Wyss Zurich

Two weeks ago, we observed #Zukunftstag at Wyss Zurich on 14 November.💫 It was a full day program for the little ones that joined us. 📍 Magic Cube Workshop (from mint & pepper, outreach project Wyss Zurich (ETH Zurich / University of Zurich)) Wearing the hats of electrical engineers, the kids had to solve concrete tasks to help the people of Elektron. Through this process, they had the opportunity to engage with fundamental topics in the field of electrical engineering. Thanks to Armando Wehrli and Hanna Behles 📍Biomedical and Robotics Platform Colleagues from the platform demonstrated to the group how #3DPrinting works and its applications. They also saw the laser cutter in action⚡ Thanks to Benjamin Geisser, Simon Harms, Pius Leserf, Tobias Stucki and Irene Zimmermann 📍Underwater Robots Sharing a different perspective of technology, Jonas Wüst and Gallus K. from our current project, Tethys (aka Tethys Robotics) introduced the young minds to the concept of underwater robots. 📍Soldering - Let's build a robot🤖 Thanks to Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering (D-MAVT), ETH Zurich, the children had the chance to shape and build their own robots! Using soldering irons and other equipment, and with help from supporters from D-MAVT, the children were introduced to new and interesting techniques and tools in the engineering space. Thanks to Maria Trodella, Matthias Müller, Michi Herold, Thomas Mantel, Michael Riner and all the student helpers that were involved. 📍Regenerative Medicine Technologies Platform For the last workshop of the day, Michael Nägeli and Manuel Nussbaum introduced the group to the world of regenerative medicine and related technologies, presenting a different genre of science. This year, we were very happy to partner with Life Science Cares Switzerland to share our passion for STEM topics. Kudos to Tina Gayle for pulling the day's logistics and administration all together.🙏 We look forward to #Zukunftstag 2025! #STEMEducation #EmpoweringYouths #InspiringYouths

The much awaited Open-i / ETH Zürich Industry Day happened last week (21 & 22 Nov)💫 Gathering together at the Kongresshaus Zürich / Zurich Convention Center, we had the opportunity to share with participants about the work of our center and our amazing portfolio of projects. We also had the latest video from mint & pepper, outreach project Wyss Zurich (ETH Zurich / University of Zurich) looping in the background at our booth🤗 Key topics and trends explored included: 📌 #AI and #Robotics 📌 #Health and #Food 📌 #Materials and #Processes 📌 #Sustainability and #Construction Other highlights included seeing the beloved ANYmal from our alumni project ANYmotion (now ANYbotics) in action. It wasn't so long ago that we saw it, but it's always fascinating to see it in action! It was also interesting to see new robotic inventions underway, including the one from our neighbouring booth, AITHON Robotics, aiming to make work safer, more efficient and cost-effective with their flyable drone. It was good to see some familiar faces and get acquainted with new ones, all working together to boost innovation in Switzerland.✨ Sharing some impressions from the event. #ETHIndustryDay #OpenInnovation #Startups

✨𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒✨ 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐕 How could we forget about the wonderful #networking apéro that was part of the program?😀 Participants had the opportunity to exchange informally, build new #connections and renew existing ones. 🥂 Our projects, both current and alumni, were ready to welcome all who were interested in #learning more about their #technology, progress and ambitions for the journey ahead. There were videos, demos and prototypes for the first-hand experience of the innovative technologies stemming from the center. Massive thanks to all - supporters, partners, Wyss Zurich Family, who have, is and will be accompanying us on this mission of translating science to life✨ Photo credit: Barbara Werren #AnnualEvent #WyssZurich

💫 3rd Sciencepreneurs Meetup Zurich 💫 What a fantastic evening we had last week with our ecosystem partners! The 3rd edition of the Sciencepreneurs Meetup took place at the auditorium of the Balgrist University Hospital, welcoming over over 120 participants! Participants were treated to an insightful and motivating keynote presentation by Mohaned Shilaih, Co-Founder and CEO of FimmCyte. Mohaned shared his personal motivations behind starting the biotech companies and highlighted the importance of tackling major challenges in women's health. He also talked the audience through the ups and downs of his journey as a biotech #entrepreneur. Following that, some young projects / ideas/ startups had the opportunity to pitch their work to the audience. It was inspiring to see highly innovative solutions to healthcare problems and surely the meetup offered the right platform for alike minds to exchange and find synergies to move forward. All in all, it was a highly eventful evening of supporting and encouraging #innovation as participants reflected on their own journeys, networked and explored collaborations over a wonderful apero spread. Credit goes to all organizing parties: BioEntrepreneurship & Innovation (BEI) program, Universitätsklinik Balgrist, Bio.Incubate, ETH Entrepreneurship, ETH Entrepreneur Club, ETH Student Project House, USZ Health Innovation Hub, UZH Innovation Hub, Therapy Development Accelerator - UZH, STARTUP CAMPUS Switzerland, ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences and us (Wyss Zurich). #Sciencepreneur #BiotechInnovation #EntrepreneurshipInScience #BiotechNetworking #FutureOfBiotech

✨𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒✨ 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐈𝐈 In the final segment of our Annual Event program, a dynamic panel discussion ensued, moderated by the Co-Directors Roland Siegwart and Simon P. Hoerstrup. The topic of resilience was tackled by an expert panel of seasoned startup founders, industry leaders as well as entrepreneur and philanthropist, Hansjörg Wyss. Panelists: 👉 Dominik Escher, biotechnology entrepreneur and Managing Partner, Pureos Bioventures 👉 Carla Kriwet, Chairperson, Evidia and Member of the Supervisory Board at Merck 👉 Felix Mayer, Co-Chairman, Sensirion 👉 Hansjoerg Wyss, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist Sharing some key takeaways from the discussion: 🟢 On financial resilience, it is important to remain flexible in sourcing for financial alternatives. The exit (of a startup company) is something which comes but should not be at the forefront of your mind. 🟢 It is imperative for top management / leadership to take time to pause and reflect on the journey. 🟢 Openness and transparency is key to building confidence within the team 🟢 To be a long-term, resilient leader, one has to be extremely disciplined in self-care and trusting your team. It is also about letting others shine and getting satisfaction out of seeing their team progress. Looking forward to Annual Event 2025 and the learnings to come! Photo credit: Barbara Werren #AnnualEvent #WyssZurich

✨𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒✨ 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐈 A major highlight of our Annual Event 2024 program was our project presentations. In this segment moderator by our Project Portfolio team, Amanda Gogates and Tiffany Held, projects of varying stages took to the stage to share their learnings and how they practiced #resilience. Greta Preatoni, Project Leader of MYNERVA, shared that it took resilience to understand where the team needed to focus their efforts on, by streamlining possible solutions and a target problem to solve. Her advice: “Avoid falling in love with the solution but the problem”. Ana Montalban-Arques, Project Leader of Recolony (aka Recolony AG) has an overall goal of bringing an asset to the clinic that can benefit the biggest number of patients. One of her key learnings: “Listen to feedback from your stakeholders. Be open to feedback” . Nanoflex (aka Nanoflex Robotics ), a gamechanger in the field of telerobotics, was represented by Christophe Chautems and Grace Katzschmann. Their 3 years at Wyss Zurich since 2021 offered a safe testing ground for developing their resilience, as they developed a comprehensive understanding of the entire clinical workflow and potential emergency scenarios to work towards a holistic product. Lastly, Gregory Hitz, Co-Founder and CEO of Sevensense Robotics highlighted the importance of having a resilient team that was flexible and could solve problems independently. His key learning: “Choose your battles wisely – embrace the problem and fall in love with it”. Stay tuned for our final update from our Annual Event 2024! Photo credit: Barbara Werren #AnnualEvent #WyssZurich

✨𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒✨ 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈 The Wyss Zurich Family, together with its stakeholders, gathered at the StageOne Event & Convention Hall on November 6 for the 9th edition of our flagship Annual Event. Welcoming the audience, our Co-Directors Roland Siegwart and Simon P. Hoerstrup recounted the purpose of the center, to bridge the valley of death, ensuring that groundbreaking scientific innovations with a potential for a profound impact in society are given the necessary support to develop and launch a value-adding bedside product. During our 9 years of operations, we have: 🟢 > 700 jobs created 🟢 > CHF 290M investments raised by startups 🟢 > CHF 55M non-dilutive grants 🟢 > CHF600M combined valuation of the startups The groundbreaking science and developments from the Wyss Zurich projects supported has achieved: 🟢 2 successful exits in the robotics portfolio and, 🟢12 clinical trials from the regenerative medicine and medical devices / bionics portfolio combined. Stay tuned for more updates (and photos) from our flagship event of the year! Photo credit: Barbara Werren #AnnualEvent #WyssZurich

This #WorldDiabetesDay, let’s put well-being at the heart of diabetes care and start the change for a better #DiabetesLife. One of our current projects, MYNERVA, is transforming diabetic care and management for people with #DiabeticNeuropathy. The #MedTech project is developing an AI-based wearable in the form of a sock that addresses the pain and sensory loss often experienced in the feet of people living with such a condition. The project and startup is led by Greta Preatoni, the Co-Founder of MYNERVA. Dive into Greta's motivations behind MYNERVA, how the technology can help patients with diabetes and her visions for the future. Read the full article 👇 #WorldDiabetesDay #WDD2024 #DiabetesAwareness #DiabetesManagement #HealthTech #MedTech #MedTechInnovation #ChronicDiseaseCare #PatientCare

Renier Myburgh from our current project Phire (aka ATLyphe AG) will be speaking at an upcoming webinar hosted by Swiss Healthcare Startups and USZ Health Innovation Hub on 19 November! Phire is developing a T-cell engaging antibody in order to transform current hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) practice into an immunologic precision-medicine approach. HSCT is a powerful intervention to cure life-threatening diseases of the blood and immune system, such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Don't miss the chance to learn more and connect with Renier and the project.✨ More info about the webinar👇 #BiotechInnovation #BiotechStartup #SwissStartups

Deana Mohr-Haralampieva, Project Leader of our current project MUVON (aka MUVON Therapeutics AG) was recently interviewed by PharmaBoardroom 💫 "Not only was safety confirmed, but we also saw encouraging early signs of efficacy, such as increased muscle volume, strength, and significant improvements in the patients’ quality of life", shares Deana, commenting on the results of the phase 1/2 clinical trial. Looking ahead, Deana and her team are looking at: 🟢 Advancing their clinical programs, with a specific focus on expanding into the European and US markets 🟢 Preparing commercial readiness, for example, through strategic partnerships 🟢 Expanding the therapeutic applications by exploring additional indications beyond their current focus Fun fact: "The name “MUVON” reflects our mission: “MU” stands for muscle, “V” represents stimulation (like voltage), and “ON” signifies activation—together symbolizing our commitment to helping patients regain muscle function and move forward with their lives". Read the full interview 👇 #biotechinnovation #biotechstartup #tissueengineering #regenerativemedicine