Topadur wins Swiss Economic Award

One of the three prizes at this year’s Swiss Economic Awards has gone to a company at the Bio-Technopark Schlieren-Zurich. Founded in 2015, Topadur Pharma AG won in the category Hightech/Biotech.

“They are conducting ground-breaking research”, said jury member Marcel Widrig from the consultancy firm PwC, adding that Topadur founder and CEO Retao Naef and his team put their heart and soul into solving a global problem. The market is huge, and Topadur’s invention has the potential “to save a million people from needed an amputation”. The jury was also impressed by Naef’s entrepreneurial spirit: “Sixty is the new thirty,” Widrig said, when alluding to Naef’s age. 

At the award ceremony, Reto Naef thanked his “extremely motivated team” as well as previous investors, and announced his intention to launch the first product onto the market in 2022. According to Naef, the biggest hurdle has recently been overcome: the active ingredient passed a toxicological test. “The active ingredient can be safely given even in large doses”. 

The company also plans to go public in three years, and new investors are welcome already today. “We still have place,” Naef called out across the events hall. Two of the jury members have already declared their willingness to invest. 

Topadur develops innovative products for the treatment of difficult-to-heal wounds and is currently working on two promising candidates: the active ingredient TOP-N53 is meant for use in diabetic foot ulcers and chronic wounds and could prevent amputations, while TOP-N44 prevents scarring. 

Naef is already thinking about a next project, this time in ophthalmology, to develop a new active ingredient that can improve blood circulation in the eyes and prevent blindness. “We already have the active ingredient,” said Naef. To this end, the company may open a new company or a Topadur office in Basel.

Schlieren's Economic Development Agency director Albert Schweizer congratulated Topadur on its prestigious win. “Reto, Schlieren congraulates you and the entire Topadur team on this award!” he said. “Truly another milestone on the way to saving the lives of millions of diabetics.” Virtamed, another Schlieren-based company, won the award in 2013. 

The Swiss Economic Award 2018 in the category Production/Industry went to the Lausanne-based startup L.E.S.S. for its lighting technology based on nano-active optical fibres that can be used in the watchmaking and automotive industries, among others. Bern-based Fairtiq won the award in the category Services for its app, which allows people to travel by public transport without having to worry about purchasing a ticket. The app detects the driven route and automatically debits the correct amount.