DayOne accelerator attracts innovative solutions to Switzerland

DayOne is the Healthcare Innovation initiative from Basel Area Business & Innovation, the investment and innovation promotion agency dedicated to helping companies, institutions and startups find business success in the Basel Area. The program also launched a fund and programme to support early and mid-stage digital health ventures in Switzerland and Europe. The DayOne Accelerator has 100,000 USD available for 25 digital health and medtech ventures each year.

To this end, projects like Aurteen, Zoundream, Rekonas, magnes and Nutrix have transformed into startups. Thanks to the international focus, the program has attracted foreign startups to the region. The program has since its launch in 2018 accelerated 20 companies. Last year alone, six digital health companies decided to open operations in Switzerland due to working with the DayOne team. Danish-based Abzu, an AI drug discovery company, recently joined the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area at the Novartis Campus. Currently, 23 ventures use the platform.

The 4th edition of the DayOne Digital Health Accelerator focuses on Pain Management, a well-underserved field. From 128 applications submitted from 43 countries, the jury selected 16 for the final selection round. Only three winners made it into the hybrid program.

Hope Care (Obidos, Portugal) – developed HCAlert, a digital health solution for patient remote monitoring. It implements automated clinical rules and procedures to alert health professionals about the patient’s condition, which reduces costs for hospitalisations and emergency episodes. Available in Portugal, the team aims at launching next on the markets of DACH, BENELUX and the Italian region.

Rescape Innovation (Cardiff, United Kingdom) – utilising immersive technologies and/or associated technologies within Healthcare and Wellbeing, the company developed DR.VR® is a virtual reality distraction therapy solution that primarily supports pain relief, anxiety/stress, and improves patient’s experience. The iteration DR.VR® Junior is designed for Paediatric departments and is being used with leading UK Children’s hospitals. During the pandemic, Rescape developed DR.VR® Frontline with a targeted outcome of reducing anxiety of NHS frontline staff. Building out from its three solutions currently available in the UK market, the company aims to expand into other European and international markets.

TrainPain (Tel Aviv, Israel) – delivers neuroplasticity based exercises to promote the health of people’s sensory nervous system to help manage chronic pain. Their solution involves measuring and rehabilitating somatosensory function through gamified tactile somatosensory perception tasks. The company will launch in the U.S., European, and Asian markets.

Tailored support and CHF 15’000 for each venture
The Accelerator program address participants’ individual needs to maximise their odds of success. This year, the ventures will each receive up to CHF 15’000. The program culminates with a Demo Day event showcasing the teams and their progress.

(Press release/RAN)