Additional funds for Positrigo

Positrigo is an ETH Zurich spinoff pioneering the development of nuclear medical imaging technologies focusing on ultra-compact Positron Emission Tomography (PET) systems for the brain. NeuroLF® – the company’s first device – is an ultra-compact brain PET scanner, which is envisioned to be much smaller and less expensive compared to conventional PET scanners. NuroLF has applications in the early assessment of causes of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease and other brain-related disorders.

The Swiss start-up has been awarded by the European Innovation Council Fund €1,5 million towards the commercialization of ultra-small brain PET scanners. This phase 2 grant comes months after receiving the EIC Accelerator grant last year. According to the start-up, the EIC Fund has committed to investing up to EUR 3.5 million in a future financing round.

“Positrigo’s cutting-edge technology and its market potential will allow to meet the increasing demand for PET examinations in the coming years and make brain scanning widely affordable. I am glad the EIC Fund invests into this skilful team of innovative entrepreneurs to commercialize the technology and scale up the company of brain PET scanners for an accessible early discovery of Alzheimer’s disease,” says Heidi Kakko, EIC Fund Investment Committee member.

Jannis Fischer, CEO and co-founder of Positrigo states: “We are honoured and pleased about the trust and continued support we receive from the EIC. This additional funding will allow us to accelerate our efforts to commercialize NeuroLF, a small and compact brain PET scanner, to enable clinicians the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.”

Successful first in-vivo-clinical trials
This year, the company finished the first in-vivo clinical trial to demonstrate that their innovative brain PET scanner performed successfully in a highly constrained environment. This accomplishment was possible thanks to the collaboration of interdisciplinary teams at University Hospital Zurich and ETH Zurich. “We are grateful to have such great clinical and academic partners who support us to develop cutting-edge technology”, concludes Max Ahnen, COO and co-founder of Positrigo. “The recognition by EIC motivates us, even more, to foster these collaborations to advance the nuclear medical imaging field.”

Founded in 2018 Positrigo’s technology, development, clinical testing and commercialization has been supported by 4FO Venture Partners, Great Filter Ventures, Zurcher Kantonalbank (ZKB), ETH Zurich Foundation, Venture Kick and the European Innovation Council.

About the EIC Fund
Established in June 2020, the European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund) is a breakthrough initiative of the European Commission to make direct equity and quasi-equity investments (between €500.000 and €15 million) in European high-impact and deep tech start-ups and scale-ups. The EIC Fund provides patient capital and invests in companies from any sector, across all EU countries and countries associated with Horizon 2020.

(Press release/RAN)