The EPFL spin-off Baio Labs has obtained CHF 150,000 from Venture Kick to advance its generative AI platform for early-stage drug discovery. By designing novel molecules for specific therapeutic targets in seconds, the biotech startup aims to help researchers identify promising drug candidates faster and at significantly lower cost.

Finding new drug candidates traditionally involves screening large libraries of existing molecules to identify those that could act on a specific disease target. Despite considerable time and expense, these approaches explore only a tiny fraction of the vast number of possible molecules. Depending on the target, such discovery campaigns can take several years and cost millions of dollars.

Baio Labs is developing its platform, Drugon, to shift this process from searching existing chemical libraries to rationally designing new molecules for a specific target. Powered by a generative AI model that considers the three-dimensional structure of the target, the platform can generate novel small molecules in seconds. Drugon brings molecular design, synthesis, and experimental validation into one integrated ecosystem, enabling medicinal chemists to move more efficiently from a therapeutic target to potential drug candidates.

With Drugon, Baio Labs targets a rapidly expanding computational drug discovery market. The team aims to work with pharmaceutical companies to materially reduce their development timelines and bring down the cost of the drug discovery process.

The CHF 150,000 from Venture Kick will help Baio Labs to scale up R&D efforts and implement their go-to-market strategy.

Baio Labs was founded by Ilia Igashov, Arne Schneuing, and Bruno Correia, two EPFL PhD students and a professor who are pioneering the use of generative AI for structure-based drug design.

Source: Press Release | ©Baio Labs, CTO Arne Schneuing and CEO Ilia Igashov

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On 7 and 9 October 2026, the INNdustry programme, led by Innovaud, meets you in La Broye and Morges

The INNdustrywill be hitting the road with its Tour Bus to meet industrial SMEs and subcontractors face-to-face in various regions of the canton of Vaud. From Nyon to northern Vaud, via Chablais, Lausanne, La Broye and Morges, this tour offers a series of workshops, company visits and meetings organised with the support of regional economic development agencies.

The aim is to connect businesses with partners, funding and opportunities that can support their growth.

7 October – Spontis SA – Avenches – Register now
8 October – Friderici – Tolochenaz – Register now

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On 24 of September, BioAlps Swiss Health Valley organised a one-day forum at Ilmac Lausanne and attracted overs 300 participants.

Ilmac Lausanne, held on 23 and 24 September 2026 at Beaulieu, had its best edition yet. The event welcomed 3,952 participants (+18.6% compared with 2024) and 213 exhibitors (+7%), further strengthening its position as an important platform for the life sciences and chemical industries in Western Switzerland.

Key topics included automation, artificial intelligence, digitalisation, biotech and process analytical technology (PAT). The new Future of Life Sciences Area and the fully booked Startup Area provided fresh insights, many valuable discussions and concrete new contacts.

The BioAlps Forum puts biotools in the spotlight

In collaboration with Innovaud, BioAlps hosted a full-day forum dedicated to the biotools community, which attracted more than 300 attendees over the course of the day.

After opening remarks from Ilmac, BioAlps, Innovaud and the Swiss Biotech Association, CSEM gave the opening keynote. Samantha Paoletti and Gilles Weder showed how biotools sit at the heart of bioconvergence, from applied research to industrial adoption.

Two panel sessions followed:

• Building the Biotools Ecosystem brought together FluoSphera, Thermo Fisher Scientific, EPFL and Genesupport to discuss innovation, challenges and the road to market.
• Engineering the Future: Biotools in Advanced Therapies gathered Bracco, Limula, the University of Fribourg and Alliance pour innover.

In the afternoon, Marine de Lageneste of Cytiva gave a keynote on delivering cell and gene therapies at scale.

The day ended with a lively pitch session, in which 11 regional start-ups presented their solutions: Aerospec, Arcoscreen, Bionomous, Bioscibex, Calico Biosystems, FluoSphera, Inbiomics, Metromol, Nagi Biosciences, Rockstone Engineering Switzerland and Theragate. Closing remarks and networking took place at the joint BioAlps and Innovaud booth.

Many thanks to all the speakers, start-ups and participants, and to Ilmac and Innovaud for their partnership. See you at the next edition!

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The Neuro Campus Day is taking place on 2 November 2026 at Campus Biotech Geneva

Neuro Campus Day brings together researchers, clinicians, engineers and innovators from the neuroscience, neurotechnology and neuroengineering communities at Campus Biotech and its partner institutions. The day is a chance to find out about the latest research, explore new collaborations and discover the campus’s cutting-edge platforms.

Programme highlights

• Opening panel with members of the FCBG Academic Council on the campus’s scientific vision, current challenges, shared platforms and future collaborations
• Two poster sessions, with awards for the three best posters. The overall winner will be invited to present at a future Neuro@noon session.
• Guided tours of the campus’s technological and clinical platforms

Monday, 2 November 2026, 9:30–16:30 | Campus Biotech, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202 Geneva | Registration deadline: Friday, 9 October 2026. If you’d like to present a poster, include its title and the presenter’s details when you register | More information and registration

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INNOSQUARE@MIC: Innovation for Healthtech, from Materials to Data is taking place on 4 November 2026 at Marly Innovation Center

The MedTech sector now brings together an ever-wider range of technologies and expertise. Innovative materials, medical devices, manufacturing processes, diagnostics, sensors, data and even cyber security all contribute to the development of the healthcare solutions of tomorrow.

INNOSQUARE@MIC 2026 will highlight this diversity through innovative companies based at the Marly Innovation Centre and collaborative projects supported by the New Regional Policy (NPR).

On the programme: presentations of technologies and projects, discussions with their initiators, and an exploration of the synergies emerging between industry, research and innovation.

An evening to explore MedTech in all its facets and the expertise driving its development in the canton of Fribourg.

PROGRAMME

5.00 pm: reception

5.15 pm: welcome address by Nicolas Huet, Head of INNOSQUARE
– Presentation of MedTech-related technologies by Innomedica and Xemperia
– Presentation of NPR projects: the STAMP project and the HESTIA project
– Presentation of innovations in the healthcare sector with Seprify and KeyIT
– Closing remarks

6.20 pm: drinks and networking, tour of the stands

7.30 pm: end of the event

4 November 2026 | 5 pm – 7.30 pm |Marly Innovation Center | Registration

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Apply before 1 December 2026 for Innowwide, a programme supported by Eureka to assess market feasability

Innowwide supports innovative small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups to assess the viability of research or commercial plans in international markets. The Eureka programme offers grants of 60’000 euro for market feasibility projects in cooperation with local actors in the selected target country during a 6-month timeframe.

Market feasibility projects allow the funded organisations to gain a deep understanding of the business environment in a specific target country.

Key outcomes from projects include:

• Understanding the technical feasibility of a product, process, or service in a chosen market;
• Understanding the viability of a business model;
• Identifying key local legal, financial, political, cultural, and behavioural characteristics that could affect the deployment of a solution;
• Identifying ideal ways to exploit a solution, including further research and innovation.

The Innowwide call for projects is open to start-ups and SMEs from Switzerland. The project must be directed towards a target country in: Africa, the Americas, Asia, or Oceania and must include an independent subcontractor that is established in the target country.

Apply by 1 December 2026 |  Apply here

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On 16 September, UCB Farchim celebrated 30 years in Bulle with a ceremony on site. The event was the highlight of a Jubilee year that looks back on three decades of growth and ahead to the site’s next chapter.

From a 1996 start to one of UCB’s key sites

UCB, the Belgian biopharmaceutical group, set up in the canton of Fribourg in 1996. Bulle has since become one of the group’s main manufacturing sites. Nearly CHF 800 million has been invested there in state-of-the-art buildings and equipment. The site makes medicines for allergies, epilepsy and autoimmune diseases for patients around the world.

What makes Bulle unusual is its dual expertise in biological and chemical manufacturing, spread across three technology platforms:

• pharmaceutical production
• chemical synthesis
• biotechnology

The site now employs more than 800 people.

Still investing

The anniversary is more than a look back. In October 2025, UCB Farchim announced over CHF 100 million in additional investment in Bulle. The money is going into:

• a new production unit for a chemical compound
• expanded laboratory activities
• a new industrial cooling facility designed to improve energy efficiency and cut the site’s carbon footprint

“This Jubilee year is not only about the road we have travelled,” says site director Fabrice Véricel. “It also highlights the momentum the Bulle site has today, with new investments, development projects and a constant drive to combine performance, responsibility and long-term vision.”

A people-first employer

The site’s success rests on its teams, their deep process know-how and the way skills are passed on between disciplines. In 2020, Bulle became the first pharmaceutical company in Switzerland to earn the Equal Salary certification, which was renewed in 2023. In 2025, UCB Farchim was named one of Switzerland’s ten most attractive employers in the PME & Handelszeitung survey, and came first in the pharma and chemicals category. Sustainability has long been part of the site’s DNA. It began its first initiatives in 2008 and has taken part in the Swiss Triple Impact programme since 2021.

A cornerstone of Fribourg’s life sciences ecosystem

“UCB Farchim and its biotech site in Bulle are a flagship of life sciences in the canton of Fribourg,” says Jerry Krattiger, Director of the Fribourg Economic Promotion Agency. “UCB also embodies the operational excellence of a sector whose productivity is 3.2 times the cantonal average, according to BAK Economics.”

Happy 30th anniversary to everyone at UCB Farchim, and here’s to the next 30 years in Bulle!

 Source: Press Release | © UCB, Stemutz Photo

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On 17 September, more than 800 guests gathered at the Arena de Genève for the seventh CANSEARCH charity gala. The evening was the highlight of Gold September, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and raised more than CHF 1.6 million for research into childhood cancers and blood diseases.

The evening opened with a moving short film in which parents shared their stories through the theme “A letter to my child”. A conversation between Prof. Marc Ansari and Guerric Canonica followed, reminding guests that too many children still suffer from their illness and that research is the only way to give them better chances. The charity auction, led by Laurien Hessels, added a touch of glamour. Guests included Miss Universe Switzerland Itiya Dube and former Formula 1 driver Jean Alesi.

The money raised will support paediatric onco-haematology research at Geneva University Hospitals (HUG). The survival rate in the hospital’s Paediatric Onco-Haematology Unit now stands at 94%, and more than 3,500 children have benefited from advances made through this research.

The CANSEARCH Foundation funds research projects within the Paediatric Onco-Haematology Unit of the HUG’s Department of Paediatrics, Gynaecology and Obstetrics. It set up the CANSEARCH Research Laboratory in Geneva, the first research platform dedicated to paediatric oncology and haematology. Through this public–private partnership, the foundation supports highly specialised, personalised medicine and helps keep the canton of Geneva at the forefront of care for children with cancer.

  Source: Cansearch | © Cansearch

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The InnoJura Accelerator has welcomed its first cohort. The programme was launched by Basel Area Business & Innovation, with support from Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area, to help start-ups and scale-ups grow their businesses.

The jury selected ten projects, and six of them have links to the life sciences. They began the programme in July 2026 at the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area site in the Jura. The projects cover a wide range of fields: industrial intelligence platforms, AI coaching tools, metabolic copilots for endurance athletes, micrometric metal 3D printers and advanced neuro-endovascular interventions.

ÀNARA (AIMA Innovation): a decision-making copilot for endurance athletes

Nurse and athlete Victor Baute noticed a paradox in 2021: we collect more and more data about our bodies, yet our decisions still rely mostly on gut feeling, experience or a fixed training plan. With Mike Andres, he is now developing ÀNARA. The app combines a user’s activity, recovery, sleep, nutrition and how they feel. It learns how each person works and recommends whether to push, adapt or recover, with a simple explanation. It is meant as a decision aid, not just another dashboard.
Next step: user testing. The team is looking for endurance athletes and coaches, as well as sports physiology partners and clubs to strengthen field and scientific validation.

AXXIOS: passive vibration control for industry, sport and medtech

AXXIOS builds on long experience with materials, vibrations and frequencies. Its technology changes how materials respond to frequencies so that they behave better under stress. It comes either as self-contained modules that can be attached to existing structures or as a powder built into materials and components. Because it needs no power supply or sensors, it can improve comfort, performance and durability in machinery, sports equipment, transport and medtech.
Next step: industrial partners for pilot projects, mainly in industry and sport, to validate the technology and move to series production. External scientific validation will also help refine the strategy.

Mikram: metal 3D printing at micrometre resolution

Mikram is a spin-off of AdTime SA. It is co-developing and industrialising a compact metal 3D printer with micrometre resolution, aimed at watchmaking, medtech and aerospace. Today’s metal printers are often not precise enough, so parts need long and costly finishing work, and micro-components are often out of reach. The project is backed by Innosuisse and a consortium of academic and industrial partners covering the whole value chain.
Next step: closing the funding round to build and test the prototype, then identifying the applications where the technology adds the most value, with feedback from end users.

Neurobotix: robotic navigation for brain catheters

Neurobotix tackles an unmet need in neuroradiology: steering microcatheters through complex brain blood vessels with more precision and control. It began in 2020 as a collaboration between research and engineering and became a company project in 2025. Its robotic platform combines AI, a digital twin and magnetic control. The aim is to rely less on the operator’s manual skill, make procedures more precise and repeatable, reach difficult anatomy and allow remote control.
Next step: hospital partners for preclinical testing, access to vascular data and images, and funding for these validation steps.

Pentacore: a 3D digital twin of the human body

Pentacore’s founders want to make knowledge of human anatomy accessible to everyone. Their product, Orbisense, is a digital adviser for sports and health professionals. It replaces slow manual body measurements with instant, reliable data from a high-precision 3D digital twin, so users can track changes in their body and posture. The company chose the canton of Jura for its strong medtech ecosystem and its universities.
Next step: a pilot phase in the Jura. Pentacore is looking for sports centres, physiotherapy practices and nutrition experts in the region.

Poerava: an AI lean coach on the factory floor

Poerava grew out of its founders’ work leading production teams and lean programmes in the pharmaceutical industry. They saw the same pattern everywhere: the methods have been known for decades, but there is roughly one operational excellence expert for every hundred employees. Teams are trained once and then left alone with a spreadsheet. Poerava puts an AI-powered lean coach into teams’ daily work. It guides each person through problem-solving at their own level and ends with a concrete deliverable, so the gains last.
Next step: first pilot sites in pharma, medtech or precision manufacturing, where the platform will be finalised on site with the teams who will use it.

  Source: Innojura | © Basel Area

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Apply before 30 November 2026 for the Advanced Physician Scientists Grants, offered by the Gottfried and Julia Bangerter-Rhyner Foundation in partnership with the Swiss Academy of Sciences

Physicians active in research play a vital role in identifying unmet medical needs, deepening our understanding of pathological mechanisms and translating this knowledge into improved patient care. However, senior registrars and assistant doctors face a lack of funding opportunities and posts that would enable them to pursue high-level research whilst shouldering increasing clinical responsibilities.

To address this need, the Gottfried and Julia Bangerter-Rhyner Foundation is making CHF 1.7 million available annually for a period of four years. By funding the dedicated research time necessary to develop their scientific independence, the ‘Advanced Physician Scientists Grants’ programme aims to enable more outstanding clinician-researchers trained in Switzerland to progress to professorial and clinical leadership positions.

The grant comprises CHF 70,000 per year to cover 50 per cent of the recipient’s salary as dedicated research time. Up to an additional CHF 50,000 per year may be requested to support early-career researchers working under the recipient’s supervision. The programme funds both basic and clinical research.

Application Deadline: 30 November 2026 |   Apply

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