EXIRIS SRL

Their core work

EXIRIS SRL is a Rome-based biotech SME specializing in targeted drug delivery for oncology, with a focus on designing conjugates that attach cytotoxic agents to molecular "homing devices" that guide the payload directly to tumor cells. Their work spans both peptide-based and small molecule-based conjugates, giving them a broad chemical toolkit for addressing selectivity and toxicity challenges in cancer treatment. As a participant in two consecutive MSCA Innovative Training Networks under the MAGICBULLET series, they contribute applied research expertise and likely host early-stage researchers working on conjugate design and natural product-derived cytotoxic compounds. Their practical SME profile suggests they sit closer to translational development than pure academic research.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first project (2015-2018), EXIRIS focused exclusively on peptide-drug conjugates — using peptide sequences as the targeting vectors to deliver cytotoxic cargo to tumor sites. By the second project (2019-2024), their scope widened to include small molecule-drug conjugates alongside the peptide route, and natural products entered the picture as a source of cytotoxic agents. The shift suggests a deliberate broadening of the chemical design space: they are moving from a single-modality approach toward a more versatile conjugate platform that is not locked to one class of homing molecule or payload.

EXIRIS is expanding its targeted delivery toolkit from peptide-only conjugates toward a broader platform combining small molecules and natural product payloads, indicating a move toward more chemically diverse and potentially more commercially viable drug conjugate candidates.

How they like to work

EXIRIS has participated exclusively as a consortium partner — never as a coordinator — across both projects, which suggests they function as a specialist contributor rather than a project driver. With 18 distinct partners spread across 2 projects, they are exposed to a reasonably varied European research network without clustering around a single group. Their repeated involvement in the MAGICBULLET series under the same thematic umbrella also indicates a preference for deepening ongoing research relationships over constantly entering new consortia.

EXIRIS has collaborated with 18 unique partners across 6 countries through their two MSCA training networks, giving them a pan-European footprint in the targeted oncology research community. Their network is concentrated in the drug delivery and medicinal chemistry space rather than spanning multiple domains.

What sets them apart

EXIRIS occupies a rare niche as a private SME with hands-on involvement in back-to-back MSCA training networks on the same topic, which means they have accumulated over a decade of focused, continuously updated expertise in drug conjugate research — something most academic partners refresh more slowly. For consortium builders, they bring both the applied SME perspective and the capacity to mentor researchers, which satisfies MSCA's industry-participation requirements without needing to recruit a large industrial partner. Their dual competency in peptide and small molecule conjugates also makes them useful across a wider range of drug candidate pipelines than a single-modality specialist.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Magicbullet Reloaded
  The larger and more recent of the two projects (EUR 261,500, running to 2024), it extended the original concept into small molecule conjugates and natural product payloads — representing the current frontier of EXIRIS's technical scope.
• MAGICBULLET
  The founding project (2015-2018) that established EXIRIS's position in the peptide-drug conjugate field and anchored their long-term participation in the MAGICBULLET research lineage.