First Venture Leaders Medtech selected

A jury of professional investors and medtech experts reviewed almost 70 applications to choose the Venture Leaders Medtech 2021: The 10 selected startups cover a range of areas that include materials innovation, smart devices, and robotics and help improve diagnostics, treatment, and well-being. The roadshow to Boston in the fall aims to accelerate the startups’ expansion and helps them build global business networks. The 10 startups will pitch to key US investors and meet leaders and experts of the medtech industry. Boston is one of the world’s major life sciences hubs and the ideal springboard for ambitious startups on their way to global expansion.

Selected start-ups include

CustomSurg | Thomas Zumbrunn | Zurich

CustomSurg changes the treatment strategy of complex bone fractures from a subjective to an objective approach. CustomSurg’s data-driven, end-to-end solution provides faster surgeries with better outcomes and allows shorter absence from work for thousands of trauma patients.

Emovo Care | Luca Randazzo | Lausanne

Emovo Care develops accessible assistive devices for people with motor impairments: Emovo Grasp provides patients with active movement at home while ensuring independent use and self-support.

flowbone | Valérie Malfroy Camine | Lausanne

flowbone develops a bioactive gel that can be injected under local anesthesia and restores bone strength in just a few weeks. This solution protects patients from devastating fractures and helps maintain their mobility and independence.

Gondola Medical Technologies | Francesco Cecchini Manara | Lausanne

Gondola Medical Technologies offers Gondola AMPS, a clinically proven, side-effect-free, non-invasive therapy delivered via a patented medical device. Gondola AMPS improves walking and balance impairments caused by neurological disorders.

hemotune | Lukas Langenegger | Zurich

hemotune develops multi-target blood purification technology based on nanoengineered magnetic beads. The treatment is designed to restore adequate immune function in sepsis-induced immunosuppression.

InnoSpina | Gwenael Hannema | Delémont

InnoSpina advances minimally invasive spine surgery with fusion and motion-preserving technologies: InnoSpina treats spinal stenosis, one of the most common reasons for spinal surgery, by empowering surgeons with intuitive guiding instruments and novel implants.

Lymphatica Medtech | Marco Pisano | Lausanne

Lymphatica Medtech develops innovative implants for lymphatic diseases: LymphoDrain is the world’s first active implantable bypass for chronic lymphedema treatment and allows automated lymph drainage for millions of lymphedema patients worldwide.

MUVON Therapeutics | Deana Mohr | Zurich

MUVON Therapeutics develops and commercializes an autologous cell therapy for the regeneration of skeletal muscle tissue. MUVON’s initial focus area is the treatment of stress urinary incontinence.

NanoFlex Robotics | Matthew Curran | Zurich

NanoFlex’s soft medical robotic system is designed to treat endoluminal conditions using softer, more flexible robotically controlled devices. The startup’s first focus is the treatment of stroke in interventional neurovascular procedures.

Spectroplast | Manuel Schaffner | Zurich

Spectroplast provides silicone additive manufacturing solutions for the on-demand manufacturing of custom medical and healthcare applications.

The Venture Leaders Medtech 2021 will be the first class to graduate from the medtech program. Previously, medtech startups participated in the Venture Leaders Life Sciences program. “We are excited that medtech now has its own Venture Leaders program. Medtech has become such an important field in Switzerland, and we wanted to do justice to this development and the innovative power of the Swiss medtech industry,” said Jordi Montserrat, managing partner at Venturelab. “The Venture Leaders Medtech startups 2021 provide an impressive portfolio of high-quality solutions that have the potential to shape the global markets in regenerative medicine.”

Venture Leaders Medtech 2021 is organized by Venturelab and supported by EPF Lausanne, ETH Zurich, Hansjörg Wyss, Kellerhals Carrard, Paul Scherrer Institut, Swissnex Boston, University Zurich, Canton of Vaud, and Canton of Zurich.

Venturelab has been organizing international roadshows for the Swiss National Startup Teams for 16 years. The ambitious entrepreneurs and their promising startups are introduced to high-class investors and potential customers in leading technology hubs such as Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, China, Hong Kong, and Barcelona. “Venture Leaders gave us the unique opportunity to dive into the ecosystem of US startups and VCs. This is very helpful to better understand the US market and funding opportunities,” said Dr. Jannis Fischer, founder and CEO of Positrigo, a Venture Leader alumn.