On 6 and 7 July 2026, EPFL spin-off and Valais-based circular materials company inaugurated its Showcase Plant at Monthey’s Industrial Park (CIMO) — the first depolymerization facility of its kind and scale in Switzerland. The plant can process around 500 tonnes of PET feedstock per year and has already generated CHF 50 million in signed customer volume.

What sets DePoly apart from conventional recycling is fundamental chemistry. Traditional mechanical recycling degrades material quality with every cycle. DePoly’s light-activated chemical depolymerization process instead breaks PET down into its original molecular building blocks — purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG) — in under 60 minutes, without high temperatures or pressure. The result is virgin-quality raw material, suitable for any PET application, with up to 75% lower emissions than conventionally produced PTA. The process handles waste streams that conventional recycling largely ignores: coloured packaging, polyester textiles, complex films and contaminated materials.

The industrial case is compelling. More than 450 million tons of plastic waste are generated worldwide each year, yet less than 10% is effectively reused. Twenty percent of global oil production goes into plastics, and 57% of textile fibres are polyester. Transforming that waste into a feedstock rather than a disposal problem is both an environmental and a strategic proposition — reducing dependence on fossil-based raw materials and strengthening supply chain resilience.

The build of the plant involved more than 100 different companies and suppliers, with a total of around 100 pieces of equipment installed on site. There are also more than 1,100 instruments and valves, connected by 3 kilometres of pipework and 1.5 kilometres of electrical cables. In total, more than 10,000 hours of engineering work were required to design and build this facility.

“This Showcase Plant represents more than just steel, pipes and equipment,” said Samantha Anderson, CEO and co-founder. “It represents six years of asking if the circular economy is possible, and proving that it is.”

The inauguration brought together industrial partners, institutional figures and investors — including new backer Una Terra Venture Capital alongside existing shareholders BASF, Beiersdorf, Founderful, Infinity, ACE & Company and MassMutualVentures. The next milestone is already in preparation: a commercial plant targeting 50,000 tonnes per year capacity, with its location to be announced in the first half of 2027.

Source: Press Release | ©DePoly

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Designed for Swiss entrepreneurs leading growing startups, this 6th edition supports founders as they navigate the key challenges of scaling. The programme combines IMD’s world-class executive education with the real-life experience of successful scale-up CEOs. A practical, peer-driven journey to help entrepreneurs scale themselves, their teams and their companies.

Join an IMD world-class executive education in Lausanne

• Learn directly from IMD professors and serial entrepreneurs
• Build a powerful peer network of scale-up founders
• Gain practical tools and strategies to drive growth
• Take part in Lausanne’s rise as Europe’s #5 European Density Leader
• Exclusive access to a network of similar stage entrepreneurs

This programme is for founders and CEOs of fast-growing tech startups who:

• Are scaling nationally or internationally
• Have at least 8 Full Time Employees
• Have raised at least their Seed funding (Minimum CHF 1M raised) and are around their series A – we can make a few exceptions for bootstrapped companies who have the potential to scale

How it works

• Next session runs from January to June 2027
• Application deadline 30 September 2026
• Limited to 20 participants
• Programme fee: 9’900CHF. Possibility to apply for a scholarship of 50% of the cost for Vaud based companies.

More Information

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The call for systemic projects aims to support innovative collaborative projects with significant potential to drive economic impact and enhance the sustainability of the agri-food sector. Apply until 19 October 2026.

This call for projects is aimed at consortia of entrepreneurs and academic institutions wishing to work together using a systemic approach – that is, by involving as many stakeholders as possible, including end-users (consumers, farmers or any other users affected by the proposed product, technology or concept) – across the following themes.

• Biomass utilisation
• Agriculture & Industry 4.0
• Conscious consumers & innovation

The projects selected will receive funding from the Canton of Fribourg. This funding comprises, on the one hand, funding dedicated to coordination and, on the other, funding to support activities.

A contribution of 30 per cent is required from the team’s partners, including academic and business partners. The form of this contribution is left to the partners’ discretion; it may be in kind and/or cash.
Funding granted by the canton may amount to up to CHF 150,000 (excluding the partners’ contribution).

Application Deadline: 19 October 2026 |  More Information

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After 10 years at the helm of the Swiss Biotech Association, Michael Altorfer is stepping down. He will ensure a smooth transition with the chosen candidate.

In 2025 alone, 130 new members joined the Swiss Biotech Association, bringing total membership to a record of nearly 700. Close to 200 CEOs attended its annual CEO Meeting in January, and Swiss Biotech Day in May drew more than 3,500 participants from 58 countries, including 31 international delegations.

It is from this position that Michael Altorfer, the current CEO has announced his intention to hand over the reins. The search is deliberately unhurried: he will remain in post until a successor is appointed, and will support the transition through the delivery of key 2027 milestones — including the Swiss Biotech Report and Swiss Biotech Day 2027. If the timeline holds, he will complete a full ten years at the helm by the end of April 2027.

On the profile of the ideal candidate, the message is clear: technical credentials matter, but personality is essential. The next CEO will become the trusted public face of Switzerland’s biotech industry — someone who leads with vision, builds bridges, listens, and inspires confidence among both domestic and international partners.

ℹ️ More Information | 📧 Fabian Schrank – Egon Zehnder: fabian.schrank@egonzehnder.com

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Three years after its inauguration on the shores of Lake Leman, Merck’s Biotech Development Centre (BDC) in Corsier-sur-Vevey has been recognised by the World Economic Forum (WHO) as one of the world’s most advanced manufacturing sites.

On 22 June 2026, the WEF announced 16 new additions to its Global Lighthouse Network — a community now comprising 238 sites recognised for deploying advanced technologies at scale across manufacturing and supply chains. Merck’s Vaud facility was among them, awarded in the “Distinction in Customer Centricity” category for its pioneering approach to biologics production.

The centre, which required a CHF 250 million investment and spans 15,700 m², was built to do something rarely attempted in pharmaceutical manufacturing: shift biologics production entirely from batch to continuous processing. The results speak for themselves. Speed to patient has been cut by 50%, laboratory productivity has increased by 67% through automation and robotics, and the capital expenditure required to build a commercial-scale plant has been reduced by 80% — a figure that fundamentally changes the economics of bringing next-generation biologics to market.

“This digitally-enabled facility is designed to accelerate the availability of new medicines to patients,” Merck noted, adding that its modular environments allow scientists to focus on high-value tasks rather than manual processes. The building is also powered in part by 500 m² of solar panels.

The recognition is a milestone for the Swiss Health Valley ecosystem. Merck has been established in the Canton of Vaud for nearly 40 years and employs over 1,600 people across its Corsier-sur-Vevey and Aubonne sites. It is one of the most significant life sciences employers in French-speaking Switzerland, with more than 2,400 employees across the country and over CHF 1 billion invested in Switzerland over the past twelve years alone.

The Lighthouse award confirms what the Riviera already knew: Corsier-sur-Vevey is no longer just a Merck production site — it is one of the most technically advanced biotech facilities in the world. In 2025, the BDC also received the BioAlps Industry Award.

Source: WEF

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The Geneva Health Forum Call for Abstracts is open until 1 September 2026. The event is taking place from 10 to 12 November 2026 in Geneva.

The Geneva Health Forum invites healthcare professionals, researchers, students, institutions, and organizations to share their experiences, projects, and research at this international event dedicated to major global health challenges.

Beyond the presentation of scientific results, the GHF aims to highlight inspiring initiatives, innovative approaches, and field experiences that can enrich collective thinking and foster new collaborations for global health.

1 September 2026 | More Information

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Givaudan, headquartered in Vernier in Canton of Geneva, has announced an equity investment and strategic collaboration with Microcaps AG, a Swiss startup born out of ETH Zurich’s Complex Materials Group. The partnership targets one of the most technically demanding frontiers in fragrance: microencapsulation.

The technology matters more than it might sound. Encapsulation is what makes a scent last on skin hours after application, what enables alcohol-free formulations that open entirely new markets, and what allows fragrance performance to be tuned with scientific precision. Microcaps has built a patented microfluidic platform — the kind of precision that was previously confined to laboratory research — and is now scaling it to industrial reality with its PerfumePearls solution.

For Givaudan, which posted CHF 7.5 billion in sales in 2025 and employs over 17,500 people across the world, the move signals where fragrance innovation is heading: away from empirical blending and toward controlled, reproducible molecular delivery. “Encapsulation is one of the most transformative technologies in our field,” said Jeremy Compton, Global Head of Science & Technology Fragrances.

What makes this story particularly Swiss is its geography. Givaudan’s roots in Geneva stretch back over 250 years — the city has long been where perfumery meets precision. Microcaps brings the same spirit from Zurich’s deep research ecosystem. Together, they form a corridor of Swiss fragrance science that runs from the banks of Lake Geneva to the ETH campus.

For Alessandro Ofner and Michael Hagander, the two co-founders of Microcaps, this is the moment their platform reaches global scale: “This collaboration allows us to scale our technology and bring scientific precision to a wider market.”

A Geneva company, and also a giant in its field. A deep-tech ETHZ spin-out. The future of fragrance smells like a Swiss Health Valley success story.

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Apply before 30 September 2026 for the Swiss Diabetes Foundation Research Prize 2026

The Swiss Diabetes Foundation promotes and supports scientific research into diabetes (diabetes mellitus) and related medical and socio-medical studies. To this end, it awards an annual research prize of 10,000 francs.

Swiss scientific work that makes an exceptional contribution to diabetes research (causes, consequences, prevention, treatment) is eligible for the award.

30 September 2026 | More Information

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If you are developing a project in the biomedical field, apply before 30 September 2026 for the THORN Foundation grant.

The Geneva branch of the THORN Foundation in England, awards an annual grant of up to CHF 150,000 to one research project in the biomedical field (excluding oncology) at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva

The grant is intended for early-career researchers holding an MD and/or PhD who are in the process of developing an independent research programme. As a rule, the Foundation does not cover the project leader’s salary.

Applications should be sent to:

The Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Overseas Trust Reg., Schaan
c/o Moore Stephens Refidar SA
Place Bel-Air 5
PO Box 2508
1260 Nyon 2

📅 30 September 2026 | 📧 jacques.grossen@moore.swiss | ▶️ More Information

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Apply before 28 July 2026 for the Helmut Horten Foundation – Pioneer-Spark Programme, a flagship philanthropic investment advancing precision oncology in Switzerland.

PIONEER: Patient Impact in Oncology through National Expansion, Evidence and Results

PIONEER-Spark supports bold, milestone-driven precision oncology projects that connect scientific excellence with clinical implementation and measurable patient benefit. The Foundation seeks to enable a new generation of large-scale initiatives capable of reshaping precision oncology in Switzerland.

With a total envelope of CHF 50 million (3 to max 5 projects with a running time of 6 years each), PIONEER-Spark represents one of the largest philanthropic investments in precision oncology currently available in Switzerland.

Supported research

PIONEER-Spark funds large projects in precision oncology, structured around two complementary pillars:

Pillar 1 – Clinically Oriented Precision Oncology

From clinically embedded research to tangible patient benefit: this pillar supports interventional, science-driven research. This may include investigator-initiated clinical trials, the development and validation of innovative diagnostics, and studies that uncover resistance mechanisms and disease evolution to guide better therapies and trial strategies. 

Pillar 2 – Data-Driven and Computational Precision Oncology

From data to decision: this pillar supports computational and data-driven projects that advance precision oncology and enable clinical translation now or in the near future. This may include AI/ML and integrative analytics, tools that strengthen patient-healthcare interface and evidence generation and innovative trial designs or computational pipelines that accelerate translation.

Applicants may structure their projects around one pillar or span both, depending on the scientific rationale. Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) is mandatory under both pillars.

Duration, volume and cross-project expectations

• Duration: 6 years
• Funding volume: CHF 8-16 million per project in total
• Number of projects funded: 3-5
• Geographic focus: Projects must be predominantly pursued in Switzerland
• Collaboration and patient involvement: Projects are designed as stand-alone. They require meaningful patient and public involvement via Patient and Public Advisory Boards (PPABs). Synergies across projects and between the two pillars are encouraged where scientifically justified but are not mandatory. The Foundation will foster exchange across funded projects (e.g., joint symposia, researcher exchanges). 
• Potential follow-up phase: PIONEER-Spark is conceived as the first phase of a longer-term strategic initiative. Projects demonstrating scientific excellence, measurable patient relevance and effective collaboration may be considered for substantial follow-on investment beyond the initial six-year period.

Who can apply

PIONEER-Spark supports consortia of leading Swiss-based institutions that bring together complementary expertise across the full precision-oncology pathway.

Pillar 1: Projects must be led by a physician-scientist with clinical responsibility and a tenured full professorship at an eligible Swiss university hospital or Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC), ensuring strong clinical anchoring and patient relevance.

Pillar 2: The Lead PI must hold a tenured full professorship at an eligible Swiss institution. At least one member of the project leadership (Directorate) must be a physician-scientist with clinical responsibility and hold a tenured full professorship at an eligible Swiss university hospital or EOC.

Consortia are expected to:

• include complementary scientific and clinical expertise
• include statistics, ethics and medical law expertise
• operate under a clear governance structure with defined leadership and milestones
• demonstrate proven experience in managing large collaborative projects.

Projects shall preferably involve at least two independent Swiss institutions and show strong institutional commitment. International expertise may be included within the consortium where scientifically justified.

Detailed eligibility criteria are specified in the call documentation below.

Evaluation process & criteria

The evaluation is conducted in a three-step evaluation by the Foundation and a committee of international experts. The three steps are:

1. Pre-proposal review
2. Full proposal review (by invitation from shortlisted pre-proposals)
3. In person hearings (selected from submitted full proposals).

Projects are evaluated and compared based on excellence along the following dimensions:

• Unmet medical need (significance of the topic for research in Switzerland)
• Clinical translation 
• Scientific originality
• Interdisciplinarity and coherence of the team
• Investigators’ track record
• Feasibility
• Budget justification and coherence
• Endorsement and in-kind support by host institutions.

Deadlines and decisions

• The submission deadline for the pre-proposal is Tuesday, 28 July 2026 (23:59 CEST).
• Communication from HHF regarding selection for full proposal: within the first two weeks of October 2026.
• The submission deadline for the full proposal is Tuesday, 12 January 2027 (23:59 CET).
• Communication from HHF regarding selection for in-person hearings: March 2027.
• The in-person hearings with the full consortium will be held in Zurich in April 2027; exact dates will be communicated with the invitation to submit a full proposal.
• The projects shall start between July and December 2027.

Following the hearing stage, the Foundation will provide feedback on its decision summarising the consortium and proposal’s key strengths and weaknesses in relation to the evaluation criteria.

Deadlines: Pre-proposal 28 July 2026 – Final Proposal 12 January 2027 |   More Information

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