Biopôle Lausanne

**Biopôle SA team takes stock after the summer break** With the shift in seasons, September is an excellent time to reflect. That's why we took some time out this week to sit down together and look back – and to the future. 💫 We met to share our progress and acknowledge the projects we've completed since the start of 2024. We also revisited the objectives we set in 2023, checking in on current results. And of course, we looked ahead to the end of this year and the start of 2025. 🙌 Everyone benefited from the opportunity to strengthen our bonds and celebrate our achievements. We look forward to sharing news of all the great upcoming projects due in the next few months.

👀 Have you heard the results from the Top 100 Swiss Startup Awards ceremony last week? Congratulations to the overall winners DePoly, a cleantech company based in Sion committed to tackling the plastic waste problem by closing the loop on PET plastic recycling. We're very proud to see several Biopôle members were also selected: 🧬 Last year's winners HAYA Therapeutics was placed 5th for its work treating heart failure through innovative RNA-therapies. 🌱 Voltiris was 6th on the list; its technology enables double-use of large greenhouse surfaces to produce electricity without impacting high agricultural yield, which in turn leads to a better quality product with less need for pesticides. 🏥 Included for the third time in four years, Limula was ranked 72, recognised for its innovative solution for the production of personalised cancer treatments on demand and at scale. 👩⚕️ We also had one member feature in the Top Swiss Scale-up ranking: Volumina Medical, which develops dynamic biomaterials for reconstructive and plastic surgery. 👏 Bravo to everyone who was selected. We're happy that the hard work of Biopôle members is being recognised.

👋 Please join us in welcoming Serge Aymon to Biopôle SA’s Board of Directors! Serge brings extensive experience in finance and construction, having spent the last few years working for the Canton of Vaud in the Service d’analyse et de gestion financières and Direction générale des immeubles et du patrimoine. We look forward to leveraging his invaluable expertise as our beautiful campus grows – but grows sustainably! As Serge commented, ‘Biopôle is not only a dynamic incubator, but also a major driver of innovation in the region. I’m determined to help Biopôle continue to be an innovative hub that serves the evolving needs of users, while also integrating best practices in terms of sustainability and resource optimisation to maximise the campus’ impact.’ Yesterday, the new board met for the first time in our offices. We would like to express our gratitude to Nouria Hernandez, Raphaël Conz, Serge Aymon, Nicolas Cottier, Brigitte Crottaz and Pierre-Antoine Hildbrand for all their hard work to steer Biopôle into the future. We couldn’t be in better hands!

🧠 Our LinkedIn poll last week asked about neuromodulation and the conditions it treats. The results are now in 👇 But were the majority of people right? 🤔 Find the answer in our September newsletter, which will consider the broad and fascinating field of neuromodulation, highlighting cutting-edge technologies that are making significant impacts. Want to learn more? Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/gnTZ8yX

📣 September is well underway and we already have several exciting pieces of #BiopôleNews to share with you: 👏 Exogems SA has secured CHF 500K in seed-stage financing from business angels to advance therapeutic exosome development, which will fuel the company’s mission to harness its potential for treating inflammation, infection and cancer. 🇬🇧 Aspivix, a leading innovator in gynecological solutions, has announced that its pioneering device Carevix™ has received approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for use in the United Kingdom. 🤝 HAYA Therapeutics shared news of a multi-year agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to apply its advanced RNA-guided regulatory genome platform to support preclinical drug discovery efforts in obesity and related metabolic conditions: HAYA will receive an upfront payment, including an equity investment, and is eligible to receive up to an aggregate US$1 billion in preclinical, clinical and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties on product sales. 🏅 Volumina Medical's CEO and Co-Founder Amélie Béduer has been nominated by an independent and distinguished panel of judges for this year’s EY Entrepreneur Of The Year award, with final selections to be announced on Friday 4 October. 👀 biped robotics has been recognised by EU-Startups as a promising European start-up helping the blind and visually impaired for its innovative, AI-powered mobility vest. 🎉 Congratulations to all of our members on their recent successes. We can't wait to see what else might happen before the end of the month!

🎨 It can be invaluable to step away from your desk and immerse yourself in a creative environment. That's why we invite CEOs from the Biopôle community to meet somewhere off campus every year. This time, we gathered at PLATEFORME 10, home to three dynamic museums: mudac, Photo Elysée and MCBA. 👀 More than 50 people participated in the event. Attendees were given a private after-hours tour. It was a great opportunity for everyone to network and meet new people in a relaxed environment! Biopôle is proud to have such a strong set of CEOs who are ready to exchange ideas and share experiences, and most importantly to support each other. Thanks to everyone for coming! 🙏

🗞️ Hot off the press! HAYA Therapeutics has just announced a collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company.     The multi-year agreement will apply HAYA’s advanced RNA-guided regulatory genome platform to support preclinical drug discovery efforts for obesity and related metabolic conditions.     HAYA will receive an upfront payment, including an equity investment, and is eligible to receive up to an aggregate US$1 billion in preclinical, clinical and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties on product sales.     💬 ‘We look forward to working closely with Lilly, an established leader in developing treatments for metabolic diseases, to help bring patients novel disease-modifying therapeutics that could offer greater efficacy, safety and accessibility than currently available treatments.’ Samir Ounzain, HAYA CEO and Co-Founder.      HAYA’s momentum is impressive. It was one of the first residents of Biopôle’s StartLab five years ago. In 2019, it received a FIT - Fondation pour l'Innovation Technologique Tech Seed loan of CHF 100,000 and it announced its CHF 18m seed round in 2021, which allowed the company to move to private serviced laboratories at Superlab Suisse and establish a US location in San Diego.      👏 Congratulations to Samir Ounzain, Daniel Blessing, PhD, Eric Adam and the rest of the HAYA Therapeutics team. It’s an exciting new adventure for the company.     Learn more about HAYA’s work and the dark genome in this interview with Samir in April 2022: https://lnkd.in/ed_tF_Ci 

🎓 We're thrilled to share an exciting announcement: our partner EPFL is now taking applications for its next round of internships!   Not only does this give talented young students the chance to test drive a career in the life sciences, but it represents a fantastic opportunity for companies both on and beyond our campus to benefit from these students' fresh perspectives and innovative ideas.   By accommodating an intern, you can: • identify potential future collaborators • gain support for specific projects • infuse new ideas and perspectives into your team • strengthen your strategic partnership with EPFL • connect with younger generations   💡 Additionally, companies associated with Biopôle (at StartLab, Digital Health Hub or affiliated with our Start-up Fund or Vanguard Programme) may be eligible for funding support through our collaboration with Catalyze4Life at EPFL School of Life Sciences. As a reminder, we have agreed to host up to three EPFL Master's students per year for a six-month internship at a Biopôle start-up.   Don't miss out on this opportunity to contribute to a student's professional growth while also enhancing your company's innovation capacity!   🔗 Find out more and submit your internship proposal today: https://bit.ly/4dLjPVj

♻️ Cut waste over lunch 🍽️ We’re committed to offering sustainable solutions on the Biopôle campus and we think it’s a mission everyone can get involved in. 🤝 One example is our new partnership with reCIRCLE AG. We’ll be working with them to replace disposable packaging with high-quality, reusable alternatives. From 1st September, all the restaurants on campus will be using reCIRCLE’s containers, so you’ll be able to visit Méridio, L’Union, Ven’art or La Ferme and enjoy a delicious meal, while also contributing to the reduction of both food and plastic waste. How does it work? 👉 Purchase your food either to eat in or take away in reCIRCLE’s high-quality containers 👉 Enjoy your meal and, if there are any leftovers, take them with you, safe in the knowledge that reCIRCLE’s packaging won’t leak 👉 Reuse the container next time you visit our restaurants or return it to get your deposit back On-campus food trucks will also join this initiative in 2025. ❤️ Switching how we package food is only a small change, but it will significantly reduce how many containers are thrown away on campus every day. Together we can make a big difference. Bon appétit!

🧠 Neuromodulation refers to a variety of techniques that act directly upon the nervous system. ⚡ They use electrical, chemical or mechanical means to target an area and alter – or modulate – nerve activity and function. 🏥 While neuromodulation can be used to tackle many disorders, some conditions are more commonly treated than others. 👇 Take part and discover the correct answer in the upcoming newsletter, with insights on the topic from Luca Randazzo at Emovo Care and Adam Hanina at Dandelion Science.