Further rise in number of UZH spin-offs

The number of spin-offs emerging from the University of Zurich (UZH) is continually on the rise. According to a press release, UZH students and alumni have founded a total of 75 start-ups since 2010 with the aim of commercializing their inventions. Since 1999, a total of 143 start-ups have been spun-off from UZH. They have all developed new products on the basis of UZH research findings or technology and brought these to market maturity – or are currently in the process of working towards this goal. The UZH Innovation Hub supports entrepreneurially minded pioneers as they strive towards setting up their own business.

Last year, too, a total of seven founding teams opted to go their own way in the business world. These are mostly MedTech or BioTech start-ups, while others also operate in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). For example, the spin-off KOVE focuses on work to minimize the risk of preterm births related to minimally invasive fetal operations. Its method is based on the research of Martin Ehrbar, Professor for Fetal Recovery and tissue engineering, and Nicole Ochsenbein, Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics and Senior Doctor and the Clinic for Obstetrics at University Hospital Zurich.

MUVON Therapeutics is developing an autologous cell therapy for the regeneration of skeletal muscle tissue. The research for this started 12 years ago at the UZH laboratory for tissue engineering and stem cell therapy. Its first mission is to come up with an effective treatment for stress urinary incontinence in women.

Tosoo seeks to improve individual quality of sleep. Its roots can be traced back to an interdisciplinary research project conducted by University Medicine Zurich. The BioTech start-up Invasight develops low molecular weight compounds that block the spread of tumor cells in a targeted manner. For the time being, the company is focused on an early clinical phase and is currently seeking to bring investors on board.

With its SynReport software, Celerato intends to simplify the process of creating pathology reports. In fact, four Swiss hospitals are already using SynReport. SUIND offers drone manufacturers customized drone software solutions. These were developed by the Robotics and Perception Group at UZH. The spin-off Blockchain Presence was founded only at the turn of the year. A group of Students under the direction of Christian Ewerhart, Professor of Information and Contract Economics, successfully realized a blockchain solution for contractual partners that may not necessarily fully trust each other.