Pioneering AI-Driven Discovery
A spin-off from the University of Graz, Innophore is revolutionizing enzyme and drug discovery with cutting-edge AI and structural biology.
Our Story
Founded in 2017 as a spin-off from the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (acib GmbH) and the University of Graz, Innophore was born from a vision to transform how the world discovers enzymes and drugs.
Our founders combined deep expertise in structural biology, bioinformatics, and computational chemistry to create the Catalophore platform a revolutionary approach that uses 3D point-cloud technology to identify protein functions beyond what traditional methods can achieve.
Today, we serve leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide, from our headquarters in Graz, Austria, and our office in San Francisco.
Awards & Recognition
Meet the Experts
Our interdisciplinary team of molecular biologists, biotechnologists, chemists, physicists, and AI experts work together to push the boundaries of discovery.
Dr. Christian C. Gruber
CEO & Co-Founder
PhD in bioorganic chemistry and structural biology from University of Graz. Expert in enzyme and drug discovery with extensive industry experience.
Dr. Georg Steinkellner
CTO & Co-Founder
Expert in structure-function relationships of enzymes. Leads development of CavitOmiX platform and Catalophore technology.
Dr. Bettina Nestl
COO
Operational excellence leader with deep expertise in biocatalysis and industrial enzyme applications. PhD from University of Stuttgart.
Prof. Karl Gruber
CSO & Co-Founder
Chief Scientific Officer and shareholder. Professor at University of Graz, bringing academic excellence and deep scientific expertise.
Christoph Blaschitz
CFO & Co-Founder
Financial strategist and co-founder. UC Irvine educated, managing business growth and financial operations.
Dr. Marco Cespugli
Senior Scientist - Structural Bioinformatics
Expert in computational structural biology and molecular simulations for enzyme and drug discovery.
Bernd Nebel
Project Manager & Buisness Development
Senior Scientist and Project Manager and Business Development
Chiara Gasbarri
Scientist - Bioinformatics
Contributing to bioinformatics research and computational analysis at Innophore.
Stefan Grabuschnig
Software Engineer
Software engineer working on platform development and user-facing applications.
Michael Hetmann
Scientist - Drug Discovery
Co-first author on BioNeMo project. Specialist in DrugSolver CavitomiX for rapid drug-repurposing applications.
Ursula Kahler
Scientist - Computational Biology
Scientist contributing to computational biology research and analysis.
Katharina Rauchenwald-Köchl
Scientist - Structural Bioinformatics
Scientist specializing in structural bioinformatics and protein structure analysis at Innophore.
Tobias Schopper
Senior Machine Learning Engineer
Senior ML Engineer with biomedical background. Specialist in AI applications for drug discovery and protein analysis.
Dr. Markus Fleck
Senior Scientist - Computational Chemistry
Senior scientist specializing in computational chemistry methods and molecular dynamics simulations.
Lena Parigger
Scientist - Computational Biology
TU Graz educated scientist. Co-first author on BioNeMo human proteome folding project.
Haris Rudalija
Scientist - Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics scientist contributing to Innophore's research publications and platform development.
Christoph Samonigg
Business Development
Business development professional focusing on client acquisition and strategic partnerships.
Daniel Nutz
Operations & Administration
Operations specialist ensuring smooth day-to-day business operations.
Prof. Wolfgang Kroutil
Scientific Advisor - Biocatalysis
Full Professor at University of Graz. Pioneer in biocatalytic cascades and redox reactions. 320+ publications, h-index 64. Co-founder of Enzyan Biocatalysis GmbH.
Prof. Nick Turner FRS
Scientific Advisor - Biocatalysis
Emeritus Professor at University of Manchester. Fellow of the Royal Society. 30+ years leading biocatalysis research internationally. RSC and ACS award winner.
Dr. Stefan Oschmann
Strategic Advisor - Industry
Former CEO of Merck KGaA (2016-2021). Chairman of UCB and AiCuris. Partner at Armira. Extensive experience in global pharma leadership.
Prof. Gustav Oberdorfer
Scientific Advisor - Protein Design
Professor at TU Graz. ERC Starting Grant recipient. Pioneer in computational protein design and de novo structure prediction.
What Drives Us
Innovation
Constantly pushing boundaries with novel AI approaches and computational methods.
Collaboration
Working closely with clients and partners to deliver tailored solutions.
Sustainability
Enabling greener chemical production through biocatalysis and enzyme engineering.