leverage
With:- Elisa Kieback — CTO and co-founder of T-knife
- Gregor Fachinger — VP, Head of Oncology & Immuno-Oncology at Merck
- Philipp N. Sander — Investor at SOSV SF
- Garima Bhardwaj — Head of Clinical Incubator at Berlin Institute of Health
Moderated by Selin Akpınar Adscheid, Co-Director of the Nucleate Germany Activator Program
- 19:45 – 20:05 · Prizes & Acknowledgments
Formal recognition of the 2026 Activator prize winners and the BioLabs Golden Ticket, awarded by Johannes Fruehauf, Founder & Chairman of LabCentral and CEO of Biolabs
- 20:05 – 20:10 · Closing Remarks
- 20:10 – 21:30 · Networking, Food & Drinks
Follow Nucleate Germany on LinkedIn for updates.
Partners
Proudly supported by VOSSIUS, WuXi AppTech, BioLabs, ChemPartner and Bio Molecule.
