CHF 40,000 for Novel mTOR inhibitors to treat rare diseases and cancer, accessible eye screening, and nanotechnology for solar energy conversion
30.03.2022
Aukera Therapeutics, CheckupPoint, and Solaxer win Venture Kick's first stage of financial and entrepreneurial support. Their projects enable the development of new classes of pharmaceutical drugs to selectively target different branches of the mTOR pathway; offer easy, quick, and affordable access to eye screenings at the highest medical standards; aim to help industries cut reliance on fossil fuels by delivering new generation receivers for efficient solar heat harvesting.
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 Aukera Therapeutics: Co-Founders Stefan Imseng and Dritan Liko
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 CheckUpPoint CEO Benedikt Wiechers, CMO Christian Kirr, and CTO Christoph Haarburger
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 Solaxer co-founders Anna Krammer and Maxime Lagier, and advisors Andreas Schueler and Jean-Christophe Hadorn
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Aukera Therapeutics: Unleashing the therapeutic potential of mTOR inhibition
The mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) regulates cell growth and metabolism. mTOR acts in the cell in two forms: mTOR complex 1 and mTOR complex 2. Misregulation of mTOR complex 1 is implicated in a variety of pathological conditions such as cancer, neurodegeneration, and rare diseases. Current drugs to inhibit mTOR complex 1 (rapamycin and rapalogs) fall short with regard to efficacy and safety. Thus, there is a large unmet medical need for novel mTOR complex 1 therapies.
Aukera Therapeutics is a spin-off from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel. CEO Dr. Stefan Imseng, Head of Biology Dr. Dritan Liko, Medicinal Chemist Dr. Werner Neidhart, and Scientific advisors from the University of Basel Prof. Michael N. Hall and Prof. Timm Maier are working together on their discovery engine that enables the development of new classes of pharmaceutical drugs to selectively target different branches of the mTOR pathway. Based on their own academic research at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, they follow a small molecule drug discovery and development approach, applied to novel targets. The lead program selectively targets mTOR complex 1 for the treatment of rare diseases, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases where Aukera’s approach uniquely addresses unmet medical needs. The team uses biochemical, cellular, and in vivo assays, to develop and patent candidates during the preclinical phase.
They will use Venture Kick funds for preclinical and commercial development.
They will use Venture Kick funds for preclinical and commercial development.
CheckupPoint: easy, quick, and affordable access to eye screenings
Due to demographical changes, eye diseases will increase by 35% within the next 10 years. Even today it is very difficult for patients to get easy access to an eye exam. In addition, approximately 75% of the population has not been seen by an eye doctor for the last 3-5 years. Keeping in mind that statistically, 10-15% of the population suffer from eye problems, this leads to a large number of potentially undetected, sight-threatening eye diseases.
CheckupPoint is a telemedicine startup that offers easy, quick, and affordable access to eye screenings at the highest medical standards. Early detection could prevent 75% of disease-related blindness worldwide. Hence, the interdisciplinary founder team around Dr. Jörg-Christian Kirr, Christoph Haarburger, and Benedikt Wiechers aim to prevent vision loss. Dr. Jörg-Christian Kirr was the initiator of the idea, which he developed during his multi-year efforts in the Scandinavian public eye screening programs. Christoph Haarburger has a background in medical AI and was the CTO of a medtech startup in the field of teleradiology and Benedikt Wiechers headed the deep-tech startup accelerator program of RWTH Aachen University in Germany and has a background in strategy consulting. CheckupPoints' telemedical service points on partner sites (opticians, pharmacies, etc.) build the bridge between customers, partners, and ophthalmologists. The examinations are provided by board-certified ophthalmologists that are connected to a secure cloud platform. In parallel, they develop medical AI products that help to facilitate screenings and aim to decode the human eye. They support their patients along their whole patient journey, starting with initial screenings, referrals and appointments with local eye doctors, and regular checkups.
They plan to use the Venture Kick funds to expand their team to facilitate the operational business and research efforts. Especially, the funds will help the development of their medical AI solutions, which the teams develop in cooperation with leading research institutes and clinics in Switzerland and Germany.
Solaxer: Nanotechnology for Solar Energy Conversion
3/4 of the energy consumed in the industry is used for heat generation, 90% of which is coming from fossil fuels. Industrial heat generation is responsible for 20% of the global carbon emissions accounting for 6.6 Gts of CO2 yearly.
SOLAXER aims to help industries cut reliance on fossil fuels by delivering new generation receivers for efficient solar heat harvesting. The project is developed by co-founders Anna Krammer - EPFL Postdoctoral Researcher with a Ph.D. in the domain of solar selective coatings, and Maxime Lagier - EPFL R&D Project Engineer with an MSc in Materials Science. Their receivers are coated with an innovative selective absorber coating with superior durability and optical performance, through a patented, cost- and energy-efficient manufacturing process. Their target is to become the first-choice supplier of solar receivers for concentrated solar collector manufacturers. The market for solar heating for industrial processes up to 200°C has a huge potential with up to annual growth rates of 72% until 2030.
The Venture Kick stage 2 financing would be used to develop Solaxer`s growth strategy and for the pricing validation of their receivers.