Dr. Felix Paulußen

CEO

Felix is a chemical biologist who earned his Ph.D. from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands. After completing his doctorate, he pursued a postdoctoral fellowship in Tom Grossmann’s laboratory, where he focused on peptide inspired β catenin inhibitors. Building on that work, Felix secured an NWO Faculty of Impact fellowship and advanced the valorization of these inhibitors toward colorectal cancer therapy. The fellowship, together with Biotech Booster funding, gave him his first hands on experience in the startup field.

Dr. Saskia Neubacher

CSO & Co-Founder

Saskia is a chemist. After her chemistry studies at the Free University Berlin, she continued with her PhD in chemical biology at the Humboldt University in Berlin. She then became associate editor for chemistry journals at Wiley-VCH. In 2016, Saskia joined Tom’s group as project leader at the VU University Amsterdam and continued research on INCYPRO. She launched Incircular in 2021.

Dr. Sven Hennig

Scientific Advisor & Co-Founder

Sven is a biochemist and crystallographer. He received his PhD from the Max-Planck Institue for Molecular Physiology. After post-doctoral research at the Harry Perkins Institute for Medical Research in Perth, Sven started his own research group in 2012 at the Chemical Genomics Centre of the Max-Planck Society. He joined the VU University Amsterdam in 2017 as head of crystallography and assistant professor for structural chemical biology.

Antrea Kyriakidou, MSc

Business Development Manager

Antrea is a business developer. She holds a Master’s degree in Bio-pharmaceutical Sciences and Business Studies from Leiden University and a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Surrey. She started her career as a laboratory technician and later on as a laboratory manager in diagnostic laboratories, and soon after the completion of her Master’s degree, she gained experience in regulatory affairs and business development. Antrea joined the Incircular team in 2024.

Martin Bakker, PhD

Business Development Advisor

Martin Bakker is a business development advisor. In the past, he worked for several companies in Management & Director roles in business development and marketing in the pharmaceutical industry. Some of the companies include OctoPlus, Dr. Reddy’s, Northern Lipids (now Evonik), and PRA Healthcare (now ICON).

Prof. Dr. Tom Grossmann

Scientific Advisor & Co-founder

Tom is a chemist. He received his PhD in chemistry from the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. After post-doctoral research at Harvard University, Tom started his independent career at the Max Planck Institute and the Chemical Genomics Center in Dortmund. Since 2016, Tom is full professor and Chair of Biomimetic Chemistry at the VU University Amsterdam.

Prof. Dr. Rob Pieters

Clinical Advisor

Rob Pieters is a full professor in Pediatric Oncology at the University of Utrecht. He is the initiator and one of the founders of the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, the largest center in Europe for the treatment and research of childhood cancer. He was Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and co-CEO of the Princess Máxima Center from 2013-2025. Since 1 January 2025, he has been Chief Máxima International and part of the Executive Committee of the Princess Máxima Center. He is president-elect of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology, a member of the EU Cancer Mission Board, and editor-in-chief of the European Journal of Cancer- Pediatric Oncology. His research focuses on the development of personalized therapies for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). He published >700 peer-reviewed scientific papers, gave >400 invited lectures, and has supervised >65 PhD students. In 2018, he received a Royal knighthood decoration as Officer in the Order of Oranje Nassau for his achievements for children with cancer.

Home

Technology

Pipeline

Services

About

News

Contact

About Incircular

Incircular develops stabilized protein therapeutics using a proprietary structure-guided approach. Founded in 2021 as a spin-out from VU University Amsterdam, the company builds on original research in in situ protein cyclization to address the limitations of conventional biologics.

;

Our team

Incircular is led by a multidisciplinary team combining expertise in chemistry, structural biology, and business development. Together with experienced molecular biologists and biotech specialists, the team has more than 50 years of combined experience across startups, scale-ups, and therapeutic development.

Felix Paulußen

CEO

Saskia Neubacher

CSO & Co-Founder

Antrea Kyriakidou

Business Development Manager

Martin Bakker

Business Development Advisor

Tom Grossmann

Scientific Advisor & Co-Founder

Sven Hennig

Scientific Advisor & Co-Founder

Rob Pieters

Clinical Advisor

More stability. More impact.

Our mission is to unlock the full potential of therapeutic proteins, not by redesigning them, but by reinforcing what already works. We use INCYPRO to extend half-life, enhance stability, and bring clarity to performance. Beyond therapeutics, we work with partners to apply this stability across research tools and industrial enzymes, wherever precision matters.

Contact us to learn more about our work or explore collaboration opportunities

Publications

Covalent Bicyclization of Protein Complexes Yields Durable Quaternary Structures. GH Hutchins, et al. Chem. 2023, DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2023.10.003

Bicyclic Engineered Sortase A Performs Transpeptidation under Denaturing Conditions. S Kiehstaller, et al. Bioconj. Chem. 2023, DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.3c00151

In situ cyclization of proteins (INCYPRO): Cross-link derivatization modulates protein stability. S Neubacher, et al. J. Org. Chem. 2020, DOI: 10.1021/acs.joc.9b02490

I n situ cyclization of native proteins: Structure-based design of a bicyclic enzyme. M Pelay-Gimeno, et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201804506

Explore our technology