Greater Zurich Area boosted by addition of a new start-up location

Elektron AG will make lab and office spaces covering an area of 1,100 square meters available to the founding organization grow from Wädenswil in the canton of Zurich. These premises are to be offered for use to a couple of rapidly growing life sciences start-ups: Araris Biotech AG, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), and Nemis Technologies AG. As such, the local area of Wädenswil is now set to be boosted by the addition of a fourth site for the promotion and development of ambitious start-ups.

The technology company Elektron is financing the conversion of the premises into laboratory facilities and office space. “The collaboration with grow fits perfectly into our philosophy of combining modern technologies with sustainability”, comments Enrico Baumann, CEO of Elektron, in a press release issued by grow. “For us, installing these two start-ups represents an investment in the future and a commitment to the business location of Wädenswil”, Baumann adds.

Araris Biotech is researching novel anti-cancer antibody compounds. For its part, Nemis is developing diagnostic solutions to detect pathogenic bacteria in food. Both companies have also closed successful financing rounds, with Araris generating gross proceeds in excess of 15 million Swiss francs in October 2020 and Nemis more recently banking a total of 7.75 million Swiss francs.

Philipp Kutter, Mayor of Wädenswil, explains in the press release that the founding organization grow has registered significantly accelerated growth over the past five years. Kutter is also a member of the foundation board of grow. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, further growth looks to be on the cards, which would be “exceptionally positive for research and the economy in and around the Wädenswil area”, he concludes.