Venture Leaders Biotech 2026: 10 innovative biotech startups selected for the Boston roadshow
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Ten startups, 4 of them from the Swiss Health Valley, have been selected for the 2026 Venture Leaders Biotech programme, which will take them to Boston from May 31st to June 5th as part of the Swiss National Startup Team. During their roadshow, the entrepreneurs will connect with international investors and industry leaders, acquiring expertise to help scale their ventures internationally. Venture Leaders Biotech is organized by Venturelab and supported by EPF Lausanne, ETH Zurich, University of Basel, Hansjörg Wyss, Kellerhals Carrard, and VISCHER.
Since 2006, Venturelab has been selecting the Swiss National Startup Team. Through its Venture Leaders roadshows, entrepreneurs engage with top experts, investors, and potential customers in leading global tech hubs, including Silicon Valley, Boston, Asia, Barcelona, London, and Munich.
After reviewing over 70 applications, a jury of experts and investors selected ten startups for the 2026 Venture Leaders Biotech roadshow in Boston. The program provides entrepreneurs the chance to accelerate their US expansion, connect with industry leaders, and gain insights through investor pitch sessions and targeted workshops.
The ten selected startups represent an array of fields, such as AI-driven drug design, vaccines, peptide therapeutics, bioreactors, CAR-T therapy, in-vivo gene editing, enzyme delivery, RNA-targeted therapies, proteomics, and organoid automation.
“Getting ready for this roadshow for the 21st year is a great reflection of the quality of innovation of the new startups involved,” said Jordi Montserrat, Managing Partner of Venturelab. “I’m looking forward to being part of this new edition and assisting the team with their fundraising and international expansion.”
The 10 startups will follow in the footsteps of high-flying former team members such as Araris Biotech (recently announced its acquisition for USD 1.1 billion), Covagen (acquired by Johnson & Johnson), Versantis (acquired by Genfit), AMAL Therapeutics (acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim), NBE-Therapeutics (acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim), Alentis (USD 105 million funding round in 2023), and BioVersys (recent IPO on the SIX Swiss Exchange).
The team will kick-off the programme pitching at the Swiss Biotech Days in Basel on May 4, 2026 (17:45-18:30 in room Singapore). Follow the Venture Leaders Biotech roadshow on social media using the hashtag #VLeadersBiotech or on www.venture-leaders.ch/venture-leaders-biotech from May 31st to June 5th, 2026. The Venture Leaders Biotech is organized by Venturelab and supported by EPFL, ETH Zurich, University of Basel, Hansjörg Wyss, Kellerhals Carrard, and VISCHER.
Meet the Venture Leaders Biotech 2026:
Baio Labs │ Vaud │ baiolabs.com
The biotech startup uses generative AI to design novel small molecule drugs for specific therapeutic targets in seconds, replacing slow, costly traditional screening.
Baxiva │ Zurich │ baxiva.com
Baxiva develops glycoconjugate vaccines to prevent serious bacterial infections, starting with ExPEC, using scalable nanoparticle conjugation.
Biodelphis Therapeutics │Vaud│ biodelphis.com
The biotech startup creates peptide-based drugs that selectively inhibit disease-causing proteases and target specific cells, avoiding toxicity.
Bioscibex │ Valais │ bioscibex.com
Bioscibex produces single-use bioreactors that simplify antibody manufacturing by combining multiple cell expansion steps into one safe, efficient process.
GlioCART │ Basel │ gliocart.ch
GlioCART develops CAR-T therapies for glioblastoma that directly attack tumors while reprogramming immune cells to enhance the anti-tumor response.
Immitra Bio │ Geneva │ immitrabio.com
The biotech startup builds an in-vivo gene editing platform that allows fast, off-the-shelf treatments without chemotherapy or lengthy ex-vivo processes.
NanoZymeX │ Basel │ nanozymex.com
NanoZymeX delivers therapeutic enzymes into cells using lipid nanoparticles, improving efficacy and reducing immune side effects for rare diseases.
Translation-X │ Basel │ trx-therapeutics.com
The biotech startup Translation-X develops brain-penetrant inhibitors to correct RNA translation dysregulation in autism subtypes, targeting specific molecular pathways.
UNOMR │ Zurich │ unomr.com
UNOMR provides single-molecule protein analysis with nanopore sensors to study modifications like glycosylation for therapy and medical applications.
Visienco │ Lucerne │ visienco.ch
The biotech startup automates organoid sorting and analysis with AI, improving throughput, reproducibility, and scalability for research and clinical use.
➡️ Source: Press Release | 📸 ©Venture Leaders