10 Winners of Venture Leaders Life Sciences Selected

Following in the footsteps of startups such as Insphero, Covagen and AMAL Therapeutics, the new Venture Leaders Life Sciences team will showcase the best of Switzerland’s biotech and medtech startups in Lausanne, in April, and in Boston, in June. The Boston-region is one of world’s major life sciences hubs and the ideal springboard for ambitious startups on their way to global expansion. The entrepreneurs will have an intense week pitching to key U.S.-investors, and meeting leaders and experts the biotech and medtech industries. 

Venture Leaders Life Sciences winners 2019

4D Lifetec AG | Arne-Christian Faisst

Unreliable tumor detection leads to unspecific therapy. 4D Lifetec is developing a fast, cost-effective and more precise assay to help identify lung and prostate cancers earlier. The company's liquid biopsy assay device is currently undergoing clinical testing.

Juvabis AG | Sven Hobbie | ETH Zurich

Drug-resistant bacteria are a threat to modern medicine. Juvabis, a joint startup of the ETH and University of Zurich, is preparing its new, small-molecule antibiotic for clinical trials in humans this year.  

Medyria AG | Mauro Sette

Aneurysm repairs prevent bloated blood vessels from bursting dangerously. These vital interventions have harmful side-effects. Medyria's sensor uses blood flow velocity to measure a catheter's location, helping reduce the risk of spinal injuries during surgery.

Pattern BioSciences AG | Yaakov Benenson | ETH Zurich

Developing sophisticated drugs to increase the chance of effective cancer treatment by targeting combinations of molecules, instead of single molecules. The company’s lead candidate to treat liver cancer is in pre-clinical development.

Positrigo AG | Jannis Fischer | ETH Zurich

Alzheimer's affects 50 million people worldwide. PET scanners can reveal proteins linked to the disease 20 years before the cognitive effects are noticeable. Positrigo's scanner will reduce the cost tenfold, making precautionary scanning viable.

Resistell AG | Danuta Cichocka | EPF Lausanne

Developed a diagnostic device to identify the best antibiotic to treat a particular infection between 10- and 100-times faster. This reduces the cost of hospital infections and slows antibiotic resistance, by helping treat infection with the correct antibiotic first time.

Scailyte AG | Peter Nestorov | ETH Zurich

Single-cell analysis is tipped to become a key tool in biomedical research. Currently the industry can’t extract all the data from highly complex single-cells. Scailyte is developing AI-based data analytics to boost research, drug discovery and precision diagnostics.

Synendos Therapeutics | Andrea Chicca | University of Bern

Developing drugs to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and other neuropsychiatric disorders by modulating a new target. Restores natural brain functioning by inhibiting endocannabinoid transport across cell membranes. An effective, breakthrough therapy.

TOLREMO Therapeutics AG | Stefanie Flückiger-Mangual | ETH Zurich

Cancer drugs often lose their effectiveness over time, which makes tumors that require continuing treatment difficult to manage. TOLREMO’s new molecules eradicate drug resistant cancer cells at the start of a therapy, and can be combined with existing drugs.

Volumina Medical SA | Amélie Béduer | EPF Lausanne

Developed an injectable scaffolding that helps the body to rebuild after surgery. Enables the natural reconstruction of soft tissues, as well as glandular, connective and supporting tissues. First product will serve women’s reconstructive therapy after a mastectomy.

“A ton of great contacts”
The winning startups were selected by a jury of investors and experts from 60 applicants. “I am extremely pleased with the 2019 selection. It’s a great display of top-level solutions, and I am confident that our U.S. partners will appreciate once again the quality of the team,” said Jordi Montserrat, managing partner of Venturelab. “It also comprises three female founders and CEOs, which confirms the trend of the previous years in having more women not only joining startups, but also taking the leading roles.”

Venture Leaders Life Sciences was a "unique program to put my business development on the front burner. I returned with a ton of great contacts and a much clearer vision on how to run my company and understanding of the U.S.-market. A must-have, if your ambition is to build a winning business," said Jan Lichtenberg, chief executive and co-founder of InSphero, which has raised more than $35 million for its platform boosting drug-discovery.

Venture Leaders Life Sciences 2019 is organized by Venturelab, and supported by: EPF Lausanne, ETH Zurich, EY Entrepreneur of the Year, Hansjörg Wyss, Kanton Zürich, Kellerhals Carrard, Paul Scherrer Institute, swissnex Boston, Canton de Vaud, and Ypsomed.

Startup Champions Seed Night: 11 April

Meet the Venture Leaders Life Sciences 2019 Team at the EPF Lausanne on April 11th. Co-organized by EPFL Alumni, EPFL Innogrants and Venturelab the event will introduce the Venture Leaders Life Sciences team and an additional ten of the most promising EPFL early stage startups. The startup exhibition and pitch competition will be from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Rolex Learning Center Forum.

Keynote speakers Steve Anavi, co-founder and president of Qonto, and Madiha Derouazi, chief executive and founder of AMAL Therapeutics will describe their journeys from EPFL to raising tens of millions of dollars in venture capital.