CHF 40,000 for adjunct treatment to insulin therapy, CAR-T cell therapy production-enhancing efficacy and efficiency, and industrial ultra-rapid laser testing
23.08.2023
DIATHERIS, immUni, and K2 Photonics win Venture Kick's second stage of financial and entrepreneurial support. Their projects aim to achieve optimal glycemic control while minimizing the risks of hypoglycemia and ketoacidosis; deliver a final CAR-T cell product with increased quality and enhanced therapeutic potency; and aim to empower industries to apply the transformative optical frequency comb technology to real-world settings.
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 Diatheris' CEO Dr Giorgio Ramadori and CSO Prof Roberto Coppari
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 immUni's team: from left to right, Lina Aires, PhD (CEO), Prof. Enrico Klotzsch (CTO), Tamara Zünd (R&D Lead), and Sebastian Lickert, Ph.D. (R&D Head)
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 K2 Photonics' co-founders: CEO Justinas Pupeikis, CTO Benjamin Willenberg, Scientific Advisor Ursula Keller, and Head of Hardware Lukas Lang
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DIATHERIS: Adjunct treatment to insulin therapy
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients face significant challenges in achieving proper glycemic control without the risk of life-threatening hypoglycemia and ketoacidosis. Despite insulin therapy being the standard treatment, it is suboptimal and fails to meet glycemic targets for most T1D patients, resulting in increased risks of diabetes complications and reduced quality of life. The need to improve T1D management and overcome these limitations is critical.
The team behind the project, Diatheris, consists of Giorgio Ramadori and Prof. Roberto Coppari from the University of Geneva. They are developing a groundbreaking solution to improve T1D management. Their innovation revolves around a small protein called S100A9, which functions as an adjunct treatment to insulin therapy. Through a proprietary approach, Diatheris aims to achieve optimal glycemic control while minimizing the risks of hypoglycemia and ketoacidosis. The project has already demonstrated promising results in preclinical studies with T1D mouse models. With a global market size of over 10 million T1D patients and an estimated annual revenue potential of USD 5 billion, the market for this innovative treatment is substantial. Diatheris plans to enter into a licensing agreement with a strategic partner, preferably a major pharmaceutical company operating in the diabetes space. Several venture enterprises and pharmaceutical companies have expressed interest in the project, indicating its market viability.
The Venture Kick funds will play a crucial role in advancing the project. The funds will be used to support activities such as obtaining external validation for the regulatory strategy, conducting, and gathering market feedback. The support from Venture Kick will help Diatheris achieve important milestones and progress toward its goal of bringing innovative T1D treatment to the market. diatheris.com
immUni: Revolutionizing CAR-T cell therapy production-enhancing efficacy and efficiency
CAR-T cell therapy has emerged as a groundbreaking approach in the treatment of various cancers. This personalized cancer therapy involves reprogramming the patient's own immune cells to recognize and target cancer cells. Despite the remarkable success of treating blood cancers, the widespread adoption of CAR-T cell therapies has been hindered by production challenges: complex and lengthy processes, high costs, and suboptimal therapeutic efficacy due to low cell fitness.
immUni disruptive technology overcomes the limitations of the traditional approaches, by achieving a simultaneous reduction of production time and delivering a final CAR-T cell product with increased quality and enhanced therapeutic potency. Leading this advancement is a dedicated team based at ETH Zürich, with co-founders, Lina Aires, Ph.D. (CEO) and Prof. Enrico Klotzsch (CTO) supported by a team of scientists hosted by the laboratory of Prof. Viola Vogel (Advisor). Together with their clinical collaborators, Inselspital (Bern) and Charité (Berlin), they aim to bring this unique technology from the bench to the bedside.
Venture Kick support is therefore crucial to immUni’s development towards its mission of delivering innovative technology to enhance research and production of CAR-T cell therapies, ultimately making these more efficacious and easily accessible to patients in need.
K2 Photonics: making ultra-rapid laser testing industrial
Optical frequency combs, renowned for their precision, are typically confined to laboratories due to their complexity and cost. K2 Photonics aims to democratize this technology by offering compact and affordable high-performance frequency comb solutions. With applications in semiconductors, automotive, aerospace, and other areas, K2 Photonics aims to empower industries to apply the transformative optical frequency comb technology to real-world settings.
The company was incorporated in 2023 as a spin-off from ETH Zurich. The founders are Justinas Pupeikis, Benjamin Willenberg, Lukas Lang, and Professor Ursula Keller. By utilizing a discovery made at ETH Zurich, a way to produce two laser beams from one optical cavity, they are bringing transformative technology to practice. Because those beams are produced by the same components, disturbances due to the environment cancel out in many key parameters, which in turn allows harnessing the precision of optical frequency combs with a simple K2 laser, a so-called single-cavity dual comb. These lasers will power the next-generation laser inspection hardware, which will be used to measure ultra-precise 3D profiles of industrial parts, thicknesses of functional coatings, semiconductor microchips, and even gas compositions in the air.
The Venture Kick funds will help to accelerate K2 Photonics' business development efforts. By actively engaging with the market and showcasing its innovative solutions, K2 Photonics aims to drive adoption and establish strong relationships with customers and industry partners.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients face significant challenges in achieving proper glycemic control without the risk of life-threatening hypoglycemia and ketoacidosis. Despite insulin therapy being the standard treatment, it is suboptimal and fails to meet glycemic targets for most T1D patients, resulting in increased risks of diabetes complications and reduced quality of life. The need to improve T1D management and overcome these limitations is critical.
The team behind the project, Diatheris, consists of Giorgio Ramadori and Prof. Roberto Coppari from the University of Geneva. They are developing a groundbreaking solution to improve T1D management. Their innovation revolves around a small protein called S100A9, which functions as an adjunct treatment to insulin therapy. Through a proprietary approach, Diatheris aims to achieve optimal glycemic control while minimizing the risks of hypoglycemia and ketoacidosis. The project has already demonstrated promising results in preclinical studies with T1D mouse models. With a global market size of over 10 million T1D patients and an estimated annual revenue potential of USD 5 billion, the market for this innovative treatment is substantial. Diatheris plans to enter into a licensing agreement with a strategic partner, preferably a major pharmaceutical company operating in the diabetes space. Several venture enterprises and pharmaceutical companies have expressed interest in the project, indicating its market viability.
The Venture Kick funds will play a crucial role in advancing the project. The funds will be used to support activities such as obtaining external validation for the regulatory strategy, conducting, and gathering market feedback. The support from Venture Kick will help Diatheris achieve important milestones and progress toward its goal of bringing innovative T1D treatment to the market. diatheris.com
immUni: Revolutionizing CAR-T cell therapy production-enhancing efficacy and efficiency
CAR-T cell therapy has emerged as a groundbreaking approach in the treatment of various cancers. This personalized cancer therapy involves reprogramming the patient's own immune cells to recognize and target cancer cells. Despite the remarkable success of treating blood cancers, the widespread adoption of CAR-T cell therapies has been hindered by production challenges: complex and lengthy processes, high costs, and suboptimal therapeutic efficacy due to low cell fitness.
immUni disruptive technology overcomes the limitations of the traditional approaches, by achieving a simultaneous reduction of production time and delivering a final CAR-T cell product with increased quality and enhanced therapeutic potency. Leading this advancement is a dedicated team based at ETH Zürich, with co-founders, Lina Aires, Ph.D. (CEO) and Prof. Enrico Klotzsch (CTO) supported by a team of scientists hosted by the laboratory of Prof. Viola Vogel (Advisor). Together with their clinical collaborators, Inselspital (Bern) and Charité (Berlin), they aim to bring this unique technology from the bench to the bedside.
Venture Kick support is therefore crucial to immUni’s development towards its mission of delivering innovative technology to enhance research and production of CAR-T cell therapies, ultimately making these more efficacious and easily accessible to patients in need.
K2 Photonics: making ultra-rapid laser testing industrial
Optical frequency combs, renowned for their precision, are typically confined to laboratories due to their complexity and cost. K2 Photonics aims to democratize this technology by offering compact and affordable high-performance frequency comb solutions. With applications in semiconductors, automotive, aerospace, and other areas, K2 Photonics aims to empower industries to apply the transformative optical frequency comb technology to real-world settings.
The company was incorporated in 2023 as a spin-off from ETH Zurich. The founders are Justinas Pupeikis, Benjamin Willenberg, Lukas Lang, and Professor Ursula Keller. By utilizing a discovery made at ETH Zurich, a way to produce two laser beams from one optical cavity, they are bringing transformative technology to practice. Because those beams are produced by the same components, disturbances due to the environment cancel out in many key parameters, which in turn allows harnessing the precision of optical frequency combs with a simple K2 laser, a so-called single-cavity dual comb. These lasers will power the next-generation laser inspection hardware, which will be used to measure ultra-precise 3D profiles of industrial parts, thicknesses of functional coatings, semiconductor microchips, and even gas compositions in the air.
The Venture Kick funds will help to accelerate K2 Photonics' business development efforts. By actively engaging with the market and showcasing its innovative solutions, K2 Photonics aims to drive adoption and establish strong relationships with customers and industry partners.