Venture Leaders Biotech 2025 connects Swiss science with the US biotech market

Boston is a global hub for biotech, offering access to leading research, investors, and industry networks. As part of the 2025 Venture Leaders Biotech roadshow, 10 Swiss startups spent a week in the city, meeting investors, industry experts, and potential partners to strengthen their US market entry. The program, now in its 20th year, is organized by Venturelab with Swissnex Boston & New York and supported by the University of Basel, EPFL, ETH Zurich, Hansjörg Wyss, Kellerhals Carrard, and VISCHER.

Venturelab has been organizing international investor and business development roadshows for the Swiss National Startup Teams since 2006. The ambitious entrepreneurs and their promising startups are introduced to high-class investors and potential customers in leading technology hubs such as Silicon Valley, Boston, Asia, Barcelona, Munich, and London.

"The Venture Leaders roadshow was a game-changer. It gave me the chance to represent my venture internationally, connect with top investors, and learn from an inspiring group of founders. It validated Juvion journey and pushed me to think bigger." — Soumya Banerjee, Co-Founder & CEO of Juvion Health Sciences.

Over the past 20 years, Venturelab has selected the Swiss National Startup Teams. The Venture Leaders - the members of the Swiss National Startup Team - have traveled to Silicon Valley, Barcelona, Boston, New York, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong to dive into the exciting entrepreneurial scene of such high-level entrepreneurial hubs, helping over 600 entrepreneurs to build their vision and achieve success. They have a clear-cut goal, envision themselves as global players and want to take the first step towards their global expansion. The investor and industry roadshows are specifically structured to help them achieve this goal.

Venture Leaders Biotech alumni comprise high-flying startups such as Covagen  (acquired by Johnson & Johnson),  Versantis  (acquired by Genfit), SimplicityBio (acquired by Precision for Medicine),  AMAL Therapeutics  (acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim), NBE-Therapeutics (acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim), Alentis (USD 105 million funding round in 2023), Interax Biotech (Seed round with US investors met during the roadshow), and BioVersys (IPO in 2025). With the biotech industry comprising 39% of Swiss exports, the Venture Leaders Biotech program contributes to the enduring strength and vitality of the sector.
 

Swiss Biotech startups impress US investors
The ten Venture Leaders Biotech startups, selected from over 70 applications, had the opportunity to connect within Boston’s life science ecosystem and strengthen ties as entrepreneurs facing similar challenges and goals. They pitched their ventures to investors including 5AM Ventures, RA Capital, and Knightsbridge Advisers, gaining direct exposure and feedback that helped refine their strategies for entering the US market and expanding internationally amid ongoing global uncertainties.



Participants not only built a robust network in Boston but also among themselves, forming a team of entrepreneurs with shared objectives. Beyond investor meetings, the startups took part in workshops and sessions such as a legal strategy workshop led by Kellerhals Carrard, an IP strategy session with Locust Walk, and multiple visits to innovation hubs including Bayer’s innovation center, Molecular Partners, the Wyss Institute, and Biognosys. The week concluded with final discussions at Nextech Invest and a pitch competition at the Biotech Pitchfest, where ENANTIOS earned first place and HemostOD secured the runner-up position.




The Venture Leaders program not only gave our Swiss start up access to the UIS ecosystem but inspired me as a founder to think bigger and bolder about where our company can go." — Carin Lightner Co-Founder & CEO of ENANTIOS



Venture Leaders Biotech is organized by Venturelab in partnership with Swissnex Boston & New York and supported by the University of Basel, EPFL, ETH Zurich, Hansjörg Wyss, Kellerhals Carrard, and VISCHER.

The Venture Leaders Biotech 2025 that traveled to Boston: