Spaces

BIPED.AI AT SERINE

Biped.ai might be young, but we have big ideas! Bruno and I met and found a shared desire to improve the mobility of blind and visually impaired people using AI. The R&D into self-driving cars piqued our interest and so we created biped.ai. It’s a smart harness, worn on the shoulders, that uses self-driving technology to guide people with short sounds to navigate around space and obstacles. In 2021, we were thrilled to join the Vanguard Accelerator programme, setting up in the DH2 co-working space. In 2022, it was amazing to then be selected for the Biopôle Start-up Fund and receive investment to sponsor our private office in the new Serine building. This open office space is over two floors, with common and shared areas, offering our team opportunities to learn and network. The space is energetic and visionary, so we can all mix and share knowledge freely and enjoy the vibrant community spirit when developing our product.

Mael Fabien, CEO

Opna Bio Sa At Superlab

Opna Bio is an emerging biotech company focused on the discovery and development of novel cancer treatments. We have a space within Superlab and having access to a private, fully equipped laboratory space means we can accelerate our R&D programme and grow our drug portfolio, focused on targeting immune suppression and other hallmarks of cancer. To be able to work in such an environment, alongside other innovative peers, is a great opportunity to share learning and create added value for our business. Recently, we raised US$38m, allowing us to capitalise on the discovery of a new cancer target –the fragile-X mental retardation protein (FMRP) – and develop a portfolio of cancer drugs acquired from Plexxikon. It’s a new start that allows us, in a way, to reinvent part of our history. This fresh investment allows us to fully utilise the space in Superlab.

Dr Gideon Bollag, CEO and co-founder

Limula At Startlab

Limula was established with the mission to make the most personalised cancer treatments more broadly available. We develop a fully automated platform for scalable production of cell and gene therapies. We joined StartLab in January 2022, leveraging three months’ rent gifted by Biopôle as a prize in the IMAGINE IF! competition. We did not need this award to choose Biopôle to establish our company and accelerate the development of our first product, but we are honoured to have been selected amongst the other very exciting start-ups competing in the final. Biopôle’s infrastructure is perfect for the projects we perform with our partners, and the team was provided with invaluable support in the tran sition from R&D to commercial, alongside fresh, non-dilutive funding.

Luc Henry, CEO

Volv At Dh2

Our digital life sciences company Volv leverages AI to help investigate and flag patients with difficult-to-diagnose diseases, improving healthcare journeys and optimising clinical trials. Since 2019 we’ve been based at the DH2. We’re very proud of the design of our offices and also appreciate the well-appointed facilities provided, which enable us to work at the cutting edge of life sciences in a perfect work environment. How Biopôle was set up, what it offers with programmes like the Biopôle Start-up Fund and what it creates on campus – all that is really useful for companies like ours. Also, to have a vibrant diverse community on the campus, which drives those interactions with others who are also taking a pioneering path at the forefront of science in the DH2, means you don’t feel that you are doing it alone.

Christopher Rudolf, CEO