Wyss Zurich receives donation of 100 million Swiss francs

The Wyss Zurich Translational Center has received a second donation, amounting to 100 million Swiss francs, from the Swiss businessman and philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss. His first donation in 2014 enabled the center for the promotion of startup projects in medicine and robotics to be established. This new financial contribution ensures that it can operate for the next six to eight years, according to a press release from Wyss Zurich.

Wyss Zurich is a joint initiative from the University of Zurich (UZH) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH). The idea for this came from Hansjörg Wyss, patron and founder of the medical technology company Synthes, together with founding directors Simon P. Hoerstrup, a physician at the UZH, and Roland Siegwart, a robotics expert at the ETH.

The Wyss Zurich Translational Center operates at the interface between medicine, natural sciences, and engineering. It aims to promote academic research in such a way that it attracts the attention of investors and potential industry partners. The aim is to bring the products and therapies resulting from research to market more quickly.

Hoerstrup is quoted in the press release, stating: “We are very grateful for the foresight and trust shown by Hansjörg Wyss in helping to launch our translational center for the promotion of startups – and for his continuing support. We view this additional major donation as recognition of our work and as an incentive for us that allows us to realize further promising projects and to support highly motivated teams.”