Molecular Partners appoints Martin Steegmaier as Chief Scientific Officer to drive discovery of next-gen DARPin therapeutics

Core Viewpoint - Molecular Partners AG has appointed Martin Steegmaier, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), effective October 1, 2025, to enhance its oncology drug development efforts, particularly in DARPin therapeutics [1][2]. Company Overview - Molecular Partners AG is a clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing DARPin therapeutics, which are custom-built protein drugs aimed at addressing medical challenges that other drug modalities cannot effectively tackle [6]. - The company has a pipeline that includes various programs in pre-clinical and clinical development, with a primary focus on oncology [6]. Leadership Appointment - Martin Steegmaier brings extensive experience in oncology drug development from previous roles at Roche, MorphoSys, Boehringer Ingelheim, and SOTIO Biotech, where he led the development of a broad pipeline of oncology programs [1][3][2]. - The CEO of Molecular Partners, Patrick Amstutz, expressed confidence that Steegmaier's expertise will significantly contribute to the company's research organization and the advancement of its targeted DARPin therapeutics [2]. Educational Background - Martin Steegmaier holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Basel and an MBA from the Edinburgh Business School, which complements his extensive experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors [4]. Future Directions - The company aims to innovate and advance its pipeline of targeted DARPin therapeutics, including Radio-DARPins and Switch-DARPins, which are designed for logic-gated immune cell activation [2][5].