Greece on the Biotechnology Map

By DESPOINA KONTI

A researcher bends over a microscope. Beside him, a colleague holds a pipette to add the precise amount of the protein sample they are studying. A little farther away is a notebook filled with calculations. The two researchers study it carefully, anxiously waiting to see how their experiment develops. After all, developing drugs “to combat incurable neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's is a difficult process, which we want to carry out and complete here in Greece,” Greek-Canadian Alexia-Victoria Polysidi, co-founder and CEO of Anacalypsis Therapeutics, tells Kathimerini. “What you are seeing is the first biochemical experiment conducted by a startup at ELPEN's biotechnology park,” she says enthusiastically.

She introduces us to co-founder and scientific director Hardy Rideout, whom she met at the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens. Both are neuroscientists and have lived in Greece for more than 20 years. Polysidi studied pharmacology in Canada and earned a doctorate at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School. Rideout, a neurobiologist, has spent years studying the protein kinase LRRK2, which is associated with Parkinson's disease. “We demonstrated that a small peptide can reverse neurodegeneration in cellular models of Parkinson's disease, a process we patented. We are now beginning preclinical trials at ELPEN's biotechnology park so that, if all goes well, it can later be tested in humans,” Polysidi explains. “At present, the only drugs on the market treat the symptoms. In other words, there is no drug that can slow or reverse the disease. That is the direction in which we are working.”

Anacalypsis Therapeutics and other startups with Greek roots are helping shape an emerging biotechnology and health-sciences ecosystem in Greece. It brings together venture capital funds and, more recently, the Athens LifeTech Park in Spata, the first integrated biotechnology park in Southeastern Europe. “For many, the key is talent. The country has outstanding scientific expertise in health, including highly qualified biologists, physicians and chemists, while distinguished figures in the global biotechnology industry are of Greek origin. We are gradually seeing this knowledge put to use locally, with more and more new companies operating in Greece,” says Nikos Kalliagkopoulos, a partner at the Greek venture capital firm Big Pi Ventures.

“An initial community of health- and life-sciences companies has already begun to take shape at the Athens LifeTech Park (ALTP), working in fields that range from the discovery and development of new medicines to artificial intelligence, neuroscience, new drug-delivery technologies and the microbiome. These teams come from both Greece and abroad, and several have strong links to the Greek scientific diaspora,” Eleni Pentafragka, CEO of ALTP and Chief Strategy Officer of ELPEN, tells Kathimerini. Six companies have already made a start. “They also offer a first glimpse of the model the Athens LifeTech Park is seeking to develop: not merely providing laboratory space, but bringing different scientific teams and technologies together in a shared environment, creating more opportunities to connect with researchers, industry, specialized executives and investment capital.”

Anodyne Nanotech, a Boston-based startup, has its own laboratory there. The company is developing a painless method of drug delivery using a patch with microneedles that releases medication into the body. These medicines are used to treat chronic conditions such as multiple sclerosis, but the company has recently also joined the effort to combat obesity. “We recently raised capital to advance the GLP-1 patch for obesity into Phase 1 clinical trials. We are already working with major pharmaceutical companies,” co-founder Konstantinos Tzortzakis tells Kathimerini. “One of the drawbacks of GLP-1 drugs is that weight loss is accompanied by a loss of muscle mass. The next step is to combine GLP-1 with a second peptide that increases muscle mass in a single patch, so that patients can lose the weight they want without also losing muscle mass. Our team in Greece developed the second peptide through the preclinical-study stage.”

Kathimerini Sunday Business · September 20, 2026 · Page 14