10 innovative startups will advance their global growth in Boston – Venturelab

The Swiss National Startup Team welcomes new members: A jury selected 10 startups for the Venture Leaders program dedicated to the biotech sector. During their roadshow, the Venture Leaders Biotech will meet international investors and industry leaders and access industry-specific expertise and networks to grow their companies. Venture Leaders Biotech 2022 is co-organized by Venturelab and Swissnex Boston and supported by Debiopharm, EPF Lausanne, ETH Zurich, Ernst & Young, Swiss Biotech Association, VISCHER, Wyss, and Venture Leaders alum Ulf Grawunder.

The Venture Leaders– the members of the Swiss National Startup Team– have a clear-cut goal. They envision themselves as global players and want to take the first step toward their international expansion. The investor and business development roadshows for Swiss startups are specifically structured to help them achieve this goal. For the past 17 years, the Swiss National Startup Team has traveled to Boston to discover the entrepreneurial scene of the United States of America. In 2014, the Venture Leaders roadshow extended to China and New York and then added Silicon Valley in 2017 and Barcelona in 2019.

Venture Leaders alumni comprise high-flying biotech startups such as Covagen (acquired by Johnson & Johnson), Redbiotec (Redvax acquired by Pfizer), KB Medical (acquired by Globus Medical), SimplicityBio (acquired by Precision for Medicine), and AMAL Therapeutics (acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim). The startup NBE-Therapeutics participated in the Venture Leaders program in 2003 and was acquired for EUR 1.18 billion by Boehringer Ingelheim in 2020. 

The biotech sector now introduces its own distinct Swiss National Startup Team: A jury of professional investors and biotech experts reviewed almost 60 applications to choose the 10 Venture Leaders Biotech 2022. The 10 selected startups improve disease prevention, diagnostics, and treatment through innovative solutions covering areas such as RNA-sequencing, precision medicine, gene editing, and gene therapy. 

“The Venture Leaders roadshow for biotech startups will highlight the remarkable Swiss innovations taking place in this sector. Our goal is to nurture connections and investment opportunities for these startups so that their ideas and projects can realize their maximum potential,” said Jordi Montserrat, managing partner at Venturelab. “The Venture Leaders Biotech startups 2022 are highly impressive, and I am sure they will leave Boston with additional resources to support their important work.”

This year’s Venture Leaders Biotech will introduce themselves and their startups at a virtual pitch session on August 18th, 2022. This event will be open to the public and will provide a showcase for the 10 game-changing innovations that the 2022 Swiss National Startup Team will be presenting in Boston. Register to attend the event.

The Venture Leaders Biotech program is co-organized by Venturelab and Swissnex Boston and supported by Debiopharm, EPFL Lausanne, ETH Zurich, EY – Ernst & Young, Swiss Biotech Association, VISCHER, Wyss, and Venture Leaders alum Ulf Grawunder.

Meet the Venture Leaders Biotech 2022

Alentis Therapeutics | Basel 

Alentis is using its portfolio of unique monoclonal antibodies that are highly selective for exposed and non-junctional Claudin-1, a previously unexploited target that plays a key role in the pathology of fibrosis across organs as well as solid tumors, to develop a pipeline of novel mechanisms targeting advanced fibrosis and cancer. Alentis’s lead therapeutic candidate, ALE.F02, is in Phase 1 clinical studies for the treatment

Bionomous | Lausanne

Bionomous aims at bringing to the market new solutions that combine innovative micro-engineering design and machine learning methods to automatically inspect and sort miniature biological entities, in particular the egg of zebrafish Danio rerio, which is a growing model in research and industry in genetics, developmental biology or toxicology.

Bionter AG | Basel

Bionter AG revolutionizes analytical testing in the biotech sector by innovating and tailoring technology to the true needs of the pharmaceutical industry. The first solution is a particle counter based on an innovative combination of light obscuration technology and smart automation. is the revolutionary analytical testing device, supported with single-use consumables, maintenance, and training services, for the biotechs drug product sector is based on a new combination of light obscuration technology and smart automation.

FimmCyte AG | Basel

FimmCyte AG engineered a first-in-class treatment that has shown efficacy in eliminating endometriosis tissue in the lab and animal models which we aim to bring to the clinic in the next few years and give women back control of their bodies.

Healiva SA | Lugano 

Healiva SA uses a multi-pronged approach to address patient needs by combining enzyme technology, medical devices, and cell therapy to deliver precision solutions for chronic wounds. Our business value arises from our unique standing in offering comprehensive end-to-end solutions targeting the unmet needs of the chronic wound care spectrum. 

InCephalo | Basel

InCephalo makes a difference in the lives of those being diagnosed with brain cancer. Focuses on developing antibodies and other biological treatments for the local treatment of CNS cancers. Its primary drug candidate received EMA ODD.

InterAx Biotech | Brugg

InterAx focuses on the design of drugs targeting G-Protein-Coupled Receptors, the largest class of human cellular receptors, and targets 40% of all marketed. Offering biopharma partners in need to gain in-depth insight into the design of high-quality drug candidates access to its technology platform.

lino Biotech | Zurich

lino Biotech offers low-cost cell and gene therapies as well as drug discovery by offering access to a unique analytical technology to optimize production processes at the highest quality level. Having a novel label-free biosensor platform for direct characterization of biomolecular interactions in crude fermentation media or living cells. That enables customers to measure molecular interactions more robustly and sensitively while offering unique information for bioprocess optimization or quality control. 

Recolony | Zurich

Recolony focuses on the development of a novel treatment for colorectal cancer consisting of selected commensal bacteria of the gut microbiota. These bacteria can provoke a potent immune reaction against cancer and can be applied as a non-invasive therapy with minimal side effects. By harnessing the potential of beneficial gut microbiota, Recolony aims to develop a completely new class of drugs for the treatment and prevention of cancer.  

Vanarix | Lausanne

Vanarix has a solution for repairing damaged articular cartilage, which is still an unmet medical need. Cartilage damage causes pain and disability and affects people with repetitive trauma, the elderly, and overweight people. And proposes a new generation of cell therapy products, allogeneic Cartibeads, which are cartilage microtissues, made from donor cells. Cartibeads are the first true tissue-engineered hyaline cartilage resembling native tissue dedicated to regenerating cartilage damage.

About Venture Leaders  

The Venture Leaders—the members of the Swiss National Startup Team—have a clear goal: They envision themselves as global players and want to take the first step to their global expansion. Venturelab has 16 years of experience bringing Switzerland’s best entrepreneurs to the heart of the global technology hubs: Silicon Valley, New York, Boston, Barcelona, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Companies founded by the 450 Venture Leaders alumni have created more than 3,600 jobs and raised more than CHF 2.14 billion in capital. Discover all the alums here.