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regulatory affairs, legal aspects, and preclinical and clinical development. The feedback and individual follow-up meetings with advisors offer the presenters the chance to work on important aspects of their product development plan and proof of concept strategy. SPARK has been developed at Stanford University and

UZH Life Sciences Fund

The UZH Life Sciences Fund (LSF), founded in 2016, provides early financing for UZH spin-offs in life sciences, biotech and medtech with business ideas based on intellectual property resulting from research done at UZH.

The UZH Life Sciences Fund involves two equal partners: the UZH (raising funds via its UZH Foundation) and the Novartis Venture Fund. The LSF is financed by equal contributions from donators of the UZH and the Novartis Venture Fund, the latter matching the contributions raised by UZH. Since 2016 the LSF has financed seven companies.

Amount of follow-on funding generated > 300M CHF

Number of active clinical trials 7

Minor in BioMed Entrepreneurship

The Minor in BioMed Entrepreneurship is a joint program of the Faculty of Science and the Institute for Regenerative Medicine (IREM) from the Faculty of Medicine. The Minor in BioMed Entrepreneurship brings industry experts and successful entrepreneurs to teach essential entrepreneurial tools, skills and know-how to translate research results into marketable products. Students of the Minor learn from the mindset of successful entrepreneurs how they built their businesses; and gain insights about innovation, applied R&D, marketing, regulations, intellectual property, budgeting, corporate management, funding, negotiation, team building, leadership. In addition to lectures and workshops, students gain insights into the professional world by completing a hands-on internship in a life science startup company.

In June 2022, the first cohort of students officially graduated the program by completing their internships in different companies at the BioTechnopark Schlieren-Zurich.

The second cohort started in September 2022. 44 speakers coming from the university, startups, and industry ecosystem are involved in the Minor, supporting the students to learn entrepreneurial skills and build their biotech, medtech, and digital health project ideas.

business ideas developed

BioEntrepreneurship & Innovation (BEI) Program

The BioEntrepreneurship & Innovation (BEI) program at the Institute of Regenerative Medicine (IREM) offers hands-on education and training for researchers in the field of Life Science, MedTech, and Pharma who aspire to become successful BioEntrepreneurs. Guided by experienced and successful Entrepreneurs and Experts in Residence, BEI program participants learn how to bring ideas and research results to the market and how to overcome classic founders’ pitfalls. The BEI program addresses essential skills and know-how for the creation of a spin-off company, e.g., intellectual property, development of a business plan, basics in legal, finances and regulatory affairs, and negotiation strategies as well as sales pitch training.

In 2022, the program had a record number of 80 participants. More than 60% of participants were PhD students from the different life science institutes while the rest were a mix of postDocs, MDs, project leaders and senior researchers. The etablished community of participants and speakers is nurtured beyond the course sessions by the active BEI LinkedIn page.

UZH Incubator Lab

The UZH IncubatorLab, offers a state-of-the-art infrastructure for innovative MedTech projects led by young researchers who aim to establish a UZH spin-off company. The lab has been mainly set up to support UZH MedTech Entrepreneur Fellows during their 18 months fellowship. Next to the lab infrastructure the Incubator lab also offers fellows expert support with e.g. design and regulatory issues. Over the years, a supportive community of current and alumni fellows has been established. The exchange between project teams on common issues that the teams encounter during the development of their projects is perceived as very valuable. In 2022 three current and three alumni fellows were regularly using the lab with the most commonly used equipmment being the 3D printer, the next-generation sequencer and the tensile testing machine.

In 2022, the UZH IncubatorLab fellows benefited from 27 hours of expert business regulatory advice, had access to professional design services and received additional pitch training to improve their storytelling skills. They also had a chance to showcase their innovations to members of international delegations (for example from Singapore and Sweden). Furthermore, they were supported in building their network in Switzerland and beyond, through visiting strategic events and via access to an online community for early-stage life science innovators in Europe.