Geneva-based Adiposs and Lausanne based Emvo have each obtained CHF 150'000 after the Venture Kick's Life Sciences special track session finale. While Adiposs develops nanotechnologies to boost survival rates among millions of cancer patients, Emovo with its a robotic orthosis aims to help people who have difficulties using their hands.
Venture Kick has nominated the two new startups for Life Sciences Special track session which was launched this year. After Stimit, Adoposs and Emvo (formerly Yago) have joined the portfolio.
Adiposs: earlier detection of cancer cachexia
Cancer cachexia is a severe body-wasting syndrome characterised by involuntary body weight loss. It affects more than half of all cancer patients and is the cause of death in a fifth of all cancer patients. Adiposs, a spin-off from the University Geneva founded by Andrej Babic and Justyna Plewka, is developing ImageBAT, a breakthrough CT (computed tomography) contrast agent that is able to detect changes in body fat. ImageBAT is a game-changer for cachexia detection and diagnosis: It will provide a vastly superior and early result compared to today’s standard of care for the 9 million new cancer patients per year, a first market estimated at CHF 1.6 billion. In addition to the Venture Kick funds, the startup seeks to raise CHF 1 million by the fourth quarter of this year, then engage their medical network to start clinical trials in early 2021.
Emovo: A robotic helping hand
Emovo’s robotic glove helps people who have difficulty using their hands, particularly in post-stroke situations. Based on Luca Randazzo’s doctoral research at EPFL’s Brain-Machine Interface lab, Emovo developed a motorized exoskeleton based on patent-protected artificial tendons, that can actively open and close the hand through lightweight, wearable, and modular components. The system was developed through more than 150 interviews and testing with clinicians and patients. The solution will offer millions of underserved stroke patients with the first connected tool for functional hand movement for at home. Luca Randazzo, the founder, Product development and Clinical operations expert at Emovo, hopes the patent-pending tech will restore users’ independence and autonomy in daily life.
“Venture Kick was a real ride!” said Randazzo. “It really forced us to go out of our comfort zone—reshaping our assumptions through continuous interactions with real customers and stakeholders in the market. It transformed us from a university project to a potential business case", said Randazzo.
(Press release/ran)
Photo L-r: Adiposs Co-founders Justyna Plewka and Andrej Babic; Emovo COO Iselin Frøybu and CEO Luca Randazzo
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