Adiposs’ Cachexia Detection and Emovo Care’s Robotic Gloves for People with Disabilities Each Win CHF 150,000

Adiposs: detecting cachexia earlier (www.venturekick.ch/Adiposs)

Cancer cachexia is a serious body-wasting syndrome characterized by involuntary body weight loss. It affects more than half of all cancer patients and is the cause of death in a fifth of all cancer patients. Adiposs, a University Geneva spin-off founded by Andrej Babic and Justyna Plewka, is developing ImageBAT, a breakthrough CT (computed tomography) contrast agent that is able to detect changes in body fat. ImageBAT is a game-changer for cachexia detection and diagnosis: It will provide a vastly superior and early result compared to today’s standard of care for the 9 million new cancer patients per year, a first market estimated at CHF 1.6 billion.

Using Venture Kick’s initial CHF 10,000 grant to support traveling to more than 60 meetings with key opinion leaders and stakeholders in Europe and Asia was instrumental for the founders to verify the clinical need and identify future markets. The two co-founders seek to raise CHF 1 million by the forth quarter of this year, then engage their medical network to start clinical trials in early 2021. “Venture Kick’s experience leveraging over 700 startups financed means the Kicker’s Camp is just great, the ‘kickers’ see where you lack and what you need,” said Babic. “Being in training with other startups makes you think and understand more about your own business too. We really appreciate the network and outreach.”

 

Emovo’s robotic glove helps people who have difficulty using their hands, particularly in post-stroke situations. Based on founder Luca Randazzo’s doctoral research at EPFL’s Brain-Machine Interface lab, Emovo Care’s core technology are patent-protected artificial tendons that enable the creation of a unique device, that can actively open and close the hand through lightweight, wearable, and modular components. The Emovo solution, a motorized exoskeleton, will offer the first connected tool for functional hand movement for at-home use to millions of underserved stroke patients. 

Randazzo hopes the patent-pending tech will restore users’ independence and autonomy in daily life. The system was developed through 150+ interviews and testing with clinicians and patients. Emovo will use Venture Kick’s support for the development of its MVP and prepare for sales. The team is currently raising CHF 1 million to launch its first product on the Swiss market in 2021. “Venture Kick was a real ride!” said Randazzo. “It  forced us to go out of our comfort zone—reshaping our assumptions through continuous interactions with real customers and stakeholders in the market. It transformed us from a university project to a potential business case: extremely suggested to any entrepreneur out there.”