BioEntrepreneurship: Catalyzing innovation from lab to market

Swiss universities are innovation hubs, where novel ideas are born with the potential to address critical global challenges. Yet, without the right support, many of these promising concepts remain confined to the lab. The Institute of Regenerative Medicine (IREM) at the University of Zurich (UZH) launched the BioEntrepreneurship & Innovation (BEI) program in 2016 to bridge this gap, providing researchers with the resources, expertise, and access to the life sciences network in order to help them transform their ideas into viable business cases.

With two Modules, organized several times a year, each consisting of maximal 24 participants, the program supports PhD+, and post-doctoral researchers from UZH, ETH Zurich, USZ, Balgrist and affiliated university hospitals. Participants form teams of 3-5 people to work on a concrete business idea and over the course of over 14 weeks, they are equipped with essential bioentrepreneurship and business skills through workshops led by seasoned entrepreneurs and experts from both startups and established companies. These workshops are designed to guide participants in refining their business plans, perfecting their pitches, and receiving valuable feedback.

“We’ve always dreamed of involving more business professionals in the program,” says Dr. Andreea Cretu, program lead, “but until now, we’ve been fully booked with researchers. We are currently exploring a potential collaboration with St. Gallen, which would allow our researchers to meet with business students and foster opportunities for collaboration.”

To date, the program has trained over 700 participants, formed 140+ project teams, and resulted in the creation of 60 spin-offs and active projects. 41 of these spin-offs are now incorporated, with standout startups like EraCal Therapeutics, Muvon Therapeutics, ADULARIA, InCephalo, Somagenetix, aiEndoscopic, and Oxyprem making significant strides. These companies have advanced to clinical trials, secured funding, attracted strong industry partners and grown their teams. Another success for the program is the increasing number of women researchers joining the program. Since 2016, 31 female participants joined the program and launched startups including ONtrack Biomedical, IMAI Medtech, FimmCyte, Sallea. Further advanced projects include Baxiva,  SomaRem, Prima Genetics, IntelEEGent, NeuroPAT.

“The BEI program helped transform my startup, Innunity Therapeutics, from a concept into a well-structured business case. It provided invaluable guidance, connections, and training that helped refine our strategy through Modules A, B, and C. This support played a critical role in securing the UZH Entrepreneur Fellowship, which allowed us to take the next step toward company formation. BEI was instrumental in bridging the gap between science and business, equipping us with the tools and network to move forward,” says Antonis Katsoulas, Project lead Innunity Therapeutics.

Open calls for 2025 edition
Looking ahead, the BioEntrepreneurship program is committed to nurturing the next generation of biotech and medtech startups. Starting in 2025, applicants will be selected based on their motivation for joining the program. This refined approach will help foster the growth of even more businesses and further strengthen the startup ecosystem. An open doors final pitching competition is scheduled for 23 July and hosted at Superlab Suisse in Schlieren. Registration for the next edition is open until 15 September.

Additionally, for the past four years, the IREM team has provided biomedical entrepreneurship training for UZH and ETHZ Master’s students. As of 2025, there will be specialized block courses to make this education accessible to more students at both the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels. The pilot block course will start on 15 September. 

(RAN)
Image: IREM