CHF 120 million and a new CEO to accelerate therapies for brain disorders

The Wyss Center is an independent, non-profit, research organization that accelerates innovative therapies to transform the lives of people with brain disorders. The Center pursues transformational technologies in artificial intelligence, bio- and neuroengineering to restore essential neural functions and deliver precision therapeutics for people with debilitating neurological and mental health disorders.

Based at Campus Biotech in Geneva, the Wyss Center was established by a generous donation from the Swiss entrepreneur and philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss in 2014 and other funding agencies. Recently, the Wyss Center received a funding commitment of CHF 120 million from the Wyss Foundation to further strengthen the Center’s mission to accelerate innovative therapies to the clinic.

New CEO assumes his role
Along with the capital increase, the Wyss Center announced that Prof. Dr. med. Erwin Böttinger will succeed Mary Tolikas, who stepped down as CEO in 2022. Prof. Böttinger has a longstanding track record in personalized medicine, with an emphasis on genomics and digital technologies. Before joining the Wyss Center, he was instrumental in building the Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine and the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health at Mount Sinai, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, both with a strong translational focus. He also served as founding director of the Digital Health Center at the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Engineering and University Potsdam, and as CEO of the Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.

“I am proud and privileged to lead the Wyss Center and to focus on making a real difference in the lives of people with neurological and mental health disorders. We have a bold plan to innovate and accelerate transformational technologies in artificial intelligence, bio- and neuroengineering to restore essential neural functions or reset abnormal neural circuits in people with devastating brain disorders. Together with our partners from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the University of Geneva and Geneva University Hospital, the Wyss Center is poised to catalyze the unique concentration of world-class brain health research at Campus Biotech to drive clinical breakthroughs”, said Erwin Böttinger.

Campus Biotech is a neuroscience and innovation center of excellence that provides a collaborative environment in advanced research facilities and space for start-ups and industrial partnerships.

(Press release/RAN)