From humble beginnings to a dynamic hub of innovation: created in 2004 by the public authorities of the canton of Vaud, Biopôle has grown into one of Europe’s largest life sciences campuses. The first building was completed in 2009, but today, the campus hosts over 170 companies. In 2024, we celebrated 20 years of growth and collaboration – what a journey!
Credits
Editor: Biopôle SA
Direction: Emanuela Jurietti and Lucie Sammicheli
Editorial production: Rosie Tate, Fran Hamilton and Annabelle Dance, Tate & Clayburn
Graphics: Andrew Budell, Tate & Clayburn
Photography: Noemi Renevey and Bruno Boehm-Clément, Lyketil (pages 2, 8, 24, 42–43, 46, 79, 80–81), Adrien Barakat for Retraites Populaires (page 4), IMD (page 10), Arcadie and Architram (page 17), Nicolas Spuhler (pages 20–21, 40–41, 50, 53–54, 57, 58–59, 61, 63, 66–67, 70–71, 73, 74–76, 79, 94–95), Marko Milosavljevic (pages 26–27), L. Nguyen for Superlab Suisse (pages 29, 79), Tania Emery for Emovocare (pages 62, 66), Keystone (page 65), Nicolas Sedlatchek (pages 68–69), OB architectes for Ma crèche sous les étoiles (page 81)
Cover: Biopôle SA CEO, Nasri Nahas, and Chair of the Board, Nouria Hernandez, at the campus’s 20th anniversary celebrations, photographed by Nicolas Spuhler
, Communications and ESG Initiatives Director, and Lucie Sammicheli, Science Communications Manager
Happy anniversary!
Twenty years ago, smartphones didn’t exist, we only accessed the web from home, libraries or internet cafés, and Myspace was at the cutting edge of social media. Today, it feels like we’re in an entirely different world. As Biopôle marks its 20th anniversary, it’s a moment to reflect on the remarkable journey we’ve shared so far and marvel at the transformation around us.
The life sciences landscape has evolved dramatically. Two decades ago, the human genome was sequenced for the first time after nearly 15 years of painstaking effort. At the time, data wasn’t yet ‘big’ and the tools we now take for granted were still imaginings on the horizon. It was within this rapidly changing environment that Biopôle began, with a bold vision to foster life sciences innovation in the heart of Vaud.
Over the years that dream has flourished. Today, Biopôle is home to a thriving ecosystem of over 170 companies and research groups. Together, our community has faced challenges, driven breakthroughs and transformed Biopôle into one of Europe’s most dynamic life sciences campuses.
Yet we don’t mark this milestone only by celebrating the past – it’s an opportunity to look forward too. While our history is rooted in growth and collaboration, the future calls for even greater adaptability and creativity. As we enter the era of AI-driven change, the life sciences are experiencing a new revolution – one that presents unparalleled moments to innovate. Yet, alongside these opportunities come pressing societal and environmental challenges that we cannot ignore.
Innovation, of course, is about more than technology; it’s about people. Our community has always been the essence of Biopôle. As we embark on the next 20 years, Biopôle remains committed to nurturing a culture of collaboration and innovation that doesn’t only adapt to change, but drives it – empowering the brightest minds to address the world’s most pressing health challenges.
Here’s to Biopôle’s next chapter – where vision meets action, and innovation transforms lives.
Emanuela Jurietti
Biopôle’s new Leucine building, inaugurated as part of the campus’s 20th anniversary celebrations.
In September, we brought the CEOs and executives of our community together for a cultural event at Plateforme 10 in Lausanne. It was inspiring to witness their collaborative spirit and hugely enjoyable to step off campus for an evening of culture and connection!
The year in review
Key achievements of the year
In 2024, Biopôle-based companies hit a number of remarkable milestones, solidifying the campus’s position as a leading hub for life sciences innovation. With a total of over CHF 246m of funding raised, major commercial agreements signed, groundbreaking clinical trials completed and international recognition attained, the Biopôle community really did thrive last year – we hope to continue to foster this growth and collaboration in 2025. The year
Biopôle-based companies raised over CHF 246m in 2024,1 a testament to the community’s reputation and growth. Here are the top five fundraising achievements among our members in this past year:
1. ADC Therapeutics received US$105m to advance its groundbreaking cancer therapy.
2. Argá Medtech received €54m in an oversubscribed Series B funding round.
3. Vandria received US$30.7m in Series A funding for its mitophagy therapies.
4. Orbis Medicines received €26m in seed financing to develop next-generation biopharmaceutical treatments.
5. Volumina Medical received US$21m to continue its clinical programmes for regenerative medicine.
1 This figure is based on public and semi-public data, and so is almost certainly inaccurate, as not all companies disclose their funding information.
Grants
In 2024, several Biopôle-based companies secured prestigious grants and funding awards, driving advancement across diverse areas of life sciences and health technology. Here are the major highlights:
• Cellestia Biotech was selected for a CHF 2m grant from Innosuisse.
• A Novigenix-led project received a €1.75m grant to improve patient outcomes using liquid biopsy technology.
• PeriVision, Inselspital and the University of Bern received a CHF 1.1m grant to develop new fixation-independent perimetry for retinal diseases.
• Limula obtained a CHF 500,000 loan from FIT Tech Growth, having received an initial Tech Grant and a Tech Seed Loan from FIT in 2019 and 2022, respectively.
• Nexco Analytics was awarded a FIT Tech Seed Loan of CHF 100,000.
• Bewe (formerly Neuria) received CHF 150,000 from Venture Kick to tackle obesity with its neurosciencepowered digital health solution.
Commercial agreements
This year, HAYA Therapeutics wowed our start-up ecosystem when it announced it had signed an aggregated US$1bn commercial deal with global leader Eli Lilly – this transformative partnership will focus on obesity and metabolic conditions. Such commercial agreements demonstrate the growing strength of Biopôle-based companies, which are increasingly forging impactful collaborations. Numerous companies in the Biopôle community made strategic alliances in 2024, including:
• AKYmed partnered with Rara Avis Biotec to revolutionise animal reproduction solutions.
• Aspivix announced a major partnership with Bayer (Schweiz) to transform gynaecological procedures.
• Atinary announced a strategic partnership with Takeda and Snapdragon Chemistry, a Cambrex company, to leverage its self-driving lab.
• Impli partnered with Bayer to advance its hormone-monitoring device.
• PeriVision signed a clinical trial agreement with Genentech, Roche’s US business unit, to evaluate the potential use of its VisionOne platform in clinical trials.
LeadiNNG to Scale-Up
The third cohort of LeadiNNG to Scale-Up launched on 23rd January, 2024. Sixteen companies, represented by their CEOs and co-founders, gathered for the first session on the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) campus. Among them were five members of the Biopôle community: Aspivix, Limula, Genknowme, Roumai Medical and Volumina Medical – a great turnout that we’re very proud of! The LeadiNNg to Scale-Up programme is designed by IMD and Innovaud to propel tech companies from promising start-ups to fast-growing scale-ups.
The year in review
In September, PeriVision signed a clinical trial agreement with Genentech, Roche’s US business unit. The aim is to evaluate the potential use of the VisionOne platform in ophthalmology clinical trials over the coming months.
Saad sets up the welcome desk at one of the summer afterwork events organised by Biopôle in 2024. On average, more than 100 people participate in these community gatherings every month.
Maram
The year in review
Major clinical trials
Biopôle saw the initiation of several clinical trials last year, solidifying our role in advancing innovative treatments. Here’s a selection of trials initiated by Biopôlebased companies in 2024:
• ADC Therapeutics completed the enrolment for its Phase III clinical trial evaluating ZYNLONTA® in combination with rituximab in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
• Distalmotion’s Dexter Surgical Robot successfully treated its first US patients in an outpatient setting.
• Leman Biotech launched an investigator-initiated clinical trial of metabolically armed CD19 CAR-T cells (Meta 10-19) for moderate to severe active systemic lupus erythematosus.
• Vandria initiated a first-in-human Phase I trial of VNA-318 for mitophagy induction in neurodegenerative diseases.
• Vanarix initiated a new Phase I/IIa clinical trial for allogeneic Cartibeads aimed at cartilage regeneration.
New drugs and products
In 2024, companies in our community launched a variety of new products and significantly expanded their offerings. Here’s just a few of the latest launches:
• Alithea Genomics launched its full-length DRUG-seq technology for drug discovery.
• NOA by biped.ai successfully entered European and US markets.
• Gnubiotics secured key patents for obesity, diabetes and immune-related therapies, strengthening its glycopeptide therapeutics platform.
• Ichnos Glenmark Innovation secured Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for STAR-0310, a monoclonal antibody for atopic dermatitis, licensed to Astria Therapeutics.
• Medistri launched its MyMedistri order management platform.
• Novigenix received International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 13485 certification from the British Standards Institution (BSI).
• Novostia received ISO 13485 certification for its quality management system.
• PeriVision received FDA registration and obtained CE marking to commercialise its first medical software product, VisionOne, across Europe.
HAYA Therapeutics’ co-founders, Dr Samir Ounzain, CEO (right), and Dr Daniel Blessing, CTO, at the inaugural Andreas & Thomas Struengmann Award. HAYA Therapeutics is developing RNA-guided programmable precision medicines focused on long non-coding RNAs.
Awards
Various Biopôle members received prestigious awards in 2024, including:
• Aspivix’s Carevix was named on TIME’s Best Inventions list of 2024.
• biped.ai won the Startup Champions Seed Night 2024.
• Distalmotion was selected as one of Europe’s ten fastest-growing robotics start-up teams by Sifted.
• Gondola Medical and Precise Health received the Dongsheng Cup Excellence Award.
• HAYA Therapeutics’ co-founders, Samir Ounzain and Daniel Blessing, were the inaugural winners of the Andreas & Thomas Struengmann Award, established this year to honour outstanding entrepreneurs driving revolutionary ideas in the German, Austrian and Swiss life sciences sector.
• PDC Therapeutics’ co-founder Professor Rana Sanyal won the European Prize for Women Innovators.
• SNH Foundation, in collaboration with the Source Innovation Lab, won the Prix Action from the Ligue Vaudoise contre les Maladies Cardiovasculaires for its work on the topic of Omega-3 fatty acids.
• Testmate Health and biped.ai were featured by EU-Startups for their innovative at-home urine tests and advancements for the visually impaired, respectively.
• Volumina Medical’s CEO and co-founder Amélie Béduer was nominated as a finalist in the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2024.
The year in review
Vandria: Welcome to our community!
In August 2024, Vandria announced that Hevolution Foundation and Dolby Family Ventures had joined ND Capital as additional institutional investors, bringing the company’s Series A funding to a total of US$30.7m. Furthermore, the team secured CHF 4.2m in prestigious non-dilutive funding, including two Innosuisse grants to support its lead programme, VNA-318, and a Eurostars grant to generate preclinical data for mitophagy drug candidates in Vandria’s muscle programme.
Vandria achieved significant progress in VNA-318, a patent-protected, brainpenetrant, first-in-class mitophagy inducer. In December, the company announced that the first subjects had been dosed in its first-in-human Phase I clinical trial. To support its growth, Vandria expanded its team and relocated to dedicated laboratory facilities at Superlab Suisse SA, located on the Biopôle campus.
We are thrilled to have Vandria as part of our vibrant community!
A significant milestone for our ecosystem was the announcement that the Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC) will establish its presence on campus in 2025. Supported by the canton of Vaud and Biopôle SA, this development strengthens Biopôle’s position as a leading hub for innovation and digital health in Switzerland. The organisation will find its home in the new Trypto, Arginine and Valine complex, located in the south of the campus.
The year in review
Co-founders Lucas Spierer, CSO, and Frédérik Plourde, CEO, in the Biopôle SA offices.
Bewe (formerly Neuria) is a Swiss digital therapeutics company that was founded in 2021. It has developed a patented neurocognitive motor training system, delivered through a mobile phone game, which is designed to rewire patients’ brains and reduce unhealthy cravings. The company’s flagship game, ‘The Diner’, has been proven to reduce participants’ cravings for and consumption of unhealthy foods by up to 25%.
In 2024, Bewe joined the Vanguard Accelerator programme at Biopôle, aiming to position itself as a leader in Switzerland’s digital therapeutics industry. In addition, the company received support from the Biopôle Start-up Fund, as well as securing CHF 150,000 from
Venture Kick, to finalise the commercial alpha version of its platform and hire additional team members to strengthen its sales and marketing efforts.
Looking ahead to 2025, Bewe is preparing to launch its app in Switzerland and the US, targeting the global weight-loss app market, which has been valued at CHF 1bn. With a business-to-business (B2B) subscription model priced at CHF 60 per month, the company has attracted a CHF 52m sales pipeline through partnerships with insurers and obesity specialists. Bewe’s leadership team is also working on a CHF 3m financing round to fuel its growth. Bewe is definitely a company to watch in 2025!
Bewe’s flagship game, designed to rewire patients’ brains and reduce unhealthy cravings.
Biopôle SA: A milestone year
The year in review
2024 marked a year of celebrations and accomplishments for Biopôle SA, as the life sciences campus commemorated its 20th anniversary with a series of exciting developments. Among the highlights was the inauguration of its tenth building, realised in collaboration with the Caisse de pensions de l’État de Vaud (CPEV), further solidifying Biopôle’s position as a hub of innovation and growth. Biopôle SA also welcomed fresh perspectives to its leadership team, with Serge Aymon, Brigitte Crottaz and Raphaël Conz joining the Board of Directors.
Biopôle continued to foster entrepreneurial excellence through its Vanguard Accelerator, expanding its scope in partnership with Swiss Healthcare Startups and welcoming Bewe (formerly Neuria), a promising new venture. Meanwhile, the Biopôle Start-up Fund provided critical support to Emovo Care, Bewe, PeriVision and biped.ai, showcasing Biopôle’s ongoing dedication to nurturing promising ventures.
The Biopôle SA team expanded with the arrival of Maram Saad and Candice Rolland, bringing new energy and expertise to Biopôle’s operations.
The Board of Directors of Biopôle SA (from left to right): Nouria Hernandez (Chair), Nicolas Cottier, Serge Aymon, Raphaël Conz, Pierre-Antoine Hildebrand and Nasri Nahas (CEO). Brigitte Crottaz is not pictured.
The year in review
Life sciences companies on campus
In 2024, Biopôle’s companies raised a total of CHF 246m.
ADC Therapeutics US$105m
Argá Medtech €54m
Vandria US$30.7m
Orbis €26m
Volumina Medical US$21m
2,500+
170 companies and organisations are present on site. talents are employed on site.
What type of organisations are present?
75% companies
20% research institutes
5% foundations or government organisations
73% of CEOs plan to hire new employees in 2025.
25% of CEOs will need more space in 2025.
57% of Biopole’s companies regularly collaborate with other Biopôle members.
What challenges do our companies face?
The following data was collected from our databases and via our annual CEO survey, which was sent out in November 2024. We received 72 responses to the survey from CEOs or branch leads.
The year in review
New community members
A3P Switzerland
Avenza Consulting
BioLizard
Certification Experts
Clinimed
CxO
Dandelion Science
Emovo Care
Evidone
INRA Group
Keyros Medica
KISCO
Lavaux Biotech Consulting
Lederer & Partner
MedPrecis
Bewe (formerly Neuria)
Nexco Analytics
Oryl Photonics
Precise Health
Signal26 Biotherapeutics
Vandria
VivoArchitect
In 2024, 25 companies joined Biopôle.
Please note that this list is not complete: it only includes companies that want their location at Biopôle to be made public.
The year in review
In 2024, 25 companies joined our campus. Most of them are start-ups or small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 50% of them joined one of the shared spaces our campus offers – our co-working offices, StartLab, Superlab or DH 2 .
In the last five years...
26 companies arrived at Biopôle each year, on average.
47% of new companies initially joined a serviced lab or co-working space.
60% of new companies opened their HQ on our campus.
Don’t believe the hype: Investment in an ever-evolving life sciences landscape
In August 2024, only months after arriving on the Biopôle campus, Vandria announced the second closing of its Series A financing, bringing the final amount raised to US$30.7m. With this major milestone behind him, we asked Vandria’s CEO, Klaus Dugi, about the past, present and future of investment in the life sciences. He considered the impact of global events, regulation, partnerships and technology.
Vandria, a clinical-stage company, is developing first-in-class mitophagy inducers to treat age-related diseases.
The year in review
Fluctuations in investment
Investment in the life sciences has shifted significantly in recent decades. For example, there was a buzz around the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when a number of companies rapidly reached astronomical valuations with large fundraising rounds.
‘Investors saw there were areas where smaller companies could have a huge impact,’ Klaus explained. ‘When Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna developed the first two vaccines, they initially had 95% efficacy rates, which was much higher than expected. It showed that investments into smaller companies can pay off big time in the future.’
" Investors saw there were areas where smaller companies could have a huge impact."
After this goldrush, however, it was sobering to see biotech start-ups struggling to get funding in the two years that followed. One of the reasons for this significant downturn was political and economic instability. For example, the escalation of the Russo–Ukrainian war in 2022 created an uncertain geopolitical climate, which caused knock-on problems with valuations on the stock market. For Klaus,
‘When life sciences investors sense that turbulence, they reconsider whether it’s the right time to invest.’
Still, recent regulatory shifts on both sides of the Atlantic are helping to encourage investment. The US FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) both have orphan drug designation programmes that offer potential incentives to develop therapies for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of rare diseases or conditions. Klaus welcomed the regulators’ appreciation of barriers to innovation: ‘They understand the need for financial incentives to develop novel therapies in rare disease areas and these changes make it easier for investors to commit.’
People, trust and reducing risk It’s easy to underestimate the importance investors attribute to a company’s team. So, businesses seeking investment need to showcase their talent, ensuring they have the right group of people with the right expertise, skill sets and networks for an investment to be successful. As Klaus pointed out, ‘I’ve seen instances when a company has really strong science that is different from its competitors, but investors aren’t sure the team can make it a success, so they don’t invest. On the flip side, there are start-ups that involve a lot of risk, where the unique selling point (USP) of the science is still unclear, but the strength of the experienced team behind it convinces investors that they will find a way through.’
Naturally, a strong team should also be able to demonstrate what’s different about their work in a competitive field. Investors will be looking at how they set themselves apart and for reasons why they should invest in this company rather than in the many others working in a similar field.
The year in review
Therefore, according to Klaus, convincing potential investors requires a range of communication skills: ‘Start-ups have to be able to sell the strength of their science and the quality of their data, as well as their vision for the company. ‘You need to be able to tell investors a compelling story.’
" Start-ups have to be able to sell the strength of their science and the quality of their data, as well as their vision for the company. "
Yet, priorities change during a start-up’s journey. At the very beginning, the company will want to get seed investment to build the team, typically looking for between €1m and €5m. Klaus explained that it’s easier to attract investors at this point because the start-up can tell a good story about where it’s heading. However, once it’s over that initial hurdle, it typically starts asking for larger sums of
" Investors will be asking what’s going to happen with their money, what are the expected timelines and outcomes, and what will you do when Plan A doesn’t work, or the money runs out. You need to de-risk the project for them."
money and the team needs to be able to tie it to something really tangible: ‘Investors will be asking what’s going to happen with their money, what are the expected timelines and outcomes, and what will you do when Plan A doesn’t work, or the money runs out. You need to de-risk the project for them.’ This strategic foresight was critical to Vandria’s Series A financing, with its sights set on becoming a clinical-stage company. Klaus clarified: ‘We had strong data on our mitophagy approach and a clear plan to get our lead product into clinical studies, with cognitive improvement as our first indication, but with options for follow-on compounds and indications for the central nervous system and beyond.’
In 2024, Vandria found a home at Superlab Suisse on the Biopôle campus. The space boasts 1,320 m2 of private laboratory facilities, used by companies working in biotech, pharma and medtech.
The year in review
The
value of collaborations
Many start-ups choose to partner with other organisations on their growth journeys. Klaus explained that partnerships with academic institutions demonstrate that a company has access to significant scientific expertise within its network: ‘It’s great to show off the high-profile consultants you work with in your pitch deck.’
However, collaborations with large pharmaceutical companies have an even greater influence on investors, as they not only help the individual project being developed but also show that money is coming in from other sources, both of which make a start-up more attractive. Klaus clarified: ‘It’s an important validation of what you do because big pharma companies are very experienced in drug discovery and development, with many internal projects in their pipeline. They’ll often have to kick one of their own projects out to work with an external company, so the outsider has to be really solid.’
" It’s important to go to partnership meetings and events within the investment community to build trust gradually. Relationships and trust are crucial."
Klaus cited the example of Vandria’s Biopôle neighbour HAYA Therapeutics and its collaboration with Eli Lilly in 2024, explaining that it’s the result of a long process: ‘It takes time to develop these relationships. It’s important to go to partnership meetings and events within the investment community to build trust gradually. Relationships and trust are crucial.’
On the horizon: How investors adjust their strategies to keep up with evolving technologies
Of course, advances in technology will have an impact on investment in the future. As Klaus reflected, ‘Emerging fields like gene therapy and RNA/DNA editing offer new opportunities to drug undruggable targets, which is reflected in the investments we see.’ However, he advised caution because the importance of new developments can be easily overestimated: ‘If you had asked me 25 years ago how the landscape would look in 2025, I would have said precision medicine would be at the forefront of treatment, but that hasn’t really come to fruition.’ He cited the example of oncology treatments in the US: ‘There are many opportunities to use precision medicine in this field, especially in a country that focuses on evidence-based medicine, yet the vast majority of US cancer patients are still being treated with imprecise techniques like surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.’
Meanwhile, Klaus was optimistic about how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) might affect life sciences financing: ‘I think investment funds will become more and more comfortable using AI to evaluate investment opportunities, looking at all the data, competitors and successes in the field.’ AI and ML are also being hailed as the next big things in drug discovery, but it was disappointing to read that the first medicines based on AI drug discovery hadn’t shown the expected efficacy when taken into clinical development. Klaus advised restraint: ‘Digital health, AI and personalised medicine are all exciting fields, but it’s important to consider them cautiously, to really look at each field and its specific offering, rather than getting caught up in the hype.’
The year in review
Klaus Dugi is CEO of Vandria and a Board Member of Vandria, AOBiome Therapeutics, Cytoki, Notify Therapeutics and Ferring Ventures. Since 2021, Klaus has also been Chief Medical Advisor and Venture Partner at +ND Capital in Lausanne.
Prior to this, he spent 18 years in the pharmaceutical industry with Boehringer Ingelheim and Ferring Pharmaceuticals, mostly in leadership positions including more than eight years as Chief Medical Officer. At Boehringer, Klaus oversaw the successful development, global approval and launch of several novel medicines, including four that have achieved blockbuster status; he also gained commercial experience as General Manager for the UK and Ireland.
Klaus was a postdoc for four years at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, US, conducting research in the fields of metabolic diseases and molecular biology. He received his clinical training in internal medicine and endocrinology at Heidelberg University Hospital where he teaches as an Adjunct Professor of Medicine.
Vandria is at the vanguard of mitochondrial therapeutics. It is developing first-in-class mitophagy inducers that rejuvenate cells to treat age-related and chronic diseases. Its lead programme, VNA-318, is a brainpenetrant, patent-protected, mitophagy inducer that has been shown to acutely improve memory and learning, and to have strong disease-modifying effects in models of neurodegenerative disease such as
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. VNA-318 entered the clinic in December 2024. The company is also developing mitophagy-inducing small molecules to address muscle, lung and liver diseases. A separate programme targets ferroptosis, a form of cell death implicated in neurodegenerative diseases and ischemia reperfusion injury.
About Vandria
About Klaus Dugi
The year in review
Hot topics in the life sciences: Key themes of 2024
After several years of COVID-19-related disruption, the global life sciences market returned to full strength in 2024, with a major rise in pharmaceutical spending, plus ever more exciting technological breakthroughs in the realm of AI, medical devices and more. On a personal level, Biopôle celebrated its 20th anniversary – a moment to acknowledge and appreciate how far the life sciences sector has come in the past two decades. Nonetheless, as ever, 2024 brought challenges to overcome alongside opportunities to seize. Here are some of the major trends that marked the life sciences in the past year and that might be worth bearing in mind as we move further into 2025.
The past year has seen major developments across the life sciences, ranging from the irrevocable rise of AI and acceleration of R&D to an increase in price pressures and a drive towards better patient outcomes.
Extracting value from generative AI and emerging technologies
The year in review
As outlined in a series of recent reports from Deloitte, generative AI was at the top of the agenda for nearly every organisation working in the life sciences in 2024.1 What’s more, as projected by Slalom, by the end of 2025, 36% of the world’s data could be generated by life sciences and the healthcare sector.2 In this context, generative AI is poised to revolutionise the entire life sciences value chain. According to Deloitte, ‘vast [life sciences] datasets combined with the advanced AI capabilities of tech giants offer powerful synergies for drug discovery and healthcare innovation’. Indeed, there is potential for a ‘stringof-pearls’ approach, whereby multiple generative AI use cases can be linked together to transform processes across research, development and patient care.
On this note, we spoke to Biopôle member Adam Hanina, CEO of Dandelion Science, about generative AI’s potential to advance neuroscientific treatment, drawing on early successes in other fields. As Adam pointed
out: ‘Technologies pioneered by OpenAI have proven highly effective in tackling complex challenges, with ChatGPT generating realistic text and Sora creating videos from text commands. These groundbreaking tools also hold immense potential in neuroscience […]; generative AI is now being applied to create more sophisticated models of brain function, offering a deeper understanding of disease severity and classification.’
As Adam went on to explain, Dandelion Science harnesses cutting-edge generative AI that is guided by neural objectives, rather than text commands, to create complex sensory stimuli for therapeutic purposes. This approach, which Adam terms ‘Generative Neuromodulation’, enables exploration of the brain’s spatial and temporal dynamics – how neurons synchronise their activity across time and space to carry out tasks. In Adam’s words, ‘we finally have the computational power to systematically search for and deliver high-dimensional stimuli that can control neural dynamics’.
This represents just one of the exciting uses of generative AI, which is set to add massive value across the whole sector.
Accelerating R&D (and not just through AI)
Leading on from this, AI-powered technologies, among other factors, are significantly increasing the speed of R&D, allowing new drugs and products to get to market – and therefore to patients – much quicker. Indeed, thanks to AI’s ability to process and analyse data from a wide variety of sources, silos are increasingly breaking down and new opportunities for collaborations and innovations are arising. As such, factors like collaboration have emerged as a crucial component of the acceleration of R&D today.
The year in review
As highlighted by Deloitte in its annual Global Life Sciences Sector Outlook, 3 the long and expensive process of obtaining regulatory clearance remains a significant challenge for small to mid-size biotech companies, many of which are facing shorter cash runways in 2024. As a result, they may turn to collaborations and partnerships, which present a viable alternative – or even a precursor – to mergers and acquisitions. Such collaborations not only strengthen a smaller company’s financial stability but also enhance its credibility within the industry.
Mauro Oddo, Director of Innovation and Clinical Research at the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), shared his perspective on the importance of collaboration to further innovation, especially in the local region: ‘At the CHUV, as a large, well-established institution, we see ourselves as facilitators of scientific partnerships, creating spaces from the top down, so that bottom-up initiatives can thrive. We often meet people with great ideas, but they face obstacles to get these ideas off the ground. That’s where we come in, facilitating
collaborations, providing testing spaces, and advising on funding, intellectual property, contracts, technology transfers and the like.’ As he clarified, collaborations in the Swiss Health Valley can develop very organically, thanks to the close ties between different institutions and companies in the area: ‘The CHUV is linked to the Faculty of Biology and Medicine at the University of Lausanne (UNIL), situated at Biopôle, and we also partner with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). This allows physicians and researchers to connect with each other, as well as with life sciences companies in the area. There’s a wealth of expertise in the community, to which we’re just one contributor.’
Ultimately, this renewed interest in collaboration tallies with a general trend in science, called convergence, where distinct disciplines –such as biology, technology, data science and engineering – come together to drive innovation.4 This trend reflects a shift from siloed research towards integrated approaches that accelerate discovery and improve patient outcomes. By merging diverse expertise, organisations can address complex challenges more holistically. Indeed, as life sciences increasingly intersect with digital technologies and forge cross-industry partnerships, convergence has become key to unlocking next-generation solutions that were previously unattainable through isolated efforts.
Increasing price pressures across the globe With the global population both growing and ageing, global pharma spending is on the rise: according to Deloitte, large pharmaceutical companies spent a record total of US$161bn in 2023, representing an increase of almost 50% since 2018. However, it should be noted
The year in review
that this is mainly due to a shift in spending patterns towards expensive drugs, including personalised medicines.
To address this spending increase, governments across the world are implementing price controls. In the US, for example, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) now allows Medicare to negotiate with suppliers about drug prices. This is putting a new form of pressure on the pharma industry, potentially reducing its margins and thereby its funding for innovation. Pharma players now have to anticipate and find the right balance between affordability, innovation and patient access.
At Biopôle, we discussed these challenges with Armand de Gramont, co-founder and CSO of Onward Therapeutics, a company specialising in the clinical-stage development of drugs used in oncology. When it comes to deciding which products to pursue, Armand asserted that he doesn’t have a crystal ball: ‘We don’t know for certain what will be successful. The rate of attrition
(the percentage of drugs that fail at each stage of the development process) for oncology treatments is very high: less than 1% of the drugs in preclinical development make it to market. And then, only between 3% and 5% of the oncology drugs that start a Phase I trial will get to the market.’
As a result, for Onward Therapeutics, efficiency is of the utmost importance. In Armand’s words: ‘We want to take the best and most effective products to the clinic and show their potential benefits – and as fast as possible, without compromising quality. For reference, we were able to get a Phase I clinical trial approved for our bispecific antibody treatment in just two years, which is well below the usual expected timeline. By streamlining the money and time we spend on each product, we can fast-track its journey through manufacturing and preclinical testing, meaning it reaches prospective patients that bit sooner.’ Interestingly, Armand pointed out that there is less interest in and fewer opportunities for expensive drugs nowadays: ‘When it comes to cell therapies, it’s worth noting that they were quite popular until recently. Since then, however, investors’ interest has fallen because this type of product is very expensive and difficult to manufacture.’
Achieving better patient outcomes while reducing healthcare costs
As spending in the pharmaceutical industry rises, the cost of treatment also rises accordingly, leading to a significant financial burden on healthcare stakeholders, including providers and insurance companies. To maintain high-quality care and ensure broad access, all while controlling costs, new solutions are urgently needed. In this context, the emerging concept of value-based healthcare (VBHC) offers promising perspectives.
The year in review
Noémie Voeffray-Remacle, Head of Transformation at Groupe Mutuel, outlined the current state of play in Switzerland: ‘Today, our system is driven by quantity rather than quality. The more treatment healthcare providers churn out, the more they get paid. There’s little emphasis on assessing the quality of treatment, coordinating care or fostering a culture of prevention. VBHC is about shifting from volume to quality. Instead of being paid based on the number of procedures, healthcare providers are rewarded for delivering high-quality care.’
Indeed, there are hopes that the new model will significantly reduce unnecessary interventions. Groupe Mutuel is already putting this to the test, as Noémie explained: ‘At Groupe Mutuel, we’re doing pilot projects that explore such models – initiatives that reward providers based on the value of care delivered to the patient, rather than the number of services. These models aren’t part of the healthcare system yet but we’re working hard to implement them as soon as possible. For example, we’re conducting a pilot project with Hôpital de La Tour to develop reimbursement
models that incentivise providers to focus on patient outcomes – specifically for hip and knee surgery. We need to make sure it’s financially viable and test its feasibility – then our aim is to scale this model in Switzerland.’
Closing the gender health gap
Finally, the gender gap was also a major part of conversations about healthcare in 2024. An article published by representatives from each of the leading UK cardiovascular societies in August 2024 revealed that doctors treat men and women suffering with cardiovascular pain differently, with women 10% less likely than men to have their pain level assessed when they arrive at hospital and generally waiting half an hour longer than men to be seen by a doctor.5 One of the co-authors of the study, Alex Gileles-Hillel, attributed the discrepancy to a longstanding and unchallenged bias, as reported by the World Economic Forum:6 ‘Women are viewed as exaggerating or hysterical and men are viewed as more stoic when they complain of pain.’
What’s more, as detailed in the Journal of the American Heart Association, 7 these issues are exacerbated for women of colour: they were found to wait even longer when presenting to emergency departments with chest pain and were less likely to be prescribed medications to manage acute coronary syndrome. Worryingly, all this contributes to poorer healthcare outcomes for women experiencing cardiovascular disease – which is already the leading cause of death in women worldwide.
And this issue isn’t reserved to the realm of cardiovascular disease: The Washington Post recently reported that, in the US, women experiencing a range of serious medical
The year in review
conditions, such as endometriosis, and/or undergoing medical procedures, from assisted childbirth to intrauterine device (IUD) insertion, were unlikely to receive appropriate pain relief and/or the correct diagnosis.8
Mathieu Horras, CEO and co-founder of Aspivix, a company that is developing gentler gynaecological tools, weighed in on this issue: ‘There’s something to be said here about women “expecting” (and being expected to endure) more pain – key examples are menstruation and childbirth, where women are told: “This is part of the female experience, you’ve just got to deal with it.” But this actually just creates unnecessary shame, where women think they must suffer in silence.’
Mathieu went on to comment on the effects of dismissive attitudes towards women’s pain, which Aspivix is trying to combat: ‘We find that people will delay having routine check-ups and/or getting IUDs fitted because they are worried about the pain – and that in turn leads to unwanted pregnancies, and even higher rates of maternal mortality. So, there are huge consequences of dismissing women’s pain.’
In order to tackle and close the gender health gap, we need to adopt a multifaceted approach. Above all, healthcare professionals should be trained to recognise and address gender biases that might lead to disparities in treatment – and sex and gender should be acknowledged as major health determinants. Incorporating this into medical curricula could promote a more comprehensive patient-centred approach.
Final reflections
Overall, 2024 has been a year marked by the evolving interplay between social changes and technological advancements, gradually reshaping the priorities and capabilities of the life sciences industry. These developments are unfolding against a backdrop of persistent financial concerns, adding further complexity to the landscape.
Looking further into 2025, it is clear that there are both opportunities and challenges in the pipeline for those working in the life sciences. No matter the area, however, it appears the key to success is to embrace integrative, holistic approaches, collaborating closely with colleagues across different disciplines; embracing new technologies that facilitate more efficient R&D and data analysis; centring patients and their experiences in healthcare; and generally trying to step beyond personal biases to look at the bigger, global picture. So, despite the need to keep an eye on hazards in the periphery, we can’t wait to see what innovations await us in the coming year as we drive forwards!
1 Realizing Transformative Value from AI & Generative AI in Life Sciences, Deloitte
2 2025 Industry Outlook: Life Sciences, Slalom
3 2024 Global Life Sciences Outlook, Deloitte
4 For more information on this trend, see ‘20 years of technological breakthroughs’ on p42
5 ‘Advancing the access to cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment among women with cardiovascular disease: a joint British Cardiovascular Societies’ consensus document’, Heart, https://doi.org/10.1136/heartjnl-2024-324625
6 Women’s health gap: 6 conditions that highlight gender inequality in healthcare, World Economic Forum
7 ‘Sex and race differences in the evaluation and treatment of young adults presenting to the emergency department with chest pain’, Journal of the American Health Association, https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.121.024199
8 ‘From heart disease to IUDs: How doctors dismiss women’s pain’, Vanessa Saba, The Washington Post
On 5th December, 2024, Biopôle’s community came together to celebrate the campus’s 20th anniversary and inaugurate the new Leucine building. The celebrations included a roundtable discussion on the future of health in Switzerland.
Features
20 years of technological breakthroughs
Back when Biopôle was founded in 2004, the global life sciences market looked very different to how it looks today. Indeed, it was around two decades ago that we started to see and feel the impact of major developments –most notably a massive increase in information technology (IT) capacity, which has continued to grow to the present day. In turn, this has made possible a wide range of new and improved technologies in the life sciences. Here are just a few of the main highlights.
1. The start of a revolution
in
life sciences: Highthroughput technologies
Following a first technology revolution in the 1970s, which led to major advances in molecular biology, the second revolution in life sciences was sparked by the groundbreaking Human Genome Project, which was completed in 2003, just before Biopôle was founded. This revolution in life sciences opened up new avenues for research and innovation that have shaped the scientific landscape as we know it.
Indeed, building on the scientific community’s burning interest in genomics, as well as major IT advances and improvements in highthroughput technologies, which enabled rapid analysis of thousands of samples or data points simultaneously, next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies soon became widely available. This allowed scientists to sequence thousands of small DNA fragments in unison, speeding up sequencing work beyond belief.
And high-throughput technologies didn’t just allow geneticists to study human DNA at a new level of sophistication; they also transformed other fields of life sciences, speeding up research and providing comprehensive insights into several biological systems.
These new applications came together in what we now call the ‘omics’ (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics and related fields). Research in the ‘omics’ fields has generated a huge amount of data, allowing scientists to better understand biology and medicine, and leading to groundbreaking advances in epigenetics, microbiome research, cancer genomics, immunotherapy, infectious diseases and vaccine development, to name just a few.
Today, high-throughput technologies are continuing to advance research in the life sciences. And as they become cheaper, easier and more accessible, scientists are gaining access to a nearly unlimited amount of data.
Examples of high-throughput technology applications in our community include:
Cureos Biotechnology
This start-up seeks to make high-throughput technologies even faster, more sensitive and more cost-effective, thereby widening their possible applications. Cureos envisages a future in which highly accurate genome sequencing and precise digital counting of RNA and DNA can be routinely performed for a range of procedures, enabling early cancer detection and IVF pre-implantation genetic diagnostics.
Alithea Genomics
This rapidly growing company develops, manufactures and commercialises cutting-edge solutions for large-scale blood transcriptomics. Alithea’s proprietary sequencing technology makes it possible, for the first time, to generate RNA data from thousands of samples in a cost-efficient, high-throughput manner, opening the door to new applications, such as high-throughput drug screening, biomarker discovery and large-scale population testing.
2. The next step: ML and AI
With IT becoming more and more advanced, we have seen the development of ML and later AI, which represent a major part of the third revolution in life sciences that is taking place today.
Having generated big data libraries through high-throughput technologies, researchers now have an almost unlimited capacity to make sense of this data thanks to ML and AI – in turn uncovering the most complex
" We actually want to understand disease better, so that we’re able to design better drugs and trials – that’s a really big value proposition."
Christopher Rudolf, Founder and CEO of Volv Global
This company applies the latest, state-ofthe-art AI technology and data science to find patterns in rare or difficult-to-diagnose diseases. Volv’s mission is to harness insights from diverse data sets to speed up science, reduce the cost of healthcare, close the diagnostic gap and improve outcomes for people living with disease.
biological processes. While humans are still crucial participants in research, as they are the ones who design experiments and make sense of results from AI, AI-driven technology is able to find patterns that humans would otherwise take much longer to recognise. For example, layering AI over genomics has enabled researchers to discover intricate patterns in rare diseases, and combining AI and proteomics has facilitated the discovery of new immunotherapy antibodies.
Today, the use of AI/ML in the life sciences is rapidly accelerating, supporting further revolutionary innovation. AI and ML are already slowly being integrated into the healthcare sector to support informed clinical decisions and early diagnostics, and generally improve patient outcomes. Furthermore, as IT capacities continue to advance, it’s likely that personalised medicine will become the norm, with advanced computational analysis, e.g. genomics, epigenomics and microbiome analysis, performed in routine health checks.
This EPFL spin-off leverages a new ML-powered synthesis platform to expedite drug discovery for challenging targets where treatment options are currently limited. To this end, the company uses ML to systematically explore macrocycle chemicals in a high-throughput way and deliver oral macrocycle drug candidates suitable for both intra- and extracellular targets.
Volv Global
Orbis Medicines
Notable examples of Biopôle members harnessing ML, AI and big data include:
3. Convergence to produce modern digital health solutions: Robotics, wearables and digital devices
The major advances in life sciences and IT that we’ve discussed so far (high-throughput technologies that generate big data, combined with AI and ML to unlock new processing power) have also crossed paths over the years with advances in other fields like physics and engineering, ultimately leading us to the next phase – what some researchers are calling ‘convergence [of life sciences, physical sciences and engineering]’.1 In short, convergence is a blueprint for innovation, where advances in different fields of study come together.
One of the biggest beneficiaries of convergence will be biomedicine and digital health. Indeed, with advances in engineering and other fields, researchers in this space are
already making exciting discoveries – ranging from new drug delivery mechanisms at the nanoscale, to improved disease sensing, new capabilities for personalised medicine and new digital health solutions.
In addition, lab machinery is becoming ever more sophisticated thanks to advanced robotics facilitating increased automation, coupled with high-throughput analysis that is driven by AI, making the discovery of new drugs and other medical products faster than we can even imagine. Similarly, the ubiquitous adoption of smartphones has led the way to smart wearable devices, creating new opportunities for realtime biological data collection – paired with AI, this is likely to produce major advances in diagnostics and prevention.
Examples of Biopôle members working in this space include:
Atinary
This deeptech start-up combines ML, robotics and cloud computing with R&D to revolutionise discovery and production through its SDLabs. The self-driving laboratory makes process optimisation and discovery faster, smarter, greener and cheaper. The platform is versatile and can be used in different fields, ranging from pharma discovery to material discovery.
biped.ai
This start-up has engineered a smart harness for blind and visually impaired people. Inspired by the AI technology of self-driving cars, biped.ai has developed a wearable device that captures information on its user’s environment and guides them through sounds, helping them to anticipate and avoid obstacles.
When so much has happened in a mere 20 years, it begs the question: what can we expect from the next 20? It seems we have reason to be hopeful – and open-minded – about the future: the discoveries to come may well be beyond our wildest dreams!
20
20 20 20 20 years of
sciences innovation
2003 The International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium announces the successful completion of the Human Genome Project.
The first iPhone is released.
2007
The first effective therapeutic vaccine against cancer is developed (Sipuleucel-T).
2010
2009
First building inaugurated at Biopôle.
2015
Nasri Nahas is appointed CEO of Biopôle SA. The Biopôle campus now hosts 20 life sciences companies
2004
Biopôle SA is founded by the canton of Vaud.
2005 The first next-generation sequencing technology is commercialised.
2008 The National Institutes of Health launches the Roadmap Epigenomics Mapping Consortium.
2015
Virtual reality (VR) starts to become accessible to the general public.
2018
Biopôle opens its StartLab infrastructure.
2017 The first FDAapproved CAR-T cell therapy is used for cancer treatment.
2020 AI technology AlphaFold is first used to predict protein structures with high accuracy.
2022
The first xenotransplantation of a pig heart into a human takes place.
2023
The first fully AI-generated drug enters Phase II clinical human trials.
2016
The first human clinical studies using CRISPR–Cas9 are initiated.
2019 The Digital Health Hub is launched.
2021
The Biopôle Start-up Fund and Vanguard Accelerator are launched.
2024
Biopôle SA celebrates its 20th anniversary. The Biopôle campus is now home to 150 life sciences companies.
Luc Henry, co-founder and CEO of Limula, speaks at a roundtable discussion held at Biopôle in December 2024, which was part of the campus’s 20th anniversary celebrations.
Expert insights: What to expect in 2044?
As Biopôle turned 20, we not only wanted to look back and celebrate everything that has been achieved – we also looked to the future and all the opportunities that lie ahead. To that end, as part of the celebrations for Biopôle’s 20th anniversary in December 2024, the Biopôle SA team invited four experts from the fields of healthcare and demographics, Stéfanie Monod, Christian Lovis, Mathias Lerch and Luc Henry, to campus to participate in a roundtable discussion on how the health landscape might look in Switzerland in 2044. In addition, we individually interviewed five brilliant minds in the life sciences to talk about the changes and challenges we might see in the next 20 years. In our conversations with Stéfanie Monod, Michael Dillhyon, Antoine Geissbuhler, Philippe Renaud and Alain Barbal, we covered key topics like healthcare, digital health, AI, entrepreneurship and academia –we’ve distilled the main insights below. Happy reading!
Stéfanie Monod, Titular Professor at the University of Lausanne, Head Physician and Co-Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Healthcare Systems at Unisanté
As was mentioned in nearly every single one of our conversations, one of the biggest challenges healthcare will face in the coming years centres on the ageing of the population. With people living longer and requiring ever more care (due to the increasing prevalence of age-related and/or chronic diseases), healthcare systems worldwide will face mounting financial pressures. Addressing these challenges will require strategic investment and collaboration to ensure sustainable care for all. However, this represents a particular challenge in a country like Switzerland, where the organisation of the healthcare system is, in Stéfanie’s words, ‘a bit of a mismatch’. This is because the system relies on mandatory, nationwide social insurance called l’assurance maladie (LAMal), which is regulated by the Swiss Confederation, but it’s the local cantons that actually have responsibility for ‘health’, broadly speaking, and that organise healthcare provision. Stéfanie explained: ‘When you think only of the healthcare system – that means doctors, services and so on – the canton is responsible for organising this offer for citizens. But the canton has absolutely no power over the way it’s financed: this is in the hands of “tariff partners” and controlled
In the words of Mathias Lerch, Head of the Urban Demography Laboratory (URBDEMO) at the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC) of the EPFL, during the roundtable discussion for Biopôle’s 20th anniversary: ‘The future can feel like the realm of science fiction, with many unforeseeable factors influencing the overall lay of the land in 20 years. However, we can safely predict some of the demographic trends of the next two decades: based on analysis of our current demographic actors, Switzerland’s population should increase, rising from nine million today to around 10 or 11 million in 2040.’ However, Mathias specified that this will, in large part, be driven by a lower death rate, with life expectancy for men in Switzerland forecast to reach an average of 82 years.
at the federal level. The organisation of the system, which separates service provision and funding governance, leads to big roadblocks.’
Added to this, as Stefanie pointed out, healthcare costs in Switzerland are already among the highest in the world. This means that Swiss citizens grapple with serious access barriers: proportionally, they pay more for healthcare, in terms of overall household expenses, than any other developed country (in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)). What’s more, they don’t reap any major benefits from this expenditure: according to Stéfanie, who cited statistics from Our World in Data, ‘if you look at life expectancies across Europe, particularly healthy life expectancies, Spain is ahead of us and we’re about the same as Italy (despite putting almost twice as much money into our system as Italy). As things stand, we’re obviously underperforming.’
" If you look at life expectancies across Europe, particularly healthy life expectancies, Spain is ahead of us and we’re about the same as Italy (despite putting almost twice as much money into our system as Italy). As things stand, we’re obviously underperforming."
In this context, it might seem sensible to turn to new technology, in the hope that innovations developed today will hold the key to a costcontrolled future. During our chat with Antoine Geissbuhler, he explained: ‘In Switzerland, we have an excellent healthcare system, but it’s extremely expensive – and it’s becoming ever more expensive each year. We cannot ignore this problem, as the consequences could be disastrous over time if no action is taken.
Antoine Geissbuhler, Director of the Innovation Centre and Head of e-Health and Telemedicine at Geneva University Hospitals (HUG)
I believe digital health will help us manage this, by letting us have the right information at the right time for the right patients to make the right decisions. An example of this would be deploying telemedicine tools in pharmacies as a place to easily access care. For instance, a pharmacist might help you identify what’s wrong. Although this would need to be validated by a doctor, this could be done via telemedicine. It’s ten times cheaper and ten times faster than going to hospital.’
Certainly, implementing digital health has huge potential to improve healthcare: telemedicine enables us to access healthcare solutions from the comfort of our homes, mobile apps and wearables give us real-time information about our health, and AI and big data open up new possibilities for automation and prediction that were unthinkable just five years ago. Indeed, in his interview, Michael Dillhyon also commented on the massive potential of AI: ‘AI-powered tools are now being used everywhere. This widespread adoption means we’re gathering unprecedented amounts of real-world evidence across entire patient populations, creating opportunities we’re only beginning to understand.’
Still, as Michael reminded us: ‘It’s not just about having the data, it’s about making it usable. We’re sitting on a goldmine of medical information, but right now it’s like having a library where all the books are written in different languages, using different alphabets and some are even in code. The real breakthrough will come when we cannot only read all these “books” but understand how they connect to each other. In short, it’s a mammoth undertaking.’ And this undertaking will take time, with Michael drawing a parallel with previous technological transitions, such as cloud computing: ‘It took nearly a decade for widespread understanding and effective implementation. We’re on a similar journey with AI in healthcare.’
" Switzerland has the potential to become every bit the powerhouse that the US and other leading regions are. "
Michael Dillhyon, US-based (formerly Swiss-based) serial entrepreneur, mentor and adviser
However, it must be said that while Switzerland is considered the most innovative country in the world according to the Global Innovation Index (GII), when it comes to digital health and AI, the country is lagging behind. Antoine once again attributed this to Swiss bureaucracy and the country’s fragmented system. ‘We have a very distributed federalist system with 27 health ministers,’ Antoine explained, ‘which means that there’s no single overarching strategy or even policies to deploy digital health and telemedicine. This is changing now, but we’re falling behind compared to some other European countries.’
Nonetheless, when asked, Michael could see the potential in the Swiss ecosystem. ‘Switzerland has the potential to become every bit the powerhouse that the US and other leading regions are,’ he asserted. Indeed, he pointed to several distinctive Swiss advantages: ‘The country combines rich technological architecture spanning multiple industries, a tradition of precision manufacturing that aligns perfectly with AI’s requirements and world-class research institutions – all within a remarkably concentrated geographic area.’
Arguably, there is a historic precedent for this: innovation has played a major role in the fabric of Switzerland for many centuries, as Alain Barbal asserted during his conversation with us: ‘Innovation in Switzerland can be traced back to the 19th century, with the establishment of pioneering sectors such as watchmaking, textiles, chemicals and pharmaceuticals (particularly in the Basel region, which is home to global leaders Novartis and Roche) during the Industrial Revolution. Then, since the mid-20th century, Swiss innovation has also been supported by
a range of public policies, which have led to the creation of organisations like Innosuisse, as well as attractive tax policies and strong intellectual property regulation, creating a favourable environment for entrepreneurship.’
" We’ve got a long history of solving complex problems in a transdisciplinary, collaborative way. Plus Switzerland has a range of excellent, highly ranked education institutions, meaning there’s a pool of local talent just waiting to be tapped."
Alain
Barbal, Director and former CEO of Novostia
As a result, according to Alain, Swiss people are already used to working in an openminded, innovative manner: ‘We’ve got a long history of solving complex problems in a transdisciplinary, collaborative way.’ On top of this, Alain continued, ‘Switzerland has a range of excellent, highly ranked educational institutions, meaning that there’s a pool of local talent just waiting to be tapped.’
Philippe Renaud, Emeritus Professor at EPFL, scientific adviser and start-up mentor
On this note, we discussed with Phillipe Renaud how institutions and research centres might better support current entrepreneurs and help form the next generation of entrepreneurs.
In Philippe’s view, this requires a shift in academics’ attitudes towards industry versus academia, so that they accept more candidates with different profiles and different aspirations. In his own words: ‘I’m trying to convince my colleagues at EPFL that we shouldn’t just accept students who are academically impressive, especially at Master’s level and above. We need more people who have real initiative and drive to make an impact in the wider world, not just as a professor or researcher. After all, despite academia’s focus on producing academics, less than 10% of PhD students globally stay in academia. We should stop presenting this as a failure and instead champion alternative trajectories.’
As such, start-up ventures have become very attractive to people studying life sciences. Philippe affirmed that many of his students ‘dream of starting their own ventures, because they’ve seen many success stories over the years and want to make an impact’. Nonetheless, he also stressed that ‘people don’t always realise
what it takes to run a start-up – the life sciences market is tough (and crowded, in certain areas), you don’t get quick wins and there are significant regulatory constraints to consider’.
" The life sciences market is tough (and crowded, in certain areas), you don’t get quick wins and there are significant regulatory constraints to consider. "
For his part, Alain also commented on the challenges linked to driving innovation in life sciences, declaring that ‘we have more and more constraints to cope with’. To be sure, as Alain acknowledged, regulation is in place for a reason: ‘You have to be cautious in the life sciences sector, otherwise you’ll put patients’ lives at risk.’ However, he insisted: ‘There is a discrepancy today between the regulation we have to cope with in Switzerland – and in Europe – versus other countries. That means R&D processes take an age – and you burn through millions with each year you delay going to market.’
Alain mapped out the lay of the land for us, arguing that ‘it’s comparatively easy to raise a few hundred thousand Swiss francs or even a few million for a first trial, but it becomes difficult to sustain this over a long period of time – and innovation does take a long time’.
So, with healthcare costs rising and hospitals remaining underfinanced, it begs the question whether investing in innovation is the right approach. Stéfanie certainly expressed doubts. In her words: ‘It can’t be denied that physicians, researchers and entrepreneurs have made huge breakthroughs over the past
As we discussed with Luc Henry, co-founder and CEO of Limula, a company that provides automated, at-scale manufacturing solutions for cell and gene therapies, many of the emerging personalised, regenerative treatments are extremely expensive. Certainly, companies like Limula are seeking to bring costs down, but even at current prices, Luc advocated for weighing up the cost of treating someone with a chronic illness for an extended period – which will be expensive in itself – versus the cost of giving this patient a single dose of expensive therapy that could cure their illness, and thereby majorly improve their quality of life in the long term. As he expressed, the ‘innovative treatment could be worth the investment’.
century, completely transforming the field of medicine and our understanding of disease. Notably, [innovation] is where most of the private investment in the Swiss healthcare system is currently directed – but this feels like a bit of a misdirection of time, energy and money. Most of the people who are now 50, 60 or 70 years old will probably still be alive in 20 years’ time – and their healthcare status is pretty much already decided: they will need a lot of care, which will, in turn, cost a lot. As such, maybe we need to rethink what we’re doing at the moment.’
After all, as Stéfanie reminded us, health outcomes aren’t produced solely by the healthcare system – far from it. In fact, only around 10% of the elements that make us ‘healthy’ are tied to healthcare, as asserted by the Health Foundation; the other 90% come from genetics, environmental factors like pollution and individual behaviour linked to diet and exercise, among others. But, as things stand, Stéfanie estimated that around 90% of available funds are channelled into treating ailments, rather than prevention. She asserted: ‘In the next 20 years, I’d like to see a lot more emphasis on our environment; if we actually want to prevent ill health in the future (and also encourage good societal cohesion), this is where we need to focus.’
Nonetheless, there’s nothing to say that prevention and innovation can’t come together in the future. For his part, looking ahead, Michael envisioned a transformed healthcare landscape centred around preventative medicine and enhanced by AI technologies: ‘Imagine a healthcare system where clinicians have access not just to your current symptoms, but to a comprehensive history of health data, enabling more informed decisions and early intervention.’
Christian Lovis , Physician with the Department of Medical Information Sciences at HUG and Full Professor in the Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics at the Faculty of Medicine, highlighted that: ‘Each individual can make a difference to their health, simply by taking the initiative. We currently see prevention as a societal problem – and, to be sure, health depends in part on external factors, which can be difficult to influence at an individual level. However, individual behaviour is also a crucial part of the equation – Do you smoke? Are you sedentary? Do you eat properly?’ In Christian’s eyes, ‘We need to motivate people to take control of their health themselves; we need to make prevention “sexy”. The effect of emerging treatments – personalised medicine, cell and gene therapies – will be relatively marginal by comparison.’
Indeed, drawing an analogy with preventative maintenance in other fields, Michael made the following suggestion: ‘We could move towards a model where, like modern vehicles with sophisticated monitoring systems, our bodies’ health statuses are continuously tracked, and potential issues are identified before they become serious. Within ten years, we could see up to 80% of medicine focused on preventative care.’
It’s clear that we somehow need to find a balance between investing heavily in life sciences innovation and actively addressing the challenges of rising healthcare costs. Reflecting on this, Stéfanie suggested that the Swiss system was ripe for significant reform: ‘By all means, the Swiss healthcare system is a good market, as set out in a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO) – there is plentiful investment and this money circulates well. But at present, patients derive few advantages from the high levels of expenditure within this system. So, if we don’t tackle its issues, it will end up only being a market, not a system.’
" We could move towards a model where, like modern vehicles with sophisticated monitoring systems, our bodies’ health statuses are continuously tracked, and potential issues are identified before they become serious. Within ten years, we could see up to 80% of medicine focused on preventative care."
Still, for all the uncertainty and complexities of our present situation, Antoine admitted he was hopeful about the way healthcare and life sciences might evolve in the future: ‘I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to harness the power of technology to create healthcare systems with more humanity. This is our big challenge – and opportunity – for the next 20 years.’
Keeping patients at the heart of healthcare
Patients are all different. Our bodies, preferences, circumstances and needs vary greatly. So, how can we provide the best possible care to the largest number of patients? Should healthcare providers work more closely with patient partners or should they prioritise technologies and research that allow for precise, personalised medicine? And how do life sciences innovators ensure their work will definitely improve the experience of patients? We spoke to Ghada Ibrahim and Baptiste Hurni about how we can ensure patients remain at the centre of the solutions we create for them.
Patient advocate Ghada Ibrahim focuses on fostering patient partnerships across the healthcare sector.
Emovo Care’s first product
Patients are no longer mere bystanders
Over the past two decades, patient interests have become more central to the healthcare ecosystem. According to Baptiste: ‘Twenty years ago, patients were spectators of their health treatment; now they are actors.’ But there is still more work to do to integrate patients into organisational bodies, as well as a need for legislative changes. Baptiste explained: ‘When a law refers to partners in the healthcare system, it currently means hospitals, doctors, insurers, and national and cantonal representatives, but not patients. We have to make sure patients are on the panels where decisions are made – they must be at the heart of everything.’
" When a law refers to partners in the healthcare system, it currently means hospitals, doctors, insurers, and national and cantonal representatives, but not patients."
One way that patients are becoming more involved is through initiatives that ask for their feedback. For example, there is widespread interest in patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), which help measure the results of healthcare based on what matters to the patient, such as how they feel after treatment. There are also patient-reported experience measures (PREMs), which measure the patient’s experience with the healthcare system, such as whether they felt listened to and respected. These self-reporting measurements provide a patient-centric view of healthcare and can be considered as an indicator of healthcare quality.
However, Ghada shared that there are challenges to overcome: ‘It’s not always possible for patients to transfer knowledge and share best practices; the methodologies need to be carefully designed to make them accessible to all to ensure that no voices are lost.’ For Ghada, inconsistent approaches to patient participation are also hindering its success: ‘Despite the growth of public involvement and engagement initiatives around the world, it remains ad hoc at best.
Despite
not yet being commercialised, the company has already tested it on many patients during the research phase.
Integration remains elusive and non-uniform, both across healthcare systems and within single institutions. We need broad acceptance and a shared understanding to enable effective implementation.’ A case in point is Switzerland’s unique cantonal and federal landscape – as well as the three major national languages – which pose quite a challenge for standardisation and harmonisation. Ghada suggested the next step should be to develop guidelines in Switzerland that align with the European and international standards already in place.
Of course, it’s vital that patients are included in the development of these guidelines. National political organisations, like l’Organisation suisse des patients and la Fédération suisse des patients, represent patients and help their voices to be heard. Baptiste feels they are vital for patient empowerment: ‘It’s very important to represent patients and their interests in the political arena. These patient organisations aren’t strong enough yet, but they still perform very important functions, such as influencing bills, supplying advice and providing key information.’
The right to choose your own treatment
It’s natural for patients to want to influence their treatment journeys, and there is a growing trend towards shared decision-making in healthcare. According to Ghada, more patients want to opt for therapeutic plans that are not only effective but also aligned with their individual preferences, constraints and lifestyles: ‘Such plans can lead to improved patient outcomes. Shared decision-making can empower patients and help them abide by therapeutic decisions – patients are more likely to follow through when they’ve been involved in making an informed, clear and suitable plan.’
Of course, patients need to work in partnership with health experts. Evidencebased practice that builds on science and clinical expertise, while also considering patient preferences, depends on successful collaboration between patients and healthcare professionals. Ghada clarified: ‘The objectives need to be quality of care, patient satisfaction and quality of life. From a patient perspective, this means an active participatory mindset and well-informed decision-making.’
Today, many precision medicine studies incorporate PROMs, which allow the patient to express their treatment preferences, assess side effects and address quality of life issues. This input means clinical decisions can be aligned with individual patient needs. For example, in early breast cancer treatment, patients and clinicians can discuss whether to proceed with chemotherapy based on the results of short-term endocrine therapy. Ghada explained: ‘Empowering patients by giving them options tailored to their specific tumour response enables informed choices about chemotherapy and side effects – it’s an integral part of precision oncology.’
The benefits (and risks) of patient data and new technologies
This sort of personalised healthcare relies upon new techniques, but – as with any new player in the healthcare arena – new technology should be embraced with caution. Sound methodology and robust regulation are needed, as there are ethical questions around privacy, data security, data sharing and data ownership. In short, precision medicine relies on patients trusting that the healthcare system will protect their personal health information.
At the same time, data needs to be shared with patients in a useful way. According to Baptiste, ‘To be fully involved in their own healthcare, patients must have access to information.’ Switzerland’s dossier electronique du patient enables patients to be more empowered, although Baptiste acknowledged that it needs to be made more accessible and user-friendly.
Ghada also pointed to potential biases that should be carefully considered when evaluating data sets that may not be representative of diverse populations. For example, AI tools that have been developed and tested on white people are often less accurate for people of other ethnicities. The bias in healthcare technologies created by this lack of diversity poses ethical concerns that will intensify unless appropriate mechanisms are put in place. But on the other hand, data collection enables the analysis of vast amounts of data, including genetic information and lifestyle habits, which can generate much better health outcomes for specific diseases, demographics and ethnicities overall.
And, of course, the bigger picture must always be considered. Although personalised healthcare through technology has enormous benefits for patients wishing to participate actively in their individual healthcare journeys, a data- or technology-driven recommendation may not align with a patient’s overall health, values, lifestyle and cultural context.
Innovating for patients
It’s vital that patients’ needs and priorities are considered by life sciences researchers and innovators, but when and how should their views be gathered? Baptiste posited that patients should be involved at every stage: ‘Innovation will only work if it’s patient-friendly. The earlier the patient is involved, the higher the probability that the technology will be used and be useful for the healthcare system, which of course benefits the company behind it too.’
Likewise, to Ghada, it seems counterintuitive for life sciences researchers and companies to address healthcare solutions without involving those impacted by the relevant healthcare condition, disease or lifestyle: ‘Not only is it just and ethical to involve relevant and pertinent patient communities in the design – and longterm assessments and testing – of projects, but patient involvement from the early stages of the concept and throughout has been shown to accelerate research and innovation.’
Nonetheless, Baptiste acknowledged that the practicalities of connecting life sciences innovators to relevant patients can be complex and need to be reviewed: ‘Patient organisations don’t have the funds to provide lists of people who could get involved in R&D.’
Baptiste Hurni, Vice President of the Swiss Socialist Party, advocates for patients via his work with the Swiss Patients’ Federation, Romandy section.
" Innovation
will only work if
it’s
patient-friendly. The earlier the patient is involved, the higher the probability that the technology will be used and be useful for the healthcare system, which of course benefits the company behind it too."
In addition, Ghada highlighted other potential barriers, such as remuneration for patient involvement and engagement. However, she believes that companies and researchers must change their mindset and get creative about how to involve patients to achieve better outcomes: ‘It’s crucial to acknowledge the wealth of resources that already exist in other healthcare sectors, such as research and patient involvement initiatives at industry level. Moreover, we can draw on existing global resources and tools, while considering particular country settings and contexts.’ (For examples of these resources, see the box on the next page.)
What are the priorities for better patient outcomes?
Although precision medicine and big data clearly offer new treatment opportunities, the healthcare system faces a key challenge: how do we connect life science innovators, researchers, healthcare providers and patients in a meaningful way? Dialogue and exchange with all pertinent stakeholders, including regulators and insurers, is needed to better assess the impact of personalised methods in the overall healthcare system. To progress, we need to continuously evaluate and assess relevant metrics in personalised health research, measuring what really matters to patients. By keeping patients involved at every step, healthcare can become more personalised, effective and accessible.
Resources to boost patient involvement in research
The Swiss Clinical Trial Organisation has mapped patient involvement initiatives and projects in academic clinical research, showcasing diverse cases. It also offers an online course and a wealth of tools and templates that are easy to access and adapt to any project or initiative.
Closer to home, the Patient Lab in Oncology at UNIL-CHUV/Swiss Cancer Center Léman (SCCL) and PartnerREC at HUG have cocreated a partnership training programme to foster dialogue between patients and researchers from French-speaking Switzerland.
Ghada Ibrahim is a patient advocate specialising in patient and public involvement and engagement (PPI/E) in research, care and innovation. Her work focuses on fostering patient partnerships across healthcare sectors, particularly in cancer research. She believes in the unequivocal value of patient contributions and views patient partners as valued stakeholders.
Baptiste Hurni represents the Swiss Socialist Party on the Council of States and was elected as Vice President of the party in October 2024. He sits on the committee for the Swiss Patients’ Federation, Romandy section and is also a qualified lawyer working with JSM & Partners.
Biography
Outlook
View over the Alps from the Serine building before tenants’ arrival back in 2022.
Celebrating the past 20 years of Biopôle and looking ahead to the next 20
In December 2024, Biopôle turned 20! In the lead-up to this milestone, we caught up with the CEO of Biopôle SA, Nasri Nahas (left), and the Chair of the Board of Directors, Nouria Hernandez (right), to discuss the community Biopôle has built over the past two decades and what the future might hold.
What do you see as Biopôle’s biggest achievements in the past 20 years?
Nouria: I’ll kick us off! There are so many achievements to list. One of them is the fulfilment of our central mission: the establishment of an innovation park that actually has the characteristics of a campus – in other words, a place that generates interactions and collaborations between people from different horizons, companies, academic institutions and Biopôle SA too.
What’s more, we’ve established various programmes for early-stage ventures and projects that have really thrived. I recently learned from Nasri that out of the 50 start-ups we’ve hosted in StartLab since it opened, 80% are still in operation – that feels like a big win.
Nasri: I agree – the way we accompany our companies from inception to launch and beyond is one of our biggest strengths. In fact, for the past couple of years, we’ve had barely any companies leave Biopôle due to needing more space or support. Our members are able to grow with us: HAYA Therapeutics is a key example, as a company that started at StartLab, then moved to Superlab, then to its own facilities and just closed a US$1bn deal in September 2024.
" The way we accompany our companies from inception to launch and beyond is one of our biggest strengths."
And this also speaks to the community we have built over the years: it’s about much more than just the buildings and infrastructure on our campus. Biopôle has really become an ecosystem of which I’m very proud. In our latest members survey, more than 60% of respondents told us that they regularly collaborate with someone on campus who is outside their own company or research institution, which just proves how integrated everyone is. In part, I believe that’s because we’ve reached critical mass, with 170 companies, 25 research groups and 2,500 people on campus – it’s a wonderful pool of talent and expertise.
That’s certainly an impressive list of achievements! Looking ahead, what do you think Biopôle’s role will be over the next 20 years?
Nasri: Given how quickly technology is evolving today, it’s impossible to make clear predictions; we don’t have a crystal ball (who could have predicted five years ago that AI would have transformed the field in the way it has?). Still, I have aspirations for Biopôle and a vision of the path I’d like us to take over the next 20 years. First, besides continuing to build and consolidate, I would love to see Biopôle as an ecosystem and Biopôle SA as a company help our industry be more sustainable. After all, financial capital is not the only metric of success – we must also take care of three other major types of capital: people, nature and society. I hope to position Biopôle at the forefront of this, helping our members and partners drive towards more sustainable solutions.
In addition, as a CEO and as a citizen, I want to see Biopôle contribute to improving our healthcare system, not only in terms of sustainability, but also in terms of integration, as we (hopefully) move away from silos towards a model that cares more than cures and above all centres on patients. This will take innovation, but also a change in mindset. I think Biopôle and its companies can play a role there. Voilà.
" Financial capital is not the only metric of success – we must also take care of three other major types of capital: people, nature and society. I hope to position Biopôle at the forefront of this, helping our members and partners drive towards more sustainable solutions."
On this topic, what are the most pressing issues facing life sciences today? And what is Biopôle doing to tackle them and/or harness new opportunities?
Nouria: There are quite a few issues facing life sciences – but they’re the same ones facing society as a whole. In my eyes, the biggest ones include: data protection, as R&D is more dependent than ever on data, and we need to put in place the right tools that protect it while simultaneously encouraging sharing; regulation, as we’re yet to modify and adapt legal frameworks at the same speed as new developments, and each development poses new ethical questions; sustainability, and how to reconcile it with growth and innovation, as Nasri already mentioned – for example, data processing and AI are amazing ways to advance research but they consume a lot of energy; environmental degradation and the healthcare outcomes associated with it; and finally the risk of further global epidemics in a world where
global leaders’ ability to cooperate on the international stage hangs in the balance.
In addition, to bring the focus back to Switzerland specifically, our healthcare system is creaking at the seams; we need to ensure that hospitals are collaborating effectively to reduce costs, while also maintaining some competitive spirit in the name of advancing research. Then, I would also love to see the therapeutic solutions that are developed in Switzerland rolled out to developing countries; I think this is a challenge we actively need to address in the Swiss life sciences market.
Nasri: I’m glad Nouria closed on the word ‘challenge’ rather than issue – I prefer to put a more positive spin on things. By all means, there are obstacles to overcome, but this is also an opportunity for us to come together and find solutions.
So, I think Nouria has covered most of the big ‘challenges’ – I just wanted to elaborate a bit more on AI, at what feels like a timely moment, as we just announced that the SDSC will be moving to Biopôle. By all means, the power of AI is nothing to be afraid of; rather, I’m much more afraid of natural stupidity, of the human beings who will be using this game-changing technology, possibly in a reckless or uncritical way. If we don’t teach people how to make use of this powerful tool correctly, it could be immensely dangerous. Thus, putting aside the tremendous opportunities that AI offers to our industry, it will be a major challenge for us to see how we can help our members and partners harness AI effectively to generate useful data and solutions that do good. In this (and in general), we at Biopôle must constantly ask the right questions to answer the right problems. Above all, I believe our mission
hinges on the following question: ‘How do we best support the people who work here so that they can benefit wider society?’
We’re able to accomplish this, I believe, by constantly listening to and connecting with our members. This allows us not just to react, but to anticipate their needs – for example, by bringing more shared lab space to campus in the form of StartLab and then the Digital Health Hub (DH²). The arrival of SDSC is just one example, among many, of this: we know our members will be facing challenges with data management and protection moving forwards, so we’re partnering with an organisation that can help. It’s this sort of anticipation and adaptation that sets us apart.
" I believe our mission hinges on the following question: ‘How do we best support the people who work here so that they can benefit wider society?’ We’re able to accomplish this, I believe, by constantly listening to and connecting with our members. This allows us not just to react, but to anticipate their needs."
Building on this, can you talk in a bit more detail about how Biopôle supports companies and research institutions in the ever-evolving life sciences market – and how this support might shift over time? Are there any other new initiatives you’d like to bring to campus?
Nouria: First of all, Biopôle’s team makes a tremendous effort to meet with every single CEO on campus as frequently as possible. So when we talk about the community and open lines of communication, it’s not an imaginary situation: Biopôle’s team actively seeks to know exactly what challenges each company is facing and then help address them.
In addition to this, I must say that, as an organisation, we have been set up in such a way as to enable us to be reactive to changing needs and circumstances. Unlike many other campuses, we’re not solely linked to public authorities, so we can be very agile and very flexible in deciding where to put our resources – and I can honestly say that we’re always trying to keep our members’ best interests at heart as we conceive of and implement new initiatives.
Nasri: Exactly. We’re always thinking about the next steps that will benefit everyone at Biopôle. I can’t say too much at this point, but we’re already discussing what the next space beyond StartLab and Superlab might be –serving, for example, rapidly growing companies that need more space but can’t commit to long-term leases. We’re in the process of developing a new solution with our partners.
In addition, I’ve been delighted to see how the Biopôle Start-up Fund has shifted from being a grant to a real pre-seed programme that can make a big impact on a young company’s journey: not only does it help financially, but
we also provide tailored advice about market analysis, positioning and more. I certainly want to continue developing this as a flagship programme that allows us to get more actively involved in the market and shift the dial in the right direction.
How do you think the life sciences market will change in the medium to long term? What would you like to see being prioritised in terms of R&D?
Nouria: In my opinion, digital health will be a major theme over the next few years –I don’t think it’s reached its full potential yet. I suspect that, in a few years, every patient with a chronic disease will have 24/7 help through smartphones and the like – which will be much more efficient than the applications we have now. In addition, I believe – and hope – there will be further developments in precision medicine, in part thanks to the increase in available patient data. With this, we’ll have many more drugs that are tailored to specific subsets of the population, meaning more drugs overall but a smaller market for each drug. Finally, I fear we’ll see a rise in infectious diseases, which may or may not be resistant to antibiotics. But to end on a more optimistic note, we’ve learned via the COVID-19 pandemic that we can develop vaccines very quickly, so I think we’ll see an influx of vaccines, as well as diagnostics becoming easier thanks to ‘omics’ methods, such as RNA sequencing and proteomics.
Nasri: To be frank, looking further into the future (not just five years or so, but 20 years), we need to make some major changes, because we’re likely to face some big health challenges. For one thing, the health economy as it stands is creating a two-tier healthcare system, even in rich countries like ours. Health systems all over the globe
are no longer economically sustainable, especially when you look at how many nations have ageing populations: we need to start talking about how to finance health (rather than care), which is a paradigm shift, but we need to make it happen.
Meanwhile, I think and hope that increased public awareness of health will support a move towards prevention and preventative medicine. For example, more and more people are starting to learn about ‘healthspan’, rather than ‘lifespan’, and therefore make healthier lifestyle choices. In this landscape, healthcare should become more holistic and citizendriven (not just patient-driven). That’s what I hope the future will hold.
How do research institutions and industry players fit together in Biopôle’s plans –how will the campus continue to foster close relationships between academia and industry?
Nouria: In short, we want to continue fostering collaboration between academics and industry stakeholders in order to advance innovation. To state a relatively simple point, I think it really helps that different institutions and companies are all in close proximity to each other on our site. In the age of remote working and Zoom, we obviously can make connections with people who aren’t based geographically close to us, but I think there’s a lot to be said for having local partners. And Biopôle represents a central hub that brings people together, putting them in contact with each other and providing opportunities for them to share their work in different fields with interested parties. We just need to build on this further.
" Biopôle represents a central hub that brings people together, putting them in contact with each other and providing opportunities for them to share their work in different fields with interested parties."
Nasri: Indeed, just to contextualise the figure I cited earlier: in our annual survey, 60% of our members stated that they collaborate with someone on campus who is outside their organisation, but a third of these respondents (so around 20% of our members) communicated that they collaborate with someone working in academia or research. This is obviously fantastic.
Moreover, our team does a lot to build close ties with talented students and graduates from local universities, like UNIL and EPFL. We run an annual Biopôle Discovery Day, which gets bigger and bigger every year –I think we’re expecting over 300 participants this year. Really, we do everything we can to ensure that life sciences academics also know about opportunities happening on the other side of the fence (i.e. industry) in life sciences (especially given that this fence is not so high, geographically and thematically speaking, as Nouria was saying).
This all sounds fantastic – it’s heartening to hear that initiatives like Biopôle Discovery Day get bigger each year. Finally, let’s talk a bit more about sustainability: of course, we want Biopôle to grow, but how will you ensure that the campus grows sustainably over the next few years?
What are your goals in this area?
Nasri: We all agree that this is a major priority for Biopôle SA moving forwards. We want to set ourselves really quantifiable goals – otherwise, it’s easy to lapse into greenwashing. With this in mind, we’ve done a materiality assessment and measured our carbon footprint to develop a clear action plan. One of our central objectives is to reduce our emissions by 25% by 2030. A lot of smaller measures go into this bigger goal, including increasing use of public transport to campus and making our buildings more energy efficient. But we always try to keep the big picture in mind – and also consistently communicate to our members and partners why we’re doing what we’re doing.
Leading on from this, we’re also looking beyond our own emissions to how we can help other people, including our members, reduce theirs. In this vein, we’re devoting quite a lot of effort to carbon offsetting, for example by planting trees on campus – we’ve planted 65 trees in the past two years and we want to plant another 22 next year. Of course, these aren’t huge forests that will absorb all the CO₂ on the planet. But it’s only by taking small, measurable steps that we make progress and contribute to the global sustainability drive.
What’s more, ESG [environmental, social and governance] is not just about gas emissions; it also includes a human aspect. So, we’re doing quite a lot to improve gender equality at Biopôle and make sure all our members feel comfortable at work, no matter their background or circumstances. There’s still progress to be made on this front – but we’re working on it!
Nouria: I just want to add one final point. Of course, Biopôle can put in place sustainable measures for its own community – but it also has a huge network: we are, after all, one of the biggest life sciences campuses in Europe. I believe we can extend this ESG work by talking to our companies, partners and associates about sustainability and equality, and maybe even encouraging them to implement similar policies.
In essence, we want to be a beacon, a leading light in Switzerland and in Europe, encouraging others to follow suit. I think we must leverage our power for good!
20 years of Biopôle
Biopôle came out of nowhere in 2004 and has grown significantly since then. In the last nine years alone, the number of companies has quadrupled to reach 170 in 2024 – 150 of which are life sciences companies.
Evolution of company numbers at Biopôle
Evolution of the space available at Biopôle (in m2)
CHF 2.4bn has been raised by Biopôle companies over the years.
CHF 1.5m has been invested by Biopôle SA to support start-ups through its fund and its Vanguard Accelerator programme.
Initiatives launched by Biopôle SA
2018
StartLab
StartLab is a fully equipped, shared laboratory that offers state-of-the-art infrastructure, equipment and offices. The 1,500 m2 space is tailored to companies operating in wet-lab biology and chemistry environments for drug discovery, diagnostics, synthetic biology, medtech and other areas of the life sciences.
2020
Superlab Suisse at Biopôle
Superlab offers private laboratory facilities and state-of-the-art equipment to companies working in biotech, pharma and medtech. The space boasts 1,320 m2 of laboratory and office space with concierge services.
2021
Biopôle Start-up Fund
The fund’s primary goal is to encourage start-ups that show scientific impact and growth potential. Biopôle SA supports entrepreneurial passion and early-stage innovation.
2023
Postgrad Consulting scheme
PhD students and postdoctoral researchers from EPFL and UNIL act as external scientific consultants and evaluate the scientific readiness of companies participating in the Biopôle Start-up Fund.
2019
Digital Health Hub
The Digital Health Hub brings together leading companies and renowned experts in the field of digital health to foster the integration of digital technologies in the life sciences sector.
2020
Corporate Programme
The aim of the programme is to foster mutually beneficial relationships that accelerate innovation between members of our community and large corporations, such as Roche, Novartis, Bristol Meyers Squibb, Labcorp and CSL Behring.
2021
Vanguard Accelerator
This immersive programme gives early-stage start-ups the opportunity to work with diverse and experienced digital health experts, who can advise on business plans and strategies.
ESG highlights: Biopôle’s impact in 2024 – and beyond
In 2024, Biopôle SA reaffirmed its commitment to sustainability, inclusion and community through impactful initiatives that enhance the campus experience and support its vibrant ecosystem.
A new crèche for families
Set to open in autumn 2025, ‘Ma crèche sous les étoiles’ will provide high-quality childcare tailored to working parents, helping all members of the Biopôle community balance family and career.
Empowering women leaders
Biopôle has announced that it will subsidise three spots at We Power Up’s bootcamp in May 2025: this is a fourday programme for women aspiring to leadership roles. By partnering with We Power Up, Biopôle aims to empower female entrepreneurs and leaders.
Integration for refugees
Through its partnership with Connexion-Ressources, Biopôle aims to connect companies on its campus with highly qualified Ukrainian refugees who hold S status. Employers who take on refugees benefit from government support, including salary reimbursement and funding for training, with the aim of promoting inclusion and growth.
Increased urban biodiversity, electric mobility and reduced waste
Biopôle earned Plus certification from Switzerland’s Nature & Economy Foundation for its biodiversity efforts. We also announced a collaboration with reCIRCLE to further reduce food waste through reusable packaging systems. In addition, Biopôle partnered with Mobility to offer electric cars on site, providing an ideal solution for community members who commute by public transport but need a car for appointments during the day.
A transformative project to revitalise the main square is also underway, replacing around 1,200 m2 of the existing asphalt surface with more permeable options like gravel, allowing water to drain into the soil and reducing the ‘heat islands’ found in urbanised areas. Within this space, Biopôle has planted more than 20 trees to create a substantial canopy. The new square is set to be completed in spring 2025, creating a welcoming space for the Biopôle community.
Interior view of the future crèche, set to open in autumn 2025. Parents working at Biopôle-based companies and academic organisations will be able to entrust their children to this dedicated space while they focus on their work. The facility is designed to accommodate up to 90 children, aged three to 48 months.
Directory
This directory lists the companies and services on the Biopôle campus. Please be aware that it is not complete as some companies have chosen not to be included.
Abionic
abionic.com
Diagnostics
Abionic is developing and manufacturing rapid in vitro diagnostic solutions using its proprietary nanofluidic technology.
AC BioScience
ac-bioscience.com
Biotech
AC BioScience is a clinical-stage biotech company developing personalised molecular therapies for solid tumour cancer patients, with a clinical focus on colorectal cancer and metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Adaptyv Bio
adaptyvbio.com
Biotech
Adaptyv Bio is building a next-generation protein engineering platform by coupling computational prediction and experimental validation with cell-free synthetic biology and high-throughput nanofluidics.
ADC Therapeutics
adctherapeutics.com
Biotech
ADC Therapeutics is a commercial-stage biotech company developing nextgeneration assets for targeted antibody-drug conjugates, with a pipeline on hematologic and solid tumour cancers.
AdipoGen
adipogen.com
Reagents
AdipoGen develops and manufactures innovative reagents for the life sciences research market, with a special focus on inflammation and immune response.
Agora Care
agoracare.ch
Digital health Agora Care has developed a secure, patient-centred, webbased platform for storing medical images that facilitates remote consultations, participation in clinical trials and the sharing of images with healthcare providers.
AKYmed
akymed.com
Biotech
AKYmed works in the field of reproductive technology, developing next-generation male fertility analysis solutions for doctors, laboratories, clinics, hospitals, breeding studs and research institutes.
Alithea Genomics
alitheagenomics.com
Biotech
Alithea Genomics is a biotech company that develops highthroughput transcriptomics solutions for research and biomarker discovery, using large-scale RNA sequencing.
Alliance Consulting
alliance-consulting.ch
Consulting
Alliance Consulting is active in talent hunting and strategic networking to identify and exploit new business opportunities. The agency is particularly active in the fields of health, nutrition and cosmetics.
André Roland andreroland.com
Consulting
At André Roland, a multidisciplinary team of attorneys and advisers assist a range of clients, from multinationals to start-ups, providing a comprehensive portfolio of intellectual property services.
Anteris Helvetia
anteris-medical.com
Consulting
Anteris Helvetia supports clients in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries, providing accessible and independent consulting services to ensure compliance in development, registration and beyond.
Apaco/INRA Group
apaco.ch
inra-group.com
Engineering
Apaco and its subsidiary INRA Group design, manufacture and supply equipment and systems for the demanding food, biochemical, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, setting standards in quality, innovation and technological progress.
Argá Medtech
argamedtech.com
Medical devices
Argá Medtech is developing a next-generation, non-thermal cardiac ablation system for treating patients with atrial fibrillation and cardiac arrhythmias.
Aspivix
aspivix.com
Medical devices
Aspivix focuses on innovations in women’s healthcare to develop atramautic devices that promote modern solutions for gynaecological procedures.
Atinary Technologies
atinary.com
Digital health
Atinary is a deep tech start-up that uses AI, ML, robotics and cloud computing to accelerate R&D and optimise processes for breakthroughs in several industries, including pharma, biotech and materials.
Avec
avec.ch
Food and beverages
Avec is a kiosk offering snacks and beverages all day long from the ground floor of Biopôle’s Metio building.
Avenza Consulting
avenzaconsulting.com
Consulting
Avenza Consulting empowers life sciences organisations to navigate complex challenges, optimise their performance and achieve sustainable growth, working collaboratively with clients to provide comprehensive, custom-made services.
BakerHicks
bakerhicks.ch
Consulting
BakerHicks is a design, engineering and project delivery company specialising in complex infrastructure, process and built environments across the full project life cycle, with extended experience in the pharma, biotech, medtech, fine chemicals and manufacturing sectors.
Bewe (formerly Neuria)
neuria.ch
Digital health
Neuroscience experts and engineers at Bewe (formerly Neuria) develop digital therapeutics for behavioural change and cognitive recovery. Their first tool is a video game that aims to rewire patients’ brains to decrease unhealthy cravings.
BDO
bdo.ch
Finance
BDO is an audit, accounting and consultancy firm working with industrial and service sector organisations, including SMEs, listed companies, public authorities and non-profit organisations.
BDVerse
bdverse.com
Consulting
BDVerse provides companies with unique expertise in the healthcare market, along with services and products to save time and reduce costs for digital transformation.
BENU Pharmacy
benu.ch
Healthcare
The pharmacy is part of the BENU Group pharmacy network and sells traditional medicines and a large assortment of phytotherapy and homeopathy products.
BioAlps
bioalps.org
Government administration
BioAlps represents western Switzerland’s biotech, medtech, pharma, nutrition and e-health companies, and offers access to a dynamic network of Swiss and international life sciences experts.
BioLizard
lizard.bio
Consulting
BioLizard offers a range of data science services, including biomedical data analysis, ML and AI to support companies and research institutions in their R&D and (pre)clinical studies.
Biomapas
biomapas.com
Contract research organisation (CRO) With expertise in clinical trials, regulatory affairs and pharmacovigilance, Biomapas provides functional and full outsourcing solutions to the global life sciences industry across the product life cycle, from development to postauthorisation.
Biopôle Dental Clinic
centredentairebiopole.ch
Healthcare
Biopôle Dental Clinic offers a range of dental services, including paediatric dental care, orthodontics and oral surgery.
biped.ai
biped.ai
Medical devices
biped.ai is developing a smart shoulder harness that uses AI and self-driving technology to guide blind and visually impaired people.
CARA
cara.ch
Digital health
CARA is an association that aims to give access to electronic health records in five Swiss cantons, providing the public and healthcare providers with a secure platform for exchanging health-related information.
Cellestia Biotech
cellestia.com
Biotech
Cellestia is a clinical-stage R&D company developing first-in-class gene transcription factor inhibitors to control and modulate pathogenic gene expression in multiple areas, like oncology, autoimmune diseases and inflammatory disorders.
Cellula Therapeutics
Biotech
By harnessing world-class innovation in CAR-T cells, this venture addresses the challenges of solid tumours, focusing specifically on brain tumours, by uncovering brand new pathways for arming immune cell effectors.
Centre André Henzelin
cah.ch
Healthcare
Centre André Henzelin’s missions are to train health professionals in naturopathy, carry out applied research and educate the general public about alternative and complementary medicines.
CILE and CRIC
groupe3r.ch
Healthcare
CILE and CRIC are two centres located at Biopôle that provide radiographic and cardiovascular imaging services to patients.
Clinimed
www.clinimed.ch
Healthcare
Clinimed provides general medicine clinics, using a holistic approach, tailored solutions and innovative diagnostics, including microbiota and epigenetic analysis.
Combioxin
combioxin.com
Biotech
Combioxin is a clinical-stage biotech company developing innovative drugs for treating severe bacterial or viral infections and fighting antibiotic resistance. Its pipeline includes a first-in-class anti-virulence agent for the treatment of severe pneumonia.
Consultants in Science
consultantsinscience.com
Consulting
Consultants in Science provides resourcing services to life sciences companies, including support with recruitment, writing, reviews and assessments.
CSL Behring
cslbehring.ch
Biotech
CSL Behring is a global biotherapeutics leader that uses the latest technologies to develop and deliver innovative therapies to treat severe and rare diseases.
Cube Labs
cube-labs.com
Consulting
Cube Labs builds companies from promising early-stage R&D, and provides entrepreneurial and operational support at all the stages of their life cycle to transform pioneering science into healthcare solutions.
Cureos Biotechnology
Biotech
Cureos Biotechnology’s mission is to advance molecular processing and automation technologies to enable a new paradigm of precision, personalised healthcare, aimed at a range of future applications, including early cancer detection and IVF pre-implantation genetic diagnostics.
CXIO Foundation
cxiofoundation.ch
Healthcare
CXIO is a non-profit foundation that integrates classical and contemporary medicines in a holistic approach.
CxO
cxo.swiss
Consulting
Through its experienced team of professionals, CxO provides flexible and scalable strategic guidance, operational support and financial services consulting to start-ups and more mature companies in the life sciences and healthcare sectors.
Dandelion
dandelion.science
Digital health
This US–Swiss neurotechnology company aims to improve the lives of people affected by brain disorders by combining advanced generative technology solutions with deep science to develop a platform for programming network dynamics in the brain.
Department of Agriculture, Viticulture and Veterinary Affairs (DGAV)
vd.ch
Government administration
DGAV is responsible for implementing agricultural policy, securing training, providing support for rural families and applying legislation relating to animal health, animal well-being and the policing of dogs.
Department of Biochemistry (UNIL)
unil.ch
Research institute
The Department of Biochemistry performs cutting-edge research on a variety of fundamental immunological processes, including immune responses, inflammatory processes and cell death pathways.
Department of Oncology (UNIL-CHUV)
unil.ch
Research institute
The Department of Oncology comprises clinical and research teams dedicated to excellence in cancer care, research and innovation.
Department of the Industrial, Urban and Rural Environment (DGE-DIREV)
vd.ch
Government administration
The DGE-DIREV is in charge of protecting people and property against damage and pollution caused by human activity, and preparing a regional climate plan to deal with the challenges of climate change.
DermApp
dermapp.ch
Digital health
DermApp has devised a web platform that offers patients with skin conditions online consultations with certified dermatologists who give a personalised answer within 48 hours.
Distalmotion
distalmotion.com
Medical devices
Distalmotion has developed Dexter, a hybrid surgical robot offering laparoscopic surgeons the option to switch between laparoscopic and robotic surgery at any time during a procedure.
Edificom
edificom.ch
IT services
Edificom is an IT solutions, services and network infrastructure provider that offers innovative and secure technology solutions through its certified Tier 4 data centre.
eHealth Group
ehealthgroup.ch
Digital health
eHealth Group is a digital healthcare company that provides a range of services, including scientific, consulting and legal, and focuses on delivering innovative solutions to transform healthcare for the better.
Emovo Care
emovocare.com
Medical devices
Emovo Care focuses on nextgeneration wearable robotics. Its flagship product is a portable and lightweight hand orthosis device that supports people with impaired movement to perform tasks in their daily life independently.
EuroVacc Foundation
eurovacc.org
Pharmaceuticals
EuroVacc promotes research into vaccines against HIV and other infectious diseases, facilitating the development of vaccine candidates through early clinical trials to expedite translational research from discovery to clinical development.
Evidone
evidone.com
Digital health
Evidone leverages modern technology and AI to empower operating room teams and drive efficiency. Areas of focus include preventing time loss and mismanagement, and optimising procedures to lower equipment costs.
Exogems
exogems.com
Biotech
Exogems aims to disrupt inflammation and regenerative medicine and exploit the therapeutic potential of exosomes by combining FDA-registered Lipogems® technology with proven biopharmaceutical manufacturing know-how.
Faculty of Biology and Medicine (UNIL)
unil.ch
Research institute
At the Faculty of Biology and Medicine, research and teaching cover the three distinct but complementary disciplines of biology, medicine and nursing science.
Ferring Pharmaceuticals
ferring.com
Pharmaceuticals
Ferring is a research-driven biopharmaceutical group focusing on the development of medicines in the field of reproductive medicine and maternal health, urology and uro-oncology, and gastroenterology and immunology.
Flexdental Services
fdservices.ch
Medical devices
Flexdental Services is a dental equipment specialist that provides planning, installation, supply and maintenance services to individual dentists and group practices.
Genknowme
genknowme.com
Diagnostics
Genknowme works on developing an innovative blood test that identifies key epigenetic markers, to help adults track, maintain and improve their well-being and potential longevity.
GetSet Surgical
getsetsurgical.com
Medical devices
GetSet Surgical aims to improve patient outcomes, reduce risk and create value in surgical procedures by providing sterile good-to-go instruments that facilitate pre-operative planning, on-demand surgery and efficiency.
Gnubiotics Sciences
gnubiotics.com
Biotech
Gnubiotics Sciences develops solutions to diagnose and restore microbiome health in humans and pets through the use of glycans.
Gondola Medical Technologies
gondola-medical.com
Medical devices
Gondola Medical Technologies has developed a neurorehabilitation device to improve quality of life for patients affected by gait disorders and balance impairments caused by stroke, Parkinson’s disease or ataxia.
Groupe Mutuel
groupemutuel.ch
Insurance
Groupe Mutuel provides personal insurance and health insurance to more than 1.3 million private customers and almost 25,500 companies.
HAYA Therapeutics
hayatx.com
Biotech
HAYA Therapeutics is a precision medicines company developing therapeutics that target long non-coding RNA to treat and potentially reverse fibrosis and other serious medical conditions related to ageing.
Hedera Dx
hederadx.com
Diagnostics
Hedera Dx is developing liquid biopsy solutions to be used by clinicians for early detection, therapy selection and recurrence monitoring of cancer, to offer patients better outcomes with minimally invasive tests.
HoliYou
holiyou.life
Digital health
HoliYou is a personalised digital assistant for users undergoing medically assisted reproduction treatments, providing tools for understanding protocols and solutions for improving general well-being.
Hycann Health
hycannhealth.com
Pharmaceuticals
Hycann Health distributes pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis through an approach based on quality, compliance and innovation.
Ichnos Glenmark
Innovation (IGI)
iginnovate.com
Biotech
IGI is a new partnership between Ichnos Sciences Inc., a clinicalstage biotech company developing multispecifics™ in oncology, and its parent company, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Glenmark), which aims to develop cuttingedge therapy solutions to treat haematological malignancies and solid tumours.
Impli
impli.org
Digital health
Impli develops implantable technology products, enabling real-time access to accurate health data. Its hormone monitoring device has been developed for fertility specialists and their patients to optimise treatment and support informed decisions.
Incepto Medical
incepto-medical.com
Digital health
Incepto is a digital health company developing an AI-enhanced platform to help with detection and diagnosis in medical imaging.
Incito
incito.ch
Communication
Incito is a communications agency that provides public relations (PR), stakeholder and crisis management services to a range of customers, from individuals to multinational companies.
Innovaud
innovaud.ch
Government administration
Innovaud is the innovation and investment promotion agency for the canton of Vaud that helps tech-oriented companies develop their businesses and carry out innovation projects.
Interregional Blood Transfusion SRC
itransfusion.ch
Healthcare
The service focuses on procuring, processing, testing and providing blood products to the cantons of Bern, Vaud and Valais, as well as providing advice and pursuing research in the field of transfusion medicine.
ISII-TECH
isii-tech.fr
IT services
Since 2008, ISII-TECH has partnered with a range of clients on their innovation journeys, providing solutions in the fields of management and industrial IT, automation, and instrumentation.
Keyros Medica
revinax.net
Digital health
Keyros Medica creates customised, immersive virtual reality tutorials for medical procedures, harnessing experiential teaching to encourage best practice for procedures, swift adoption of new medical devices and increased clinical confidence.
Kisco
kiscopharma.com
Consulting
Kisco provides on-demand outsourcing and procurement solutions to support clients with the operationalisation of their drug development.
LASCCO
lascco.com
CRO
LASCCO is a biomedical technology company that specialises in developing discovery-stage pharmaceuticals and diagnostics.
Lavaux Biotech
lbc-sarl.com
Consulting
Lavaux Biotech supports pharmaceutical and small biotech companies on a range of projects, from short-term bottleneck resolution to full execution, building their R&D strategy and bringing their assets into clinical development.
Le Café @biopôle
biopolecafe.ch
Food and beverages
Le Café @biopôle provides guests with fresh and healthy snacks and meals throughout the morning and at lunchtime.
Lederer & Partner
ledererpartner.com
Consulting
Covering all phases of the project and product life cycles of pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, Lederer & Partner develops customised project analysis, evaluation and management models, identifying potential risks and areas for improvement.
Legacy Healthcare
legacyhealthcare.ch
Biotech
Legacy Healthcare aims to develop novel drugs for autoimmune, inflammatory and ageing-related conditions that are safe enough for chronic use, especially by fragile populations.
Leman Biotech
lemanbio.com/en
Biotech
Leman Biotech is a start-up that aims to develop and commercialise new metabolic cancer immunotherapies.
Lermed
lermed.ch
Diagnostics
Lermed develops innovative assays (in vitro avatars and liquid biopsies) to stratify patients suffering from neurodegenerative and age-related diseases.
LifeDX
lifedx.co
Diagnostics
LifeDX creates accurate and affordable diagnostics devices to help countries improve their healthcare quality and the efficacy of early diagnostics and prediction.
Limula limula.ch
Biotech
Limula is working to develop technology that can perform every step of the cell therapy manufacturing process in a single device, directly at the point of care.
Ludwig Cancer Research
ludwigcancerresearch.org
Research institute
The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research branch in Lausanne is primarily dedicated to studying tumour immunology and designing and developing novel immunotherapies.
Medistri
medistri.swiss
Services for healthcare
Medistri provides sterilisation, laboratory analysis and logistics/ distribution services to professionals in the medical and pharmaceutical industries.
Méridio Restaurant
meridio.ch
Food and beverages
Méridio Restaurant offers an all-you-can-eat buffet and takeaway options inspired by Mediterranean cuisine.
Milian milian.com
Lab equipment
Milian distributes consumables and equipment from a wide range of well-known brands to research organisations specialising in the life sciences, agri-food and industry.
NewBiologix
newbiologix.com
Biotech
NewBiologix is developing a proprietary and breakthrough DNA integration platform for the advanced engineering of human and mammalian cell lines to improve the production of viral vectors used in gene therapies.
Nexco Analytics
nexco.ch
Digital health
Nexco Analytics offers AI, bioinformatics and data analysis services, with a focus on life science and omics data.
Next Cut
Barber shop
Next Cut is a unisex hairdresser located at Biopôle.
Novassay
novassay.com
Biotech
Novassay offers R&D discovery services and drug development programmes in neuropathic pain and oncology, with a special focus on ion channels.
Novigenix
novigenix.com
Biotech
Novigenix specialises in immuno-transcriptomic solutions for cancer detection, therapy optimisation and cancer recurrence monitoring to improve disease management and patient outcomes.
Novostia
novostia.com
Medical devices
Novostia is a privately owned medical device company developing an innovative, lifelong artificial heart valve that does not require anticoagulation medication and that is suitable for patients of any age, including children.
NOW*
agence-now.ch
Communication
NOW* is a communications agency that works on creative, sustainable and responsible projects in a range of fields, from retail to non-governmental organisations.
OCT Global
oct-clinicaltrials.com
CRO
OCT is a contract research organisation that provides a full range of high-quality clinical trial services for Phases I–IV and bioequivalence studies.
Consumption Office (OFCO)
vd.ch
Government administration
OFCO oversees consumer protection, supervises regulated economic activities and focuses on ensuring optimal drinking water supplies, compliance with hygiene regulation and fairness in commercial transactions.
Online Control
onlinecontrol.ch
IT services
Online Control develops software system products with partners for real-time optimisation and advanced automatic control of industrial processes and machines.
Onward Therapeutics
onward-therapeutics.com
Biotech
Onward Therapeutics is a development-stage oncology company focusing on identifying innovative technologies and developing breakthrough medicines for treating cancer.
Opna Bio
opnabio.com
Biotech
Opna Bio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class therapies to disrupt immunosuppressive barriers in cancer cells.
Orbis Medicines
orbismedicines.com
Biotech
Orbis Medicines is leveraging a computational platform to support the discovery, development and delivery of drug candidates for challenging targets.
Otten Life Sciences Consulting
olsc.ch
Consulting
Otten Life Sciences Consulting offers tailored services in the finance and healthcare industries for investors, shareholders and life sciences companies.
PACTT Technology Transfer
pactt.ch
Government administration
PACTT is the technology transfer office of UNIL and CHUV, which manages all aspects of research commercialisation, partnership and collaboration, and intellectual property.
Parithera parithera.com
Diagnostics
Parithera leverages liquid biopsy to provide a minimally invasive diagnostic that analyses cancer treatment resistance and allows clinicians to adjust treatment regimens.
PDC Therapeutics
pdcbio.com
Biotech
PDC Therapeutics is a clinicalstage biotech company developing smart nanomedicines for targeted therapies, using polymer-drug conjugate technology, that seek to provide cancer patients with an optimal therapeutic index.
PeriVision
perivision.io
Medical devices
PeriVision is developing a novel approach to glaucoma diagnosis and monitoring by combining AI and virtual reality technology to provide patient-friendly, cost-efficient and faster visual-field testing.
Physio Home Care
physiohomecare.ch
Healthcare
Physio Home Care is a physiotherapy organisation working in rehabilitation/ functional rehabilitation in the home, developing innovative solutions to help patients access services.
Pilatus Biosciences
pilatusbio.com
Biotech
Pilatus Biosciences develops anticancer antibody therapeutics and works in the fields of oncology, immunotherapy and neurodegenerative diseases.
Populus Bio
populusbio.com
Consulting
Populus Bio unlocks scientific and therapeutic potential. It complements originator teams with appropriate functional expertise, creating collective impact in biotech companies.
Precise Health
precisehealth.io
Biotech
Precise Health aims to revolutionise the treatment of bacterial infections by replacing broad-spectrum antibiotics with personalised bacteriophage technology. Its initial validation work concentrates on inflammatory skin conditions such as acne and atopic dermatitis.
Readily3D
readily3d.com
Medical devices
Readily3D has developed a tomographic bioprinter, based on illumination technology, to create innovative tissue constructs in seconds.
Directory
Qarad
qarad.com
Consulting
Qarad offers expert regulatory consultancy services for in vitro diagnostics (IVD) and supports businesses with their efforts to implement quality management systems and organise performance studies.
Rachis Clinic
rachis.clinic
Healthcare
The Rachis Clinic consists of an interdisciplinary team that takes an approach based on individual occupational therapy, physiotherapy treatment and, if necessary, group postural reconditioning.
Radar RP
radar-pr.ch
Communication
Radar RP provides healthcare and life sciences researchers with PR and communications services to get their messages across to a wide range of audiences: stakeholders, the general public and financial or business partners.
Roche Diagnostics
Switzerland roche.ch
Diagnostics
Roche Diagnostics develops diagnostic tests, instruments and digital solutions, focusing on specific areas that include cancer immunotherapy, haemophilia and multiple sclerosis.
Santy santy.ch
Healthcare
Santy promotes health and safety at work by supporting businesses in meeting regulatory requirements and managing staff absenteeism, and by providing a personalised service according to business needs.
SEED Biosciences
seedbiosciences.com
Medical devices
SEED Biosciences provides innovative solutions for single-cell assays, including the DispenCell automated laboratory instrument, which is designed for fast, easy and gentle single-cell isolation.
SeedIMPULSE
seedimpulse.ch
Digital health
SeedIMPULSE works in orthopaedics and medical software, providing innovative solutions such as the EZplan software platform to support orthopaedic surgeons as they plan joint replacement surgeries.
Siftlink
siftlink.com
Digital health
Siftlink is a business intelligence platform combining AI and human experts to help its clients gain the insights and intellectual property needed to accelerate their innovation processes and succeed in highly competitive markets.
Signal26 Biotherapeutics
signal26bio.com
Biotech
This start-up has harnessed research by academics at the CHUV to identify the IL-26 signalling pathway as a novel target for treating autoimmune diseases. It is currently focusing on developing a novel biological treatment for pustular psoriasis.
Skyviews Life Science
skyviewslifescience.com
Finance
Skyviews Life Science is a privately owned advisory company, specialising in precision health and longevity, which identifies investment opportunities at the growing interface between biotechnology, advanced nutrition and digital health.
SP Groups
spgroups.ch
Consulting
SP Groups is an engineering consultancy firm that provides simple, pragmatic solutions and a comprehensive service to clients in the fine chemicals, biotech and pharmaceuticals sectors.
SULFISCON
sulfiscon.ch
Biotech
Through research by SULFISCON’s three founders, the company is developing enzymatic allosteric modulators for use as drugs to treat pathological calcification disorders affecting the cardiovascular system and joint tissue among others.
Superlab Suisse
superlabsuisse.com
Real estate
Superlab Suisse provides ready-to-move-in serviced laboratories to companies working in the biotech, pharmaceuticals and medtech industries that need private facilities.
Swiss Biobanking Platform (SBP)
swissbiobanking.ch
Research institute
SBP provides a coordination platform for biobanking in Switzerland, contributes to developing common biobanking practices and promotes access to, and sharing of, samples and data for research purposes.
Swiss Institute of
Bioinformatics (SIB)
sib.swiss
Research institute
SIB is a non-profit organisation that focuses on biological and biomedical data science, delivering its expertise to academic groups, clinicians and private companies.
Swiss Nutrition Health Foundation (SNHf)
nutritionhealthfoundation.ch
Nutrition
SNHf is a non-profit organisation that focuses on nutrients, micronutrients and natural bioactives, developing and deploying high-quality testing and research capabilities in the domains of nutrition, health and cosmetics.
Swiss Post post.ch
Digital health
Swiss Post is a trusted, singlesource supplier that provides digital solutions and managed services to connect all parties in the healthcare sector.
Testmate Health
testmatehealth.com
Diagnostics
Testmate Health is a medtech start-up developing a rapid at-home self-testing kit: a simple urine test for four common sexually transmitted diseases that provides results in minutes.
TheraME!
besttherapyforme.com
Diagnostics
TheraME! uses microfluidic technology to rapidly determine the best cancer therapy options, personalised for each individual patient at any given point in time.
Tigen
tigenpharma.com
Biotech
Tigen bridges the gap between academia and commercially ready therapies in the field of cell and gene therapy by combining novel T-cell therapies and an innovative manufacturing platform to treat solid tumours.
Tridek-One
tridekone.com
Biotech
Based on its founders’ groundbreaking research, Tridek-One is developing first-inclass CD31 checkpoint agonists for treating diverse autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.
Unilabs
unilabs.ch
Diagnostics
Unilabs supplies clinical laboratory testing and medical diagnostic imaging services to private and public healthcare providers, local governments, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, and the general public.
Unisanté – DESS
unisante.ch
Healthcare
Unisanté – DESS specialises in public health research in the fields of epidemiology, health systems and services, and statistics, among others.
Unisanté – DSTE
unisante.ch
Healthcare
Unisanté – DSTE provides services to companies to support them in their health management projects in the fields of occupational medicine, occupational and environmental hygiene, ergonomics, and health promotion.
URBAGESTION
urbagestion.ch
Facility management
URBAGESTION specialises in property administration, facility management and urban governance, working with a large network of partners to obtain a rapid and comprehensive overview of the market.
Vaccine Formulation Institute
(VFI)
vaccineformulationinstitute.org
Biotech
VFI is a non-profit organisation that provides adjuvants, vaccine formulations, expertise and technologies on an open-access basis to prevent diseases across the globe.
Vanarix
vanarix-cartilage-regeneration.ch
Biotech
Vanarix is a clinical-stage start-up, specialising in regenerative medicine, which aims to develop innovative and effective cell-based therapies, such as Cartibeads for treating articular cartilage damage.
Vandria
vandria.com
Pharmaceuticals
Vandria develops best-in-class small molecule mitophagy inducers that rejuvenate cells by restoring mitochondrial health to treat age-related and chronic diseases.
Vaudoise Assurances
vaudoise.ch
Insurance
Vaudoise Assurances provides life and non-life insurance services, mainly working with individuals, SMEs and the public sector.
Vidymed
vidymed.ch
Healthcare
The Vidymed Group comprises three medical centres that are open seven days a week to serve the population of Lausanne.
VirdisGroup
virdisgroup.com
Consulting
VirdisGroup provides executive search, talent acquisition and recruitment services for the life sciences industry.
Vitruvian Shield
vitruvianshield.com
Digital health
Vitruvian Shield is working to provide a multipurpose digital health platform for collecting biometric data sets to analyse, detect and prevent epileptic seizures.
Vivactis Switzerland
vivactis.ch
Communication
Vivactis Switzerland specialises in life sciences and healthcare communication, combining medical, scientific, marketing and communications skills to support customers with their local and international projects.
VivoArchitect
vivoarchitect.ch
CRO
VivoArchitect supports life sciences companies and academic institutions with preclinical studies in rodents for drug discovery. Its comprehensive preclinical services also include project management, regulatory licensing guidance and data analysis.
Voltiris
voltiris.com
Environmental
Voltiris leverages greenhouse structures through solar panel design to produce electricity without affecting agricultural yield, thus enabling owners to maintain profitability while fostering energy independence.
Volumina Medical
volumina-medical.ch
Biotech
Volumina Medical works in the field of regenerative medicine and reconstructive and plastic surgery, focusing specifically on addressing soft tissue loss in breast cancer patients.
Volv Global
volv.global
Digital health
Volv Global is a digital health and life sciences company that applies AI to healthcare to help clinicians to characterise and diagnose rare diseases.
Biopôle SA's dynamic team focuses on creating an environment in which companies and employees can prosper by collaborating within the Biopôle community and beyond. From left to right: Lucie
