Meet Marc Thurner, CEO of mimix. The Medtech startup's lead product in development is in the area of personalized medicine – FastSkin®, an autologous tissue for complex wound care.
Name: Marc Thurner
Location: Biel/Bienne
Nationality: Swiss
Graduated from: University Of Applied Science Biel
Job title: CEO at MimiX Biotherapeutics
Number of employees: 5
Money raised: ~7m
First touchpoint with Venturelab: Venture training in 2007
"Within the short time since foundation, we have been able to bring a very early-stage technology to a nearly clinical-ready solution."
Can you tell us who your product or solution helps, and how?
We have invented a new tissue engineering method that we apply to wound treatment: FastSkin treatment, a skin graft for the treatment of acute and chronic wounds. Chronic wounds are a major social burden that affects nearly 3% of the industrial population representing a critical clinical problem and a substantial socioeconomical burden. Improving the current standard of care is essential to address the rising incidences caused by an ageing population and the increasing rates of diseases such as diabetes, malnutrition and oncology treatments.
What market are you addressing and what is the potential of your startup in that market?
With FastSkin® treatment we address the active wound care market; aiming for US market clearance by Q4/ 2024. The US is the major wound care market; Chronic wounds represent a cost of more than $50 billion to the US healthcare system. 11.3% of the US population have diabetes (37.3 million people). A third will develop a diabetic foot ulcer, with 15% resulting in amputation. Existing treatments for chronic wounds are often effective for superficial and simple wounds (Wagner 0-1), but for complex wounds, there are no effective treatments. 2 million patients are left without solutions (Wagner 2 and more). We hope to change that reality with the FastSkin® treatment.
How and where did you come up with the idea for your startup?
The core technology was developed over the last 10 years at the AO Research Institute. Having recognized the signs of disruptive technology, we set ourselves the ambition of exploring its clinical and industrial transferability within a start-up company.
What do you expect from the Venture Leaders Medtech roadshow, and how will it help you achieve your vision?
With the roadshow, I hope to be able to develop agile points of contact on the US territory, but also to benefit from these few days with the other entrepreneurs taking part, to learn from their experience, and to be challenged in my plans.
What are your team’s key achievements to date?
Within the short time since foundation, we have been able to bring a very early-stage technology to a nearly clinical-ready solution. We have developed an international group of stakeholders, European, US and Asian clinicians and strategic investors.
What is the most challenging and rewarding aspect of being a founder?
Entrepreneurship is a passion. To succeed you must deal with all entrepreneurial disciplines: Technology, product design, strategy, financing, IP, legal marketing, sales, business, financing, and people... and you're far from an expert in any of these disciplines. It’s an amazing intellectual challenge to deal with this bandwidth of tasks and challenges.
What is the most important lesson you have learned as a founder?
Surround yourself with the right people.
What is your favourite productivity hack/tool and why?
The whiteboard in our war room. I know, it’s old-fashioned in a digitalized world, but it has incredible efficiency when you bring the right brains together to brainstorm.
What was your dream job when you were a child?
I wanted to become a watchmaker.
