BIND 2026 Crowns Four Life Sciences Winners
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Four Swiss Health Gems won several awards during BIND – BioInnovation Day 2026. Dexterous Endoscope won the Best Start-Up Award, PreciMune got the Best Academic Project Award. Impli AG and MoleSense won support from H4 and CSEM.
BioAlps proudly celebrated the most promising life sciences innovations emerging from Western Switzerland at the BIND – BioInnovation Day 2026, held at CHUV and attended by 340 participants from academia, healthcare, industry, investment and innovation support.
Now firmly established as one of the region’s flagship innovation events, BIND brings together the Swiss Health Valley ecosystem to showcase breakthrough academic projects and fast-rising startups shaping the future of healthcare.
This year’s edition recognized four standout winners, each addressing major unmet needs in medicine and health technologies:
Dexterous Endoscope Best Startup – Sponsored by Lenz & Staehelin (CHF 5,000)
Dexterous Endoscope is an EPFL spin-off. The project stood out for its next-generation variable-stiffness endoscope, designed to combine the navigational advantages of flexible instruments with the precision and force of rigid tools. The technology is particularly relevant for procedures in ENT, urinary and gastrointestinal pathways — areas where access remains a major clinical challenge. The company has also recently secured significant support, including CHF 150,000 through Venture Kick and CHF 250,000 from the Canton of Vaud to accelerate product development and growth.
PreciMune – Best Academic Project Award – Sponsored by KT UNIL-CHUV and UNITEC (CHF 5,000)
PreciMune, developed at UNIL-CHUV with support from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, is advancing a proprietary immune profiling platform capable of delivering highly sensitive and comprehensive immune repertoire analysis. The project aims to support more precise patient selection, earlier treatment monitoring, and more effective development of next-generation therapies. In early 2026, PreciMune also received a FIT-InnoTREK grant.
Impli AG – H4 Award
Based at Biopôle, Impli AG is developing what could become the first real-time hormone monitoring device for women’s health. By enabling continuous hormone tracking, the company aims to transform fertility care, IVF monitoring, and broader hormone-related health management. The startup recently gained international visibility through a strategic partnership with Bayer, following its win in a Bayer-sponsored innovation challenge.
MoleSense – CSEM Award
Finally, MoleSense, another breakthrough project originating from EPFL, is developing a needle-free wearable patch for continuous and non-invasive monitoring of reproductive health biomarkers, with an initial focus on high-risk pregnancies. By replacing repeated blood draws and enabling real-time monitoring, the technology has the potential to ease the burden on both patients and clinicians. The company recently received CHF 100,000 from the Fondation pour l’Innovation Technologique (FIT) and is currently preparing for its next stage of development and fundraising. MoleSense will receive strategic and technological support from CSEM.
A jury representing the strength of the Swiss Health Valley
The 2026 winners were selected by a distinguished jury bringing together leading voices from academia, technology transfer, innovation support and the life sciences ecosystem in Western Switzerland.
2026 Jury members:
– Wilma Lukas – FONGIT
– François Capel – Innovaud
– Olivier Deloche – Unitec Technology Transfer Office
– Julien Guex – FIT – Fondation pour l’Innovation Technologique
– Alberto Schena – Knowledge Transfer UNIL CHUV
– Pierre-Jean Wipff – BioAlps – Life Sciences Cluster 🇨🇭and Biopôle Lausanne
Their combined expertise reflects the depth and diversity of the Swiss Health Valley, and their evaluation highlighted projects with strong scientific merit, clinical relevance and market potential.
About BIND – BioInnovation Day
BIND – BioInnovation Day was originally launched by UNITEC, the technology transfer office of the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), together with KT UNIL-CHUV (formerly PACTT), the technology transfer office of the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV).
The event was created to showcase the best academic life sciences research and innovation emerging from Western Switzerland. Since 2025, BioAlps – Western Switzerland Life Sciences Cluster – has taken over the organization of BIND, further strengthening its role as a platform connecting research, entrepreneurship, healthcare and industry across the Swiss Health Valley.
Press contacts
- Dexterous Endoscope: Yegor Piskarev – yegor.piskarev@dexterousendoscopes.com
- ImpliAG: Anna Luisa Schaffgotsch – annaluisa@impli.org
- MoleSense: Gian Luca Barbruni – gianluca.barbruni@molesense.ch
- PreciMune: Johanna Chiffelle – johanna.chiffelle@unil.ch
Photos credit: ©Salomé Crouzet Kazzaz | BioAlps
📸 BIND 2026 Winners – From L to R: Johanna Chiffelle – PreciMune, Daniel Doyon – Impli, Yegor Piskarev – Dexterous Endoscope, Gian Luca Barbruni – MoleSense.
➡️ More Picture here