First companies selected for StartLab incubator

HaYa Therapeutics and GNUbotics will be the first companies in the StartLab life sciences incubator. HaYa Therapeutics is focused on treating heart failure through the discovery and development of innovative first-in-class RNA-based therapeutics. GNUbiotics is developing functional and structural mimics of Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs) for the consumer health market. Both startups will move into the StartLab facilities when the incubator officially opens its doors in spring 2018.

Nasri Nahas, Chief Executive Officer of Biopôle and StartLab Director,stated: “We are delighted to have selected HaYa Therapeutics and GNUbiotics as the first successful candidates to StartLab and we look forward to welcoming these very promising entrepreneurs on site in the spring of 2018. We were spoilt for choice amongst the first wave of applications, which confirms the attractiveness of our unique “plug and play” model for startups. We are providing the best of the best with an ideal environment to maximise their chances of success, thanks to a winning combination of state of the art facilities, with access to a network of experts, and the dynamic Biopôle ecosystem of multinationals, SMEs, and research groups.”

StartLab’s Advisory Board (SAB) is focused on selecting only the highest quality candidates, which combine both scientific excellence and business pertinence. The ambition is to nurture these high caliber startups in a first-class infrastructure, and provide them with a deep pool of expertise in order to produce the next generation of outstanding Swiss life science businesses. At any point in time the incubator can be home for a maximum of 10-12 companies and the next deadline for applications is March 2018.

StartLab Advisory Board Members are

• Dr. Jasper BOS Head of Merck Healthcare Fund
• Dr. André CATANA EPFL Technology Transfer Office, Head of Enable Program
• Dr. Carlos CORDON LEGO Professor of Strategy and Supply Chain Management; IMD
• Dr. Konstantinos EFTHYMIOPOULOS Chairman Biopôle SA
• Dr. Stefan KOHLER Director PACTT
• Prof. Nicolas MERMOD Director of Biotechnology Institute; University of Lausanne
• Mr. Nasri NAHAS C.E.O. Biopôle SA
• Dr. Vincent OSSIPOW Partner; Omega Funds
• Prof. Jeffrey PETTY Director eMBA; University of Lausanne
• Prof. Gisou VAN DER GOOT Dean of School of Life Sciences; EPFL
• Dr. Pierre-Jean WIPFF Life Sciences Innovation Advisor; Innovaud

Konstantinos Efthymiopoulos, Chairman of Biopôle and SAB President, commented: “It is an honor to welcome the members of StartLab’s Advisory Board, all highly renowned professionals who provide complementary expertise and perspectives from academia, investment, business, technology transfer and entrepreneurship. StartLab enables researchers to take the bold step of moving out of the academic environment into a tailor-made life sciences incubator. I am confident that the Advisory Board will prove invaluable in accompanying the incubated projects throughout their growth and development, thus enabling StartLab to provide successive generations of startups to stimulate the life sciences ecosystem in the Canton of Vaud and across Switzerland.”

About StartLab 
StartLab is the first life-sciences dedicated incubator in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. It offers 700 m2 of fully equipped laboratories and 300 m2 of shared offices, as a new home for 10-12 startup companies of 35-40 persons in total. It has been designed to maximize the chances of success for aspiring business creators. A key feature is a “pay as you play” flexible pricing model, which requires less funds to get started, reduces risk for investors and lowers dilution for entrepreneurs.

Based at Biopôle, a leading Swiss life sciences park, StartLab’s founding sponsors include Retraites Populaires, Losinger Marazzi, Teo Jakob and Milian. Strategic partners are the Canton of Vaud, Innovaud, the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV).

(Press release)