About Us

Vision

As the world’s population grows and resources are in greater demand than ever before, an alternative to outdated, pollution-producing chemical manufacturing is required to meet humanity’s needs.

Today, bioproduction relies primarily on fermentation, which entails significant complexities, lengthy development time, and high capital costs. Enzymit is changing the paradigm with its cell-free enzymatic approach to manufacturing. We are dedicated to making bioproduction faster, more cost-effective and environmentally friendly than traditional chemical manufacturing and fermentation-based processes.

Coined the next industrial revolution, biomanufacturing has been talked about for decades but has yet to be fully realized. Enzymit provides the missing technological link, developing tailor-made new-to-nature enzymes that can unlock any desired chemical reaction, at costs that rival existing technologies in an environmentally friendly manner.

Leadership Team

Gideon Lapidoth

Co-founder and CEO

Gideon developed the core technology behind Enzymit’s design platform and leads the company’s technological development and corporate strategy. His expertise lies in developing advanced computational algorithms to design and create novel antibodies and enzymes with superior accuracy and activity. Gideon received a Master of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Dynamics from Tel Aviv University and a PhD in Computational Biology from the Weizmann Institute of Science.
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Dror Baran

Co-founder and COO

Dror is a synthetic biology and protein engineering expert and co-developer of Enzymit’s core technology. With more than a decade of experience in biotech entrepreneurship and business operations, he brings extensive knowledge in multidisciplinary scientific techniques, including antibody and protein engineering, molecular biology, NGS, high throughput screenings, and biochemistry. Prior to co-founding Enzymit, he served as Innovation Project Manager at Biolojic Design. Prior to that, he was a founding scientist at IgC Bio, a computational antibody design startup. Dror received a Master of Science in Computational Protein Design from the Weizmann Institute of Science and a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Ben Gurion University of the Negev.
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Markus Klinger

VP Business Development

Markus Klinger is a specialist in biotech-enabled specialty ingredients, with some 15 years of experience in product development, strategy, and management. Prior to joining Enzymit, he held key leadership positions at Novozymes, including Head of Strategy and Ventures for Alternative Proteins, where he focused on driving business strategy, leading cross-functional teams and forging strategic partnerships. Prior to that, he was a Group Manager and Six Sigma Black Belt at DuPont managing front-end transformational innovation projects. Markus is completing an MBD from Copenhagen Business School and holds a PhD in Chemistry from Aarhus University.

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Lior Zimmerman

Head of Computational Design

Lior is a machine learning expert with an extensive background in computational biology. Prior to joining Enzymit, he served as the principal computational biology scientist in IgC Bio, a venture-backed computational antibody design company, and as Director of AI and Data Science at Anthem Inc. (now Elevance Health), where he led the Anthem Israel Innovation Center’s clinical informatics research team. Prior to that, he held a number of research positions at companies including NovellusDX (now Fore Bio) and IBM. Lior holds a BSc and a Master of Science in Computer Science and Computational Biology, both from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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Itay Levin

VP R&D

Itay is a seasoned researcher and scientific leader with over 16 years of experience conducting and managing scientific programs. He has a strong background in molecular biology, biochemistry, and antibody and protein engineering. Prior to joining Enzymit, Itay worked as a research scientist for several biotech startups. Most recently, he served as Senior Scientific Director and Head of Innovation at Biolojic Design, where his responsibilities included funding, strategic planning, and project oversight. Itay received a PhD in Molecular Microbiology and Biochemistry from Tel Aviv University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Samuel Miller’s lab at the University of Washington in Seattle, researching bacterial photogensis.

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Veronica Reiss

Laboratory Manager

Veronica is a biochemist with extensive experience in lab work, research and lab management. With an MSc in Biochemistry from the National University of Cordoba and a wealth of industry knowledge

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Advisory Board

Prof. Joseph Jacobson

Head, Molecular Machines Group at MIT

Joseph Jacobson is a tenured member of the faculty at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he heads up the Molecular Machines groups with joint appointments at The MIT Media Lab and MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms. His lab has a focus on machine learning and AI for the design of small molecule and protein therapeutics as well as synthetic biology and nanotechnology. In the private sector Jacobson was a co-founder of a number of technology, biotech and therapeutics companies, including E Ink, Gen9 and DeepCure.

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Prof. Michael C. Jewett

Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Stanford University

Professor Michael Jewett is an expert in cell-free protein synthesis and synthetic biology. He currently serves as professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University. Prior to that, he was professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Northwestern University and headed the Jewett Lab, focused on engineering biological systems involved in protein synthesis and metabolism. Professor Jewett has co-founded several successful biotechnology companies, including synthetic biology innovator Pearl Bio, biotechnology research company Stemloop, Inc., and pharmaceutical manufacturing company Design Pharmaceuticals.

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Giovanni Battistini

Former Head, Open Innovation at Ferrero

Giovanni Battistini has three decades of experience in innovation, business development, strategic alliances, product development, and commercialization. He is a food and beverage industry expert, having worked at the top levels of industry-leading companies. He is the CEO and Founder of Phenotap, a disruptive wellness technology company, and Managing Director of Better Gambit, an innovation venture creation and advisory firm. Giovanni previously served as Senior Vice President of Open Innovation at chocolate and confectionery manufacturer Ferrero. He was also Global Vice President of the taste modulation business unit and flavor innovation discovery at Firmenich, an international leader in flavor and fragrances, where he was responsible for innovation strategy and business development.
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Mikael Bundgaard-Nielsen

CTO, Nature’s Fynd

Mikael Bundgaard-Nielsen has three decades of experience in R&D and production in the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries. He currently serves as Chief Technology Officer at the Alternative protein food company Nature’s Fynd, where he is responsible for process technology, operations, quality, engineering, and data science. Prior to that, he held a number of senior management positions at biotechnology research company Novozymes, including 8 years as Vice President of Global Product and Process Development. He has a proven record of accomplishment of success in scaling up and optimizing manufacturing processes and technologies for enzyme, microbe, and protein pipeline projects across the globe.
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Mikael Bundgaard-Nielsen

Bioinformatics Scientist

Mikael Bundgaard-Nielsen has three decades of experience in R&D and production in the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries. He currently serves as Chief Technology Officer at food and beverages service company Nature’s Fynd, where he is responsible for manufacturing, supply chain, quality, process technology, engineering, automation, and data science. Prior to that, he held a number of senior management positions at biotechnology research company Novozymes, including 8 years as Vice President of Global Product and Process Development. He has a proven record of accomplishment of success in optimizing manufacturing processes and technologies for enzyme, microbe, and protein pipeline projects across the globe.
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Mikael Bundgaard-Nielsen

Bioinformatics Scientist

Mikael Bundgaard-Nielsen has three decades of experience in R&D and production in the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries. He currently serves as Chief Technology Officer at food and beverages service company Nature’s Fynd, where he is responsible for manufacturing, supply chain, quality, process technology, engineering, automation, and data science. Prior to that, he held a number of senior management positions at biotechnology research company Novozymes, including 8 years as Vice President of Global Product and Process Development. He has a proven record of accomplishment of success in optimizing manufacturing processes and technologies for enzyme, microbe, and protein pipeline projects across the globe.
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Team

Founded in 2020 by alumni of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Enzymit’s team includes experts in computational protein design, synthetic biology, generative Al, bioengineering, molecular biology and other specialties.

Michael Chalik

Senior R&D Scientist

  • PhD in Cell Biology from Tel Aviv University
  • Former scientist and project leader at the Blavatnic Center for Drug Discovery at Tel Aviv University
  • An expert in cell and molecular biology, assay development and high-throughput screening
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Nitzan Kutnowski

Senior R&D Scientist

  • Senior scientist with vast experience in structural biology
  • PhD in Structural Biology from Ben Gurion University
  • Postgraduate studies at Donald Rio’s lab at UC Berkeley
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Olga Bluvshtein

Senior R&D Scientist

  • MSc in Biotechnology from Bar-Ilan University
  • Extensive experience in the biotech industry
  • Key contributor in several discovery programs that culminated in successful clinical trials
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Hadas Simon-Baram

R&D Scientist

  • PhD in Life Sciences from Ben Gurion University of the Negev
  • Former research assistant at the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev
  • Specialist in protein biochemistry and enzymology with experience in project management and assay development
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Lidor David

R&D Scientist

  • MSc in Biomedical Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Expertise in molecular biology and biochemistry
  • Scientific knowledge in cell biology and in-vivo protein analysis
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Noga Alon

R&D Scientist

  • MSc in Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University
  • Extensive knowledge in molecular biology and molecular evolution
  • Experience in protein purification and characterization
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Shir Twito

R&D Scientist

  • MSc in Plant Molecular Biology from Bar-Ilan University
  • Over 6 years of research experience in industry and academia
  • Former R&D researcher at Biolojic design, an antibody engineering company
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Natan Nagar

Bioinformatics Scientist

  • PhD in Bioinformatics from Tel Aviv University
  • Experience developing machine learning and deep learning applications for proteomics and structural bioinformatics
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Eli Manasherov

Junior R&D Scientist

  • MSc from Bar-Ilan university under the supervision of Prof. Yarden Opatowsky
  • Expertise in protein expression, purification and characterization
  • Scientific knowledge in cell biology and in-vivo protein analysis
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Lior Peri

Laboratory Technician

  • BSc in Biochemistry and Food Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment
  • Former laboratory assistant at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Talented biochemistry and food scientist with experience in product development and sensory evaluation
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Yair Budic

DevOps Engineer

  • BSc In Industrial Engineering from Tel Aviv University
  • Decades of experience in scaling software platforms on cloud environments
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Past Affiliation

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