Venture Leaders Medtech 2022: 10 innovative startups will advance their global growth in Boston

For the second consecutive year, the Venture Leaders Medtech will represent Swiss innovation in the United States. During the week-long roadshow, the 10 Venture Leaders will pitch to key US investors and meet with 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. To select the 10 Venture Leaders Medtech 2022, a jury of professional investors and medtech experts reviewed almost 60 applications.

This year’s winners:

aiEndoscopic | Zurich | aiEndoscopic combines artificial intelligence with robotics to enable assistive or even autonomous endoscopy. The startup aims for the best patient outcomes and treatment success independent of human performance and skills. aiEndoscopic’s first application is intuBot—an assistive device for easier and safer tracheal intubation.

Arbrea Labs | Zurich | Arbrea Labs is pioneering the medical metaverse by building a new approach to plastic surgery and aesthetics. The startup’s AI-based augmented reality and 3D simulators transform medical consultations by bridging the visual and online communication gap between surgeons and patients worldwide.

ArcoScreen | Lausanne | G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) are the most successful drug targets to treat diseases like cancer, Parkinson’s, or Alzheimer’s. ArcoScreen develops the only method of identifying new drugs targeting those receptors by directly testing patient cells providing new opportunities for drug discovery.

Bearmind | Lausanne | Bearmind is an EPFL spin-off that develops and commercializes helmet-integrated sensors and a risk-analysis platform that helps ice hockey clubs control players’ exposure to concussive and sub-concussive hits.

b-rayZ | Schlieren | b-rayZ develops software that uses artificial intelligence to easily detect, locate, and characterize breast cancer on medical images. By using cutting-edge technologies, b-rayZ saves lives, offers personalized treatment options, and reduces liability risks for doctors.

EarlySight | Lausanne | EarlySight aims to reduce vision loss by enabling efficient detection and better monitoring of eye diseases. The company develops a high-performance eye imaging instrument empowering doctors to see the first disease impacts.

MOMM Diagnostics | Basel | MOMM Diagnostics develops a rapid test for preeclampsia, a dangerous pregnancy condition. The startup’s novel point-of-care technology has superior analytical sensitivity, simplifies blood testing procedures, and assists doctors on-site to save the lives of mothers and babies.

Oncobit | Schlieren | Oncobit is a University Zurich spin-off that develops precision diagnostic and monitoring assays for personalized cancer care. Oncobit’s products aim to understand genomic cancer alterations throughout the patient’s treatment history.

Rea Diagnostics | Lausanne | Today, 50% of women at risk of premature birth are not diagnosed, making preterm birth the leading cause of death of infants worldwide. For the first time, Rea’s technology gives women the chance to continuously test their risk of preterm from home.

TWIICE | Lausanne | TWIICE develops a lower-limb exoskeleton that enables paraplegic people to stand up and walk again. The startup wants its users to gain independence and mobility while reconnecting with their communities.

The Venture Leaders Medtech program is organized by Venturelab and supported by EPF Lausanne, ETH Zurich, Hansjörg Wyss, Kellerhals Carrard, Paul Scherrer Institut, Swissnex Boston, Canton of Vaud, Canton of Zurich, and Venture Leader alumnus Dominik Lysek.

“With its focus on quality and precision, the Swiss medtech industry provides highly specialized expertise for a global market,” said Jordi Montserrat, managing partner at Venturelab. “The innovative power of the Venture Leaders Medtech 2022 is remarkable: The solutions have the potential to transform the industry, and I am excited to introduce the entrepreneurs to Boston’s investor scene.”

Venturelab has been organizing international roadshows for the Swiss National Startup Teams for 17 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, New York, London, Munich, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Barcelona. The trip of Medtech start-ups to Boston is organised for the second consecutive year. “Venture Leaders Medtech in Boston has boosted our contacts in the USA in an unprecedented way. Thanks to the program, we have been able to fine-tune our go-to-market strategy in the largest medtech market in the world,” said Francesco Cecchini Manara, founder and CEO of Gondola Medical Technologies, a Venture Leader Medtech 2021.

(Press release / SK)