Switzerland Innovation’s Post

Interesting short read about Montreal’s vibrant biotech ecosystem!

Over the past fortnight, we embarked on an enriching journey across India, traversing esteemed research institutes and formalizing partnerships under the auspices of the BFI BIOME virtual network initiative. It proved to be an incredibly enlightening odyssey, affording us profound insights into the landscape of research and innovation in India. The fervor and enthusiasm palpable in these laboratories and incubators fill us with a profound sense of hope for the burgeoning future of the Indian biomedical sector. Particularly heartening was the opportunity to engage with trailblazers of innovation across various institutes, who not only spearhead exemplary research endeavors but also serve as mentors to aspiring young researchers. This encounter instills within us an unwavering optimism regarding the trajectory of biomedical research in India. Through all the positivity we were also able to understand few challenges. Firstly, it became glaringly apparent that our scientists often operate within constrained budgets. A sharp contrast was drawn during my attendance at a European conference last year, where researchers commanded budgets exponentially greater than their Indian counterparts, yet yielded comparable results. This phenomenon underscores the ingenious fusion of affordability and innovation ingrained within the Indian ethos. It is imperative that we bolster our research communities with increased financial support and foster a culture that embraces risk-taking and innovation. Throughout our journey, we encountered a remarkable eagerness among individuals, particularly alumni, to contribute towards infrastructure development. Generous donations were made, leading to numerous buildings within institutions being named after notable donors. However, there was a noticeable scarcity of donations directed towards research programs. The donors needs to be encouraged to fund innovation along with infrastructure. Furthermore, a significant concern raised by various scientists was the inflexibility surrounding funding. The prolonged wait for funds post-proposal submission, which can extend from months to years, often leads to a loss of interest among researchers. This uncertainty hampers their ability to pursue ambitious projects. Additionally, there was a subtle dissatisfaction regarding the excessive checks and balances imposed by funding agencies, which compel researchers to prioritize projects that ensure immediate satisfaction from funders, rather than venturing into potentially groundbreaking but risky endeavors. Another observation was the proliferation of silos among research institutes projects. There are many similar projects across institutes at various stages of development leading to duplication of efforts in various institutes. Effective communication and collaboration among innovators across institutions are imperative to mitigate this issue. A dedicated platform facilitating such collaboration is needed. contd....

🌟 Upcoming Panel at SpinOff 2024: "INNAXE: Navigating the European Spin-off Ecosystem" 🌟 Join us for a dynamic discussion exploring the complex landscape of European spin-offs in the Life Sciences and Healthtech sectors. This panel brings together distinguished leaders who are at the forefront of innovation in their respective regions. Event Details: Date: June 21st, 2024 Time: 12:00 - 12:45 Location: Main Stage, SpinOff 2024 Panelists Include: Montse Daban Marín, PhD: As President of the Board at the Council of European BioRegions and Director at BioCat, Montse leverages her vast experience in strategic foresight and international relations to drive forward the bioregion’s agenda, promoting innovative health solutions across Europe. Hickmah Tagaully: Heading European Affairs at Medicen Paris Region, Hickmah focuses on linking biotech and medtech ecosystems across Europe, enhancing collaborative innovations that address complex health challenges. Kristina Eskenazi: Chair of the Health & Life Sciences Cluster, Kristina is instrumental in orchestrating initiatives that propel the Bulgarian life sciences sector onto the global stage, emphasizing sustainable health solutions. Karen Lindegaard: As an International Programme Manager at the Danish Life Science Cluster, Karen facilitates international cooperation, helping Danish life sciences enterprises expand their global footprint through strategic partnerships. Friedemann Loos: Representing the BioRN Life Science Cluster Rhine-Neckar, Friedemann drives the cluster’s efforts in fostering cutting-edge biotechnological research and development, making significant impacts on regional and international biotech landscapes. Alberto Baldi: As a Senior Project Manager at CEBR, Alberto is deeply involved in strengthening Europe's bioregional networks, focusing on enhancing the innovation capacity of clusters through strategic collaborations and knowledge exchange. About INNAXE: INNAXE (Inclusive and Aligned Innovation Agendas Across Europe) is a groundbreaking project led by BioCat under the Horizon Europe framework. This initiative seeks to dynamize and accelerate innovation in Life Sciences and Healthtech by fostering interconnectedness among Europe’s innovation ecosystems. Why Attend? This panel discussion is essential for anyone interested in understanding and navigating the European innovation ecosystem, particularly in the healthtech and life sciences sectors. Insights from these thought leaders will shed light on collaborative efforts and strategies that are shaping the future of healthcare and biotechnological innovations. For registration and more information, please visit www.spinoff.bg. Engage with the minds shaping the future of European innovation at SpinOff 2024! #SpinOff2024 #INNAXE4EU #HealthTech #LifeSciences #EuropeanInnovation

📈Charleston is Among the Fastest-Growing Metro Hubs in Life Sciences📈 We're excited to share an insightful article titled "Charleston among fastest-growing metro hubs in life sciences — here’s why." Over the span of four years, Charleston has emerged as the fastest-growing life sciences metro hub in the country among 24 leading metro competitors. This feature delves into the impressive growth of life sciences establishments in Charleston, driven by the efforts of SCBio and the support from research universities like the Medical University of South Carolina Key highlights include: 📊 67% Growth in life sciences establishments between 2018 and 2022. 🔬 SCbio's Role in fostering entrepreneurship and providing necessary resources. 💡MUSC's Impact with 55 active life sciences startup companies and significant contributions to patents. 🏢Future Initiatives like the opening of Blue Sky Labs and the upcoming SCbioDrive Accelerator. We’re proud to be part of this dynamic and rapidly evolving ecosystem. Read the full article to learn more about the factors contributing to Charleston’s success in the life sciences sector. 📰 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ev7qTmbq #CharlestonBusinessJournal #LifeSciences #Innovation #ScientificResearch #ZuckerInstitute #IndustryNews #Charleston #ResearchAndDevelopment #Biotech #HealthcareInnovation #MUSC #SCBio

The evoleen start-ups DigeHealth and AdHeroes as well as partner companies such as IDUN Technologies are represented at the ETH technology fair. Come and see 👁️ how we transform healthcare! #digitalhealth #healthtech #swisshealthtech

Excitement is building for the SCI FI Final event happening on Monday and Tuesday! 🚀 Getting ready for inspiring pitches from our fantastic participants and consortium members. Let's dive into the future of innovation in healthcare and entrepreneurship. 🌐💡 #SCIFI2023 #Innovation #Healthcare #Entrepreneurship #Project #Training

Ballarat has always been a hotbed of thriving businesses and over the years Industry Capability Network - Victoria has assisted with activating the supply chain on important Government projects such as the Ballarat Base Hospital redevelopment, GovHub Government Offices and Mars Stadium. Emerging recently from the local commercial precinct is Vitrafy Life Sciences, an exciting new medtech company hoping to create global impact in the #biotech #medtech space. Vitrafy has patented technology to revolutionise the cryopreservation of cells for a variety of life-saving purposes. They have established partnership with some of the world’s biggest companies, to solve a nagging problem for many cell-based therapies. Freezing down of cells and even small tissues inevitably leads to loss of viable cells. This is not usually a problem for platelets or whole blood as there are sufficient living cells to satisfy the clinical need. However, when it comes to critical cell-based therapies the maintenance of cell viability is of paramount importance. State-of-the-art bioengineering processes, such as for Car-T cells, have gone into these cells and consequently their residual value is enormous. Hence, these advanced clinical techniques can ill-afford loss of cells due to antiquated freezing processes. Vitrafy’s patented refrigeration systems are a game-changer in the area of cell preservation and the news has filtered across the global community with potential new projects and trials established world-wide. It was a pleasure to accompany ICN Victoria colleagues Andrew Bradley Michael Smith to have the development of the technology and the company explained to us by Sean Cameron, biotech entrepreneur and co-founder at Vitrafy. Sean’s knowledge of the space was impressive and he has clear and uncapped goals to make a big impact. ICN Victoria will assist with supply chain and connecting Vitrafy to potential new projects and programs to drive the development of this important and emerging technology. This illustrates ICN Victoria’s important role outside of the normal BAU of government projects, which is to assist local companies to network and develop, growing capability and ultimately jobs in Victoria. Vitrafy will soon join the many other Victorian medtech companies in the new Victorian Medtech Manufacturing Capability Directory, which showcases the strengths and capabilities of Victoria’s medtech sector. If you wish to receive a copy of this important resource, simply enter your details https://lnkd.in/g_Evh576 and a copy will be forwarded by email. Congratulations to Sean Cameron and Brent Owens, founders of Vitrafy, not only a jewel in Ballarat’s thriving business ecosystem but likely to become a global player in the new era of advanced cell therapies. #manufacturing #helpinglocalwin #ballarat #madeinvictoria

Introducing the #S3EStart Research Projects 🌟 MIRALS 🦾 The solution: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal, incurable neurodegenerative disorder characterised by a degeneration of motor neurons, with currently no viable treatment available. Using their very own patented inhibitor of miR-129 (an altered expression of microRNA-129 which plays a key role in neuronal processes), the MIRALS team aim to develop a novel therapeutic intervention that can improve the lives of more than 200,000 patients afflicted by ALS. 🧑🔬 The research team: Stefania Corti, Linda Ottoboni and Mafalda Rizzuti. TTOS: Margherita Chierici and Alessandro Cervi. 🔬 The institution involved: Ospedale Policlinico di Milano. MIRALS is one of the 14 projects selected to participate in the 2024 edition of S3E Start, the EU-funded program fostering deep tech research and entrepreneurship in Southern Europe. It's led by HiSeedTech, funded by European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) and officially recognised by EIT Deep Tech Talent. 🤝 This team is being supported by S3E Start mentor Luis Gomes. Join us on our upcoming #OpenDay! Sign up to access the livestream on 18 June and watch the teams present their science-based tech projects live from Lisbon 🚀 https://lnkd.in/ec5yyMzY #EUfunded #DeepTech #DeepTechInnovation #FromLabToMarket #HealthTech #HealthcareInnovation #FutureOfHealthcare

𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗻! On the evening before Swiss MedTech Day 2024, the first 𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 took place at sitem-insel AG.    𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞 is a mentoring network for researchers with ideas for new therapeutics, devices or diagnostics. During 𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, inventions with high potential impact, addressing critical unmet medical needs, are presented.   Three teams from the University of Zurich and University of Bern showed their work: IntellEEGent | Jelena Skorucak | Standardizing sleep analysis in children kerAccurate | Miguel Á. Ariza Gracia | Re-engineering the cornea IMAI | Francesca Catto | Adding the 3rd dimension to cancer detection   The SPARK advisors addressed critical real world questions for the translation from invention to innovation such as: ✨ What is the core of your business? Do you have collaborations in place to work on anything outside your core business area? ✨ What is the feedback from clinicians to your solution? Did you quantify the net promoter score (NPS) for your first and future indications? ✨ What is the value of your company? What can potential investors expect from you in the near future? Stefanie Dobitz Sébastien Hug Lan Tran Julie Risse, PhD, MBA Liliane Brunner Halbach Michio Painter, PhD Kinderspital Zürich Therapy Development Accelerator - UZH ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research

[INTROSPECTION] 2023 review & 2024 perspective as a new economic ambassador I wanted to share some insights about discovering the local ecosystem : ⚕️Medical Research Excellence : public and institutions like Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice (CHU de Nice), Lenval and Centre Antoine Lacassagne stand as pillars with great focus on respiratory, surgery, medical data valorization, biobanks, ... 💡Student entrepreneurship program : Université Côte d'Azur facilitates the acess to knowledge and skills around entrepreneurship and provide support to student willing to develop innovative project . The program is led by Rani Jeanne DANG and her team 🏭Industry top players : Arkopharma, Virbac and Horus Pharma leads the charge in their respective fields driving innovation and business opportunities. 🏋️♂️Sports & Health first look Sport and health is part of Nice's culture but also serves as a catalyst for economic growth, sports event , and conducting research. One great example would be the project around Ageing and Autonomy led by Olivier Guerin and his team. Also #MyHealth event taking place during during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 was also a great representation on how key actors could gather to share insights around an hollistic vision of health including nutrition, preventive care and mental health. Thanks to our great partner Tendances.sport for covering the event. 🚀 2024 perspective Going into this new year. The territory is looking to attract new innovative players but also strong business partner. Invest in Côte d'Azur - Team Nice Côte d'Azur led by Hervé LAUBERTIE could help you identify new market opportunities, connect to the ecosystem , and expert guide for a smooth soft landing. Axelle Xerri, Stefano Cimmarusti, Jean-François Chapperon 🫁 Medical innovation in 2024 Hospital-University Institute dedicated to respiratory health will be a key player on this field led by Paul Hofman REBONE project focused on preoperative 3D reconstruction in real time is on a new level of advanced surgery led by Marc-Olivier GAUCI Therapeutic Research linked to cosmetic is getting intersted with new partnership appearing like ExAdEx-Innov and also KOL like Thierry Passeron 🏅Sport & Health developemnt With intention to develop economic partnership with Monaco Economic Board (MEB) , the territory becomes an interesting hub for the sports and health economy hosting major events, conducting research on performance and facilitating innovation. Alexandra Beltoise, Nicolas Porchet, PhD, Ilhame Ameqrane, Cédric Messina, Thierry Benmussa, Camille Angué, Patrice Germain, Sabina Piga, Isabelle BATTAREL, Rodolphe BOURRET, Nicolas Alexandre, Anthony Bassi #Niceecosystem #economicdevelopment #businessopportunity #healtheconomy #sportseconomy