Dragan Grabuloski: Serial Entrepreneur | Deep Tech Nation Switzerland

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) allow cytotoxic drugs to bind specifically to cancer cells with the aim of destroying them. The process is not new, but to date has only partially fulfilled the high expectations. Therefore, there was great excitement when new studies were announced in May at ASCO 2025, the world’s largest conference for clinical oncology.

Dragan Grabulovski was among the audience at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. He recalls: “Interestingly, two studies provided statistical evidence for the first time that ADC therapy could replace conventional chemotherapy, as it is more effective and better tolerated by patients than standard chemotherapy.” This is a milestone for the co-founder and CEO of biotech start-up Araris, which is developing a platform that has two advantages over conventional ADC processes. First, it links the antibody and payload via a simple peptide bridge, and, second, it is able to bind different drugs to the same antibody.

The spin-off from the internationally renowned Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) currently employs 16 people; since March of this year, it has operated under the umbrella of Taiho Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of the Otsuka Group. The transaction volume exceeded USD 1 billion, of which USD 400 million was paid at closing, making it one of the world’s largest preclinical biotech deals ever.