Fungal infections pose a growing and often life-threatening health risk worldwide. Mortality rates are particularly high among severely ill or immunocompromised patients — also because therapeutic options against fungal infections remain limited. New drugs and treatment strategies are therefore urgently needed. But how can discoveries in fundamental research make their way into clinical application? How can academia and industry work together to develop new therapies? With the aim of strengthening this exchange, the Leibniz-HKI hosted the symposium “Innovations in Antifungal Drug Development – An Industry-Academia Dialogue” on February 3, 2026. The presentations and discussions provided new impetus for research on pathogenic fungi and at the same time paved the way for future cooperation between academic research and industry.

The symposium was guided by the Leibniz Association’s guiding principle “Theoria cum praxi”, emphasizing the close connection between theory and practice. Accordingly, the program brought together presentations by researchers from the Leibniz-HKI as well as representatives of established pharmaceutical companies, a start-up, and pharmaceutical consultancy. In addition to the scientific contributions, there was ample opportunity for participants to engage in conversation and discuss experiences, challenges and approaches to solutions in modern drug development. The diversity of contributions reflected the Leibniz-HKI’s strong connections with partners focused on application. As a founding partner of INCATE (the INCubator for AntiBacterial Therapies in Europe), the institute maintains a growing network within industry and the start-up ecosystem.

“The exchange with industry is a key component of translational research,” emphasized Axel Brakhage, Director of the Leibniz-HKI, who chaired the symposium. “Science and industry contribute different yet complementary expertise, and it is precisely this interplay that is crucial for sustainably advancing new strategies against life-threatening fungal infections.” From the industry perspective, the dialogue was likewise seen as highly valuable. Mohammed Benghezal of Basilea Pharmaceutica underlined: “Innovative antifungal therapies emerge where academic excellence and industrial experience come together. The open exchange at this symposium provided an excellent foundation for this process.”

With its first symposium dedicated to antifungal drug development the Leibniz-HKI has created a dialogue format that benefits both sides: while academia gains valuable insights into industrial development processes, current research findings can feed into practical development at an early stage. The positive feedback from participants underscored the strong demand for such formats and demonstrated that close collaboration between research and industry represents a genuine win-win situation for the development of new therapies against fungal infections.