Womentech and personalized medicine solutions boosted at Venture Kick
06.11.2018
ASPIVIX and SEED Biosciences win CHF 130,000 in Venture Kick final. The startups provide solutions to revolutionize women care and medicine. ASPIVIX creates a new generation of non-traumatic, minimally invasive surgical instruments for gynecology. SEED Biosciences makes DispenCell, a novel pipetting robot to faster isolate single cells for personalized medicine.
 ASPIVIX
|
 |
 SEED Biosciences
|
|
Every year, about 65 million obstetric and gynecological treatments require access to the uterus. In order to do so, doctors use forceps to grasp, pull and stabilize the cervix inside the vaginal cavity. These forceps often cause pain and frequent bleeding, leading to possible cross-infection. ASPIVIX developed a new generation of forceps, reducing women discomfort while removing risks of bleeding and lesions. The patented instrument, fully disposable, is designed to prevent cervix bleeding using a gentle vacuum suction in lieu of the traditional sharp teeth of the forceps. This softer and simpler innovation offers a solution for the most common gynecological procedures, easing Intra-uterine contraceptive device (IUD) insertion as well as Intra-uterine Inseminations (IUI) and Embryo Transfers (IVF) in reproductive medicine. The promising technology already has raised interest with ASPIVIX attracting a CHF 1.8 million series A round between stage 2 and stage 3 of Venture Kick. The startup has recently produced a first series of prototypes to be soon tested in a first in-human clinical trial and is looking into partnerships to distribute the disposable device in combination with IUDs.
SEED Biosciences, an EPFL spin-off, developed DispenCell, a compact pipetting robot to enable scientists to precisely isolate single cells three times faster than existing solutions. Single cell isolation is a key enabling step in many biological processes, including the production of biologics, cancer diagnosis, stem cell therapies and personalized medicine. Current methods of single cell isolation are not traceable yet, which implies that scientists invest up to five months in validation time or need to invest in very expensive equipment. The patented pipetting system also permits accurate traceability, complying with the most stringent industry and regulatory standards. With DispenCell, SEED Biosciences offers an affordable and intuitive single-cell solutions to industry players competing in the emerging multi-billion market of personalized medicine.
“At ASPIVIX, we are not only honored but also very thankful to Venture Kick. The three-stage process and the insightful boot-camps have been crucial in challenging and developing our business case. The funds we received were instrumental for translating our innovation from a laboratory to caregivers’ practice, and overall for potentially changing sustainably women’s care for millions of women worldwide,” explains Mathieu Horras, ASPIVIX founder and CEO.
SEED Biosciences founder and CEO, Georges Muller had a “single line formula”: "Venture Kick is like Google Maps for entrepreneurs; it drives you to the top and even finances you for the ride!"
SEED Biosciences, an EPFL spin-off, developed DispenCell, a compact pipetting robot to enable scientists to precisely isolate single cells three times faster than existing solutions. Single cell isolation is a key enabling step in many biological processes, including the production of biologics, cancer diagnosis, stem cell therapies and personalized medicine. Current methods of single cell isolation are not traceable yet, which implies that scientists invest up to five months in validation time or need to invest in very expensive equipment. The patented pipetting system also permits accurate traceability, complying with the most stringent industry and regulatory standards. With DispenCell, SEED Biosciences offers an affordable and intuitive single-cell solutions to industry players competing in the emerging multi-billion market of personalized medicine.
“At ASPIVIX, we are not only honored but also very thankful to Venture Kick. The three-stage process and the insightful boot-camps have been crucial in challenging and developing our business case. The funds we received were instrumental for translating our innovation from a laboratory to caregivers’ practice, and overall for potentially changing sustainably women’s care for millions of women worldwide,” explains Mathieu Horras, ASPIVIX founder and CEO.
SEED Biosciences founder and CEO, Georges Muller had a “single line formula”: "Venture Kick is like Google Maps for entrepreneurs; it drives you to the top and even finances you for the ride!"