ABOUT AXOLABS

An industry-leading oligonucleotide CRO | CDMO

We have spent the past two decades in helping to pioneer the nucleic acid therapeutics landscape. With a legacy rooted in groundbreaking work from Ribopharma, Alnylam, and Roche.

Our expertise spans discovery to large-scale production, ensuring excellence at every step and through a validated pathway. Our people are our backbone of success, and our commitment to science is second to none.

Two scientists using Mermade at Axolabs CDMO site
ABOUT AXOLABS

The History of Axolabs

Our expert team has 20+ years of experience in the development of RNA and oligonucleotides. We are world-renowned, from big-pharma and biotech to academia and venture capital, for our profound knowledge, high-quality standards, and excellent research.
2025
2018
2017
2011
2007
2003
2000
2025
Scientist using Asahi Kasei downstream instrument at Axolabs Berlin CDMO site
Milestone 2025

Axolabs expansion continues with the pilot & large-scale cGMP manufacturing site in Berlin, Germany.

Read more about our partnership with Asahi Kasei.

2018
Scientists conducting GMP oligo manufacturing at Axolabs Petaluma CDMO site
Milestone 2018

Having opened in 2017, Axolabs Petaluma site completes its first GMP oligonucleotide batch.

2017
Five men stand smiling in front of a large bookshelf filled with legal and technical books and folders in an office setting.
Milestone 2017

Axolabs GmbH was acquired by the LGC Group.

2011
Five professionally dressed men standing in a row and smiling at the camera during a formal event or business meeting. A presentation slide titled 'City of Kulmbach: History and Some Facts' is projected in the background.
Milestone 2011

Axolabs GmbH established through management buy out of assets from Roche Kulmbach GmbH.

2007
Two men in suits are smiling and conversing at a podium with a "Roche" logo, as one presents a wrapped gift or award to the other.
Milestone 2007

As a spin-off from Alnylam Europe AG – Roche Kulmbach GmbH was established as Roche’s Center of Excellence for RNA Therapeutics, which focused on the discovery of novel therapeutics based on oligonucleotides.

2003
A split image showing a scientific presentation in German on the left and a 2003 BioWorld newspaper article about the Alnylam–Ribopharma merger on the right.
Milestone 2003

Ribopharma AG merged with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. to create the leading RNAi therapeutics company.

2000
Two men in formal attire stand in front of a wall-mounted sign that reads "Ribopharma AG." The man on the left wears glasses and has a mustache, while the man on the right has a short beard and longer hair. Both are smiling slightly. The background is plain, drawing attention to the individuals and the company sign.
Milestone 2000

Dr Roland Kreutzer and Dr Stefan Limmer founded Ribopharma AG, the first company in the world to focus on RNAi therapeutics.

Leadership

Meet the people guiding our mission.

At Axolabs, leadership is about enabling teams to do their best work. Our leaders work alongside experts across the organisation to advance the future of nucleic acid therapeutics.

Thomas Rupp

Vice President, CMC Strategy

In 1985 Thomas created the first core-facility for oligonucleotide synthesis and DNA sequencing in Europe, in the research group of Nobel Laureate Prof. Harald zur Haussen at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany.

He joined Axolabs Berlin GmbH in 2021 after holding positions at EMBL (Heidelberg, Germany), University of Loyola (Chicago, IL), Innovir (Goettingen, Germany), Noxxon (Berlin, Germany), GE Healthcare (Freiburg, Germany) and Girindus (Cincinnati, OH).

Thomas is a globally recognized Subject Matter Expert (SME) and has filed several process-related patents on oligonucleotide manufacturing processes, chairs CMC-workshops at scientific conferences and publishes in renown journals and books chapters. In 1987, he developed a PCR-machine, followed by co-development of a DNA/RNA-synthesizer and a DNA-Sequencer.

leadership

Dr. Philipp Hadwiger

Vice President, Head of Research & Development

Philipp studied Chemistry at the Technical University of Graz, Austria. After earning his doctoral degree, he started his industry career in 2000 at Ribopharma AG and held positions of increasing responsibility at Alnylam Europe AG. After Roche’s acquisition of Alnylam’s European site, Philipp served as Director of Chemistry at Roche’s Centre of Excellence for RNA Therapeutics and was promoted to Senior Director of Chemistry at Axolabs. Philipp has published 40 peer-reviewed articles and is a named inventor on more than 20 patents.

leadership

Dr. Ingo Röhl

Vice President, Head of Operations CRO

Ingo started his career as Research Associate at the Riedel de Haën AG. He then studied Chemistry and, after completion of his Ph.D. at the University of Oldenburg, worked as Scientist at the Noxxon Pharma AG.

Ingo joined Alnyam Europe AG in 2003 where he served as Head of Analytics and built up the analytical department. He held a position as Associate Director at the Roche Kulmbach GmbH and as Senior Director Analytics and Bioanalytics at the Axolabs Kulmbach GmbH.

Ingo has more than 20 years of experience in the field of RNA drug development and (bio-) analytics. He has published more than 20 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and is inventor on more than 10 patent applications.

leadership

Peter Rose

Vice President, Head of Operations CDMO

Peter joined Axolabs as Vice President, CDMO Operations in January 2025.

Peter most recently served as Vice President Manufacturing at CureVac, where he helped transform the company from a research and clinical-stage organisation into a commercial mRNA manufacturer. During his time at CureVac, he led and executed a €160 million greenfield project to establish a new commercial manufacturing facility. Prior to this, Peter held a range of senior operations and manufacturing leadership roles at Roche and Vetter Pharma (a CDMO business), gaining extensive experience in large-scale pharmaceutical drug substance and drug product manufacturing environments.

Originally from Bad Friedrichshall, Germany, Peter is now based in Berlin, where he also serves as Site Lead for Axolabs’ new GMP oligonucleotide manufacturing facility.

leadership

Laurent Alexandre

Vice President, Head of Business Development

Laurent joined LGC in February 2025 as Vice President, Head of Global Commercial CDMO for Axolabs. Prior to this, he served as Chief Commercial Officer at Euroapi, a Sanofi spin-off. He also held senior commercial leadership positions at several notable organisations, including, Johnson Matthey Health (CDMO division) and Seqens. Laurent began his career as a Sales Manager in the excipients business. Laurent, who holds a master’s degree in both Business Administration and Biochemistry from Paris – Sorbonne University, brings with him a wealth of commercial leadership experience leading global commercial teams within the CDMO space.

Our Facilities

Axolabs’ facilities are built to support.

From discovery hubs to GMP-certified production sites, Axolabs’ facilities are built to support nucleic acid therapeutics development. Our global presence includes state-of-the-art sites in Kulmbach, Berlin, and Petaluma, with each site specialising in a specific phase of your drug development journey.

A scientist in full cleanroom clothing operates advanced bioprocessing equipment in a sterile, state-of-the-art laboratory at Axolabs CDMO site in Berlin.
Berlin, Germany
Modern office buildings with large glass windows reflecting surrounding historic architecture and a castle on a hill in the background.
Kulmbach, Germany
Modern two-story office building with large reflective glass windows surrounded by trees and a parking lot under a clear blue sky.
Petaluma, USA
About Axolabs

Pioneering discovery

The two founders of Ribopharma AG, both former lecturers at the University of Bayreuth, Germany, Drs Roland Kreutzer and Stefan Limmer, discovered in 1999 that short, double-stranded RNA molecules can specifically inhibit gene expression in humans.

In 1998, Kreutzer and Limmer were inspired by Andrew Fire's and Craig Mello's groundbreaking publication (Nature 391, 806–811 (1998)) on RNA interference, work for which they won the Nobel Prize in 2006. Kreutzer and Limmer wanted to exploit this newly discovered biological principle to develop new medical agents. They were initially able to show that a certain cellular mRNA is reduced in a human in vitro transcription system if the corresponding double-stranded RNA is present. However, it was known that double-stranded RNA longer than about 30 base pairs leads to undesirable side reactions by stimulating the human innate immune system. Kreutzer and Limmer therefore tried to find ways to trigger RNA interference with shorter double strands that did not have this undesirable side effect. When studying the materials and methods section of the Fire and Mello publication in the journal Nature, Limmer noticed that the RNA strands used, which were several hundred nucleotides long, would not come together to form a homogeneous double strand under the annealing conditions applied. Rather, short double-stranded areas would arise, which would be interrupted by loops and bulges. From this, Kreutzer and Limmer concluded that complete double-strandedness could not have been a prerequisite for triggering RNA interference. The two scientists decided to experiment with short duplexes, in which the two 21 base pair single strands were linked by a non-nucleotide linker, which should therefore increase the stability of the double strand. The idea of ​​using 21-mers came from theoretical considerations: With this RNA length, a stable molecule with two helix turns is formed, which is often required for the interaction with proteins. In addition, statistical reasons dictate that a specific mRNA in the human genome can be uniquely addressed with this length. 

With these molecules, Kreutzer and Limmer obtained the first indications in experiments with human cell cultures that such short double strands can also trigger RNA interference in humans. Thus, they surmised that side effects of the long double strands should be avoidable. A big step was thereby taken towards the development of drugs based on short, double-stranded RNA. With this business idea, Ribopharma AG was founded in 2000 as the first company in the world that aimed to use RNA interference therapeutically. 

It was not until more than a year later that Thomas Tuschl and his working group discovered siRNAs as the trigger of RNA interference (Genes Dev 15(2), 188-200 (2001)), which happen to be exactly the same length as the molecules previously used by Kreutzer and Limmer. This scientifically confirmed their previous observations. 

The path from these first discoveries to mature drugs based on short, double-stranded RNA or siRNA was very long. In the meantime, however, the company Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in particular has developed some approved siRNA drugs, some of which can be used to treat diseases that were previously considered untreatable.

Two scientists working at a computer station in a laboratory, with laboratory automation equipment and data analysis on the monitor.

Join us

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Join a global leader in oligonucleotide research and development. At Axolabs, you’ll work with state-of-the-art technologies, collaborate with world-class experts, and contribute to shaping the future of nucleic acid therapeutics. Explore career opportunities today.

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