ETH spin-offs win Swiss Technology Award

This year’s Swiss Technology Award was presented at the Swiss Innovation Forum in Basel on November 18. The award given by the Swiss Economic Forum aims to promote a culture of innovation in Switzerland. It recognizes excellent companies in three categories: Innovation Leaders, Start-ups and Inventors.

The award for the Inventors category was won by Procavea Biotech. The start-up has developed a patented protein cage that can be used to transport pharmaceutical active substances within the body in a targeted way. The Swiss Innovation Forum writes that the development from the ETH spin-off Procavea Biotech has “the potential to set new standards in molecular medicine, improve existing therapies and address unmet clinical needs”.

Another spin-off from the ETH prevailed in the Start-ups category. Embotech AG uses artificial intelligence to develop software for autonomous systems. According to an appraisal of Embotech on startupticker.ch, “the start-up is successful on the market and on a growth course”. According to this, the start-up plans to provide transportation as a service in addition to software in future.

The winning trio was completed by Belimo Automation AG. The start-up with headquarters in Hinwil in the canton of Zurich rose to victory in the Innovation Leaders category with its Belimo Energy Valve. The smart valve controls water flow through heating, ventilation and climate systems in order to minimize energy costs and optimize the efficiency of a building.