The road to Boston: Venture Leaders Biotech 2024 kick-off their roadshow at Swiss Biotech Day

The ten Venture Leaders Biotech made a strong impression at the Swiss Biotech Day in Basel, presenting their innovations and building a strong team spirit ahead of the awaited investor and business development roadshow in Boston in May.

The Swiss Biotech Day is a premier biotechnology conference in Europe, attracting entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, policymakers, and industry experts from the global life sciences community. With over 1,800 senior experts, more than 100 exhibitors, and an international delegation present in the conference's Global Village, the congress promotes global connectivity of biotech innovators and offers an ideal space to explore trends in R&D, manufacturing, data management, AI, and fundraising opportunities.

According to the Swiss Biotech Association, the life sciences sector (pharmaceuticals, vitamins, and diagnostics) represents the largest and most dynamic export industry in Switzerland: In 2022, it accounted for 39% of total Swiss exports and added a record CHF 109.6 billion (+0.6% over 2021) to the foreign export trade. In the twenty years from 2002 to 2022, its contribution expanded by 255%. The Venture Leaders Biotech program contributes to the enduring strength and vitality of such a sector.



In the morning, the Venture Leaders participated in a workshop with program partner VISCHER about the legal aspects of funding a Biotech startup. Later, they took the stage to introduce their breakthroughs to the audience and Maria van Dongen, CEO of Allegria Therapeutics, and Gabriel Liguori, CEO of TissueLabs, were voted team captains.


Venture Leaders Biotech 2024 at the kick-off at Swiss Biotech Day: David Pejoski (Adoram Therapeutics), Kevin Yim (EVIIVE), Gabriel Liguori (TissueLabs), Maria van Dongen (Allegria Therapeutics), Bryan Porcello (KYLYS AESTHETICS), Peter Schiemann (Ymmunobio), David Roura Padrosa (inSEIT), Arin Ghasparian (Shape Biopharmaceuticals), and Ian Metcalfe (Well Science), missing on the picture David Klein Cerrejon (OBaris)

"The whole team is thrilled to be at the kick-off at the Swiss Biotech Day. With a fantastic team and an incredible event, we're eager to make a real impact in the US. Grateful for the chance to represent Switzerland and Venture Leaders Biotech," commented Ian Metcalfe, CEO of BlossomUp.

The Venture Leaders Biotech team is following in the footsteps of Alentis, which announced a USD 105 million funding round, lino biotech, which participated in the Venture Leaders Biotech program in 2022 and was acquired by the German biomedical company Miltenyi Biotec, and IsoSpec Analytics, which recently raised USD 1.9 million in Pre-Seed Funding. Other renowned alums include Covagen (acquired by Johnson & Johnson), Versantis (acquired by Genfit), SimplicityBio (acquired by Precision for Medicine), and AMAL Therapeutics (acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim). 

Venture Leaders Biotech is organized by Venturelab in partnership with Swissnex in Boston and supported by Debiopharm, EPFL, ETH Zurich, Hansjörg Wyss, Kellerhals Carrard, Novartis, Swiss Biotech Association, and VISCHER.

Follow the entrepreneurs and the Venture Leaders Biotech roadshow on social media using the hashtag #VLeadersBiotech or on www.venture-leaders.ch/biotech.



Learn more about the Venture Leaders Biotech 2024: