MODAG GmbH

MODAG is a privately held German biotech company, founded in 2013 and based in the Hochtechnologiepark Wendelsheim in Rhineland-Palatinate, with research sites in Munich and Goettingen. It develops therapies and diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases, centred on alpha-synuclein diseases such as Parkinson disease and multiple system atrophy (MSA). Its lead compound is emrusolmin, also known as anle138b and TEV-56286, which the atlas tracks as a prion-relevant approach because it extended survival in prion-infected mice in 2013. MODAG sponsored the first-in-human and Parkinson phase 1 trials, and Teva took over late-stage development after an October 2021 licence. MODAG's own pages never mention prions; no prion disease trial was found. Information only, not advice.

Key facts

  • MODAG was founded in 2013 and is privately run, headquartered in Wendelsheim with research sites in Munich and Goettingen.
  • Its public leadership includes Torsten Matthias as CEO, Johannes Levin as chief medical officer and Armin Giese as chief scientific officer, who is credited with the screening technology behind anle138b.
  • Academic partners named by the company are LMU Munich, the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Goettingen and the University of Tuebingen; the Michael J. Fox Foundation supports its research.
  • MODAG was lead sponsor of the healthy-volunteer first-in-human study NCT04208152, which ran from 6 December 2019 to 4 August 2020 with Quotient Sciences and Aptuit as collaborators.
  • MODAG was lead sponsor of the Parkinson phase 1b NCT04685265, which started 22 December 2020, completed 22 December 2022 and enrolled 70 participants.
  • Teva and MODAG announced an exclusive worldwide licence and joint development for anle138b and a related compound, sery433, on 26 October 2021, aimed at MSA and Parkinson disease; financial terms were not found.
  • The phase 2 MSA study TOPAS-MSA (NCT06568237) is sponsored by Teva, not MODAG; it started 2 October 2024 and was active, not recruiting in October 2026.
  • MODAG's page describes TOPAS-MSA as randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled with a 48-week main period, an open-label extension and a primary endpoint of UMSARS change.
  • The company's homepage lists a "strategic partnership" with Teva without terms or dates.
  • MODAG runs a diagnostic lab and markets PD DETECT, a CSF alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay it calls the first CE (IVDR) marked Parkinson test; the date and certificate were not seen.
  • The company was named a finalist in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2026 competition, per its own site.
  • Pipeline status as of 2026-11-01: one named clinical compound (emrusolmin) in phase 2 with Teva; no other compound named; no prion indication.

Timeline

  1. 2013MODAG founded.
  2. 2019First-in-human study of anle138b starts.
  3. 2020Parkinson phase 1b starts.
  4. 2021Teva and MODAG announce licensing collaboration for anle138b and sery433.
  5. 2022Parkinson phase 1b completes.
  6. 2024Teva-sponsored TOPAS-MSA phase 2 starts.
  7. 2026MODAG site announces PD DETECT as CE (IVDR) marked; exact certification date unknown.

Last checked 1 November 2026

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