Patrick Baeuerle (born 24 November 1957) is a German-based

molecular biologist Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interact ...

, immunologist, professor and a biopharmaceutical entrepreneur. Baeuerle is known for his work on

tyrosine sulfation Tyrosine sulfation is a posttranslational modification where a sulfate group is added to a tyrosine residue of a protein molecule. Secreted proteins and extracellular parts of membrane proteins that pass through the Golgi apparatus may be sulfated. ...

of proteins, transcription factor NF-kappaB, and the development of bispecific T-cell engaging antibodies for therapy of cancer.

Education

Baeuerle earned his diploma in biology from

University of Konstanz The University of Konstanz (german: Universität Konstanz) is a university in the city of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its main campus was opened on the Gießberg in 1972 after being founded in 1966. The university is Germany's ...

, Germany. He received his Ph.D. in

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

summa cum laude, from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. His postdoctoral training was with the Nobel Laureate

David Baltimore David Baltimore (born March 7, 1938) is an American biologist, university administrator, and 1975 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine. He is President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technol ...

at the Whitehead Institute at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

, Cambridge, MA.

Career

After his post-doctorate, Baeuerle led a research group at Gene Center in Martinsried, Germany. In 1993, he became the professor of molecular biology, and was and the chairman at the medical faculty of

Freiburg University The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

, Germany. Between 1996 and 2015, he served as head of drug discovery at Tularik Inc., as chief scientific officer at Micromet Inc., and as a vice president research for Amgen Inc. in

Munich, Germany Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. Baeuerle is the co-founder of the companies, iOmx AG, Harpoon Inc, '' ''TCR² Inc, Maverick Inc, and Cullinan LLC. He is one of the Managing directors at MPM capital, which is a Cambridge-based venture capital firm.

Research Activities

Tyrosine Sulfation

In 1987, Baeuerle showed that tyrosine sulfation is a frequent modification of secretory proteins that is added in the trans-Golgi compartment.

Transcription factor NF-kappaB

Baeuerle deciphered the canonical pathway by which transcription factor NF-kappaB is activated and first described inhibitory subunit I-kappaB and the p65/RelA subunit. Baeuerle is said to be one of the inventors of the controversial NF-kappaB. He along with his team showed that NF-kappaB is an oxidative stress-responsive transcription factor and described a functional role of NF-kappaB in the nervous system.

Cancer Therapy

Baeuerle lead the development of BiTE antibody Blincyto® (blinatumomab; AMG 103) which is approved by the US FDA for treatment of relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He has invented various antibody-based constructs that are designed to engage cytotoxic T cells for lysis of cancer cells.