Jan Lichtenberg of InSphero: “The days in Boston were phenomenal”

The startup InSphero is committed to the production and sales of high quality micro fabrics that are very similar to real human body tissue. The so-called “microtissues” can be used for more efficient drug development, which in turn could reduce the cost and simplify drug tests.

Prior to successfully launching InSphero, Jan Lichtenberg had worked in a number of interesting roles. He is a microtechnology engineer. “I have always worked with the interface between biology and engineering” he says. After Lichtenberg had completed his doctoral thesis at the EPF Lausanne, he headed a group at the ETH Zurich and held two different positions in the field of micro-electronics and medical technology before joining InSphero. The business idea originated from its two co-founders Jens Kelm (CSO) and Wolfgang Moritz (Head of Research Applications). “Both have spent several years working in the field of micro fabric technology. In 2008, we met up for a beer and discussed the possibility of starting up a company. A year later we did it.”

One scope: “going global”
InSphero is the second startup Lichtenberg has founded. In 1998, he founded his first company. “Advanced Micromachining Tools delivered new technologies to the microchip industry. At that time, though we had a company without a business plan, we grew organically with the help of a great product, a lot of enthusiasm and a good dose of naivety. But I have come to understand the limitations of such a niche business.” The setup back then would have been quite different to nowadays. It had been agreed that the company should remain small.

With InSphero, things felt different. It was impossible that we would have cut down on the Swiss market. Lichtenberg explains: “We had already placed some products with customers in Germany very early on. Moreover, it was clear to all that we had to be active on an international level.” The US is the largest single market for their products; 50 percent of all products in the pharmaceutical industry are made in the States. “If you're not active in the States, you don’t stand a chance of being a market leader,” he says. At the time, he had no idea how to successfully enter into the American market and whether it was even possible to handle stores in the States from Switzerland. Therefore, it was perfect timing for venture leaders’business development trip in 2010. Lichtenberg says: “The days in Boston were phenomenal and gave me an invaluable insight into how the American market works.”

The results of the venture leaders’ trip became clear in 2013. “InSphero Inc” was established in the States with the help of swissnex. “We met our first clients in the US during venturelab Startup Trips. The company has since been in a constant state of growth. We managed to employ twelve people there,” says Lichtenberg. We implemented exactly what we learned in 2010 in order to reach our goal. Lichtenberg adds: “The fact that our clients see us as an American company with Swiss qualities is exactly what we wanted. That’s exactly what we set out to achieve.”

"Entrepreneur of the Year"
Last November, Lichtenberg visited customers and employees in the United States. He also participated in an EY event in Palm Springs for having received the award, “Entrepreneur of the Year” in the category, “Emerging Entrepreneur” a month before.  Lichtenberg is used to prizes by now. Shortly after its establishment, InSphero won 130,000 Swiss francs of pre-seed capital with Venture Kick and was Switzerland’s best startup in the TOP100ranking in 2014. He explains: “These prizes are of course a nice recognition of our work and a tribute to the performance of the entire company.” In particular, the first place in the Top100 ranking has brought in new investors. “In our last round of financing, all our investors were those we met at the TOP100 Event,” says Lichtenberg. Also, the investors would use these awards as assurance that they were making good investments.

A bright future ahead
The future seems to be bright for InSphero. But they can’t rest on their laurels. The financing rounds have indeed brought financial security for Lichtenberg and his employees, but they haven’t forgotten their plans to grow the company laterally. Lichtenberg explains: “We are in the process of building our own production facility in the US. Our American clients are wary if a product is only produced abroad.” We’re even considering the Asian market. For Lichtenberg, it’s clear that this is a bumpy road. But you can count on him and his team to reach their goals. There is great potential in cancer research. For this purpose, they founded the Spin-off InSphero Diagnostics.

The panel of adjudicators for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards justified the choice as follows: “Dr. Jan Lichtenberg fascinated the panel with the possibilities of its innovation and impressed by his ability to attract a heterogeneous, international team of top specialists and keep them on track to reaching a common goal”. The victory and the company will be presented again in more detail in the video: