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(21.02.2024) If you as academic researcher are considering using patent literature as an information source – or have ever got confused by the topic – read this short article from Unitectra about when they are useful or relevant for academic researchers – and when not.

(11.05.2023) Material Transfer Agreements (MTA) are possibly the least popular documents managed throughout the career of every life science researcher. Some may even think MTAs raise a barrier to informal collaboration between otherwise friendly research groups. Read our short article to understand why MTAs are essential and – in most cases - make perfect sense.

(14.11.2022) Inventorship in patents and the difference to authorship in scientific publications.

(6.9.2022) What is the commercial potential of my invention? When and how can I apply for a patent? How can my results by translated into practice?
Discuss your invention in face-to-face meetings with us and other experts. Learn about patents, licenses and spin offs.

(29.7.2021) The application process of the ZKB Pionierpreis Technopark comes to its final stage! Until September 27th 2021, innovative start-up companies are invited to submit their application on our website:

(8.6.2021) The active ingredient aducanumab, which was discovered at the University of Zurich, has been approved for use in the United States as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Aducanumab, a human antibody, is the first treatment that has been found to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s, which is incurable.

(12.11.2020) Synendos Therapeutics AG, a new spin-off company of the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine of the University of Bern has raised CHF 20 million in a Series A financing co-led by Kurma Partners and Sunstone Life Science Ventures and participation from BERNINA BioInvest, Schroder Adveq, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Lichtsteiner Foundation, Essential Investments, Zürcher Kantonalbank and private investors. Synendos is developing first-in-class inhibitors that modulate a newly identified drug target in the body’s endocannabinoid system, enabling restoration of endogenous cannabinoid levels that are suppressed in certain pathological conditions.

(6.8.2020) Matterhorn Biosciences AG, a spin-off company of the Department of Biomedicine of the University of Basel and Versant Ventures have entered into an investment agreement of up to $30 million. Matterhorn Biosciences is developing T cell receptor therapies covered by patents of the University of Basel. The technology is based on the recent discovery of MR1T cells that recognize and kill a wide range of tumors of various tissue origins.

(22.7.2020) T3 Pharmaceuticals AG, a spin-off company from the Department Biozentrum of the University of Basel focusing on a novel approach to cancer, has announced the closing of a third financing round of CHF 25 million.

The majority of the funds will be used to advance the lead candidate T3P-Y058-739 into clinical trials. The clinical phase I/phase II trial in patients with solid tumours is expected to start in 2021.

(25.06.2020) Urodea, a spin-off company project of the University of Bern, wins the 1st prize of the >>venture>> competition in the category "Health & Nutrition". Urodea from the group of Prof. Dominik Obrist at the ARTORG Center of the University of Bern is working on a new technology to empty the bladder of elderly patients by a non-invasive method. >>venture>> has been the most important competition for young entrepreneurs in Switzerland since its foundation in 1997 and is organised annually by the ETH Zurich, EPFL, Mc Kinsey and Innosuisse.

(11.12.2019) ImmunOs Therapeutics AG, a spin-off company of the Universities of Zürich and Basel raises CHF 15M in a Series A financing, co-led by Pfizer Ventures and BioMedPartners, to advance into the first-in-human trials with the company’s lead agent iosH2, a potential new cancer treatment for both solid and non-solid tumors.

(11.12.2019) ARTIDIS, as spin-off company of the University of Basel developing new solutions for bedside cancer diagnosis, has announced the successful closure of a CHF 8.8 million seed financing in two rounds securing early clinical validation and the next development phase towards market entry in 2021.

(12.06.2019) Retinai Medical AG successfully closed a Series A financing round with the company btov Partners acting as the lead investor. The spin-off company of the University of Bern offers software tools that combine advanced machine learning algorythms and medical imgaing to enable aggregation, management and analysis of health data. The first products of the company (Omniviewer, Discovery) were already released.

(06.06.2019) CAScination AG wins the award for its innovative planning, navigation, and robotic ear surgery system that enables customised, highly accurate, and minimally invasive cochlear implants to be inserted into a patient's inner ear. CAScination was established in 2009 as a spin-off company from the University of Bern based on research performed at the University's ARTORG Center.

(29.05.2019) The University of Zurich (UZH) and the company Polyphor AG receive a substantial R&D grant from the Swiss funding agency Innosuisse. The collaboration focuses on the development of a novel class of antibiotics which target the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) transport pathway. Polyphor was established in the year 2000 as a spin-off company from UZH.

(23.05.2019) T3 Pharmaceuticals, a University of Basel spin-off company, is one of the winners of this year's W.A. De Vigier Award, the most prestigious Swiss entrepreneur award. The company develops an efficient protein delivery technology for targeted cancer therapy which is based on the use of genetically modified live bacteria.

(26.04.2019) Hookipa Pharma, a University of Zurich (UZH) spin-off company, made its initial public offering (IPO) at Nasdaq in New York. The offering proceeds will be used to advance HB-101, its lead product candidate in infectious diseases for the prevention of cytomegalovirus infections, and other product candidates against infectious diseases and in immuno-oncology.

(29.03.2019) Polyneuron Pharmaceuticals, a University of Basel spin-off company, raises CHF 22.5 million in a major Series A financing with Sofinnova Partners as the lead investor.
Polyneuron develops a new class of biodegradable glycopolymers for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. The proceeds will be used to perform a first-in-human clinical trial with the company's lead product, PN-1007, a potential treatment for anti-MAG neuropathy.

(11.03.2019) Transform your research project into a venture! With the UZH Entrepreneur-Fellowships in BioTech and MedTech, the University of Zurich (UZH) provides funding, advice, and support to young researchers aspiring to further develop their research carried out at UZH. 

The Call is now open: Submit your application by April 15, 2019! 

Who can apply? 

The UZH Entrepreneur-Fellowships in BioTech and MedTech supports research projects in life sciences or related fields. Eligible for application are UZH Postdocs and UZH PhD students completing their doctoral degree within six months after the application deadline.

(26.02.2019) Anaveon AG successfully closed its Series A financing with a total volume of CHF 35 million. The company was created as a spin-off from the University of Zurich (UZH) and is active in the field of immuno-oncology. The lead investor is Syncona Ltd., a UK-based investor.
Anaveon was created in December 2017 and received its seed financing from the UZH Life Sciences Fund. The technology was developed by Prof. Onur Boyman. Andreas Katopodis, a former director at Novartis Institutes of Biomedical Research, is the co-founder of the company.

(20.06.2018) Cutiss AG announced the closing of a Series A financing round of CHF 7.255 million. Cutiss, a UZH spin-off, focuses on the development of personalized bioengineered skin graft products. Its lead product, denovSkin, currently is evaluated in clinical phase II studies.

(05.06.2018) Under the agreement the UZH spin-off Hookipa Biotech and Gilead Sciences will jointly develop novel therapeutics based on Hookipa's technology platform against HIV and hepatitis B infections. The total deal value exceeds $400 million, including upfront and milestone payments, plus research and development funding.

(15.05.2018) Through its listing at the Swiss stock exchange Polyphor raised CHF 165 million. The IPO represents the largest listing of a biotech company in Switzerland since 10 years.
Polyphor develops novel antibiotics which are based on research performed at the University of Zurich (UZH).

(13.12.2017) Hookipa Biotech AG, a clinical stage biotech company pioneering an innovative class of immune activation therapies for oncology and infectious diseases, announces that it has raised €50 million in an oversubscribed Series C financing. The proceeds of the fundraising will be primarily used to progress two proof-of-concept clinical trials of Hookipa's lead development programs.
The Vienna (Austria) based company is a spin-off of the University of Zurich.

(08.12.2017) ImmunOs Therapeutics AG, a Swiss biotech company leading development of a next generation innate and adaptive immunity focused immunotherapy platform for cancer, today announced the closing of its 2.3 Million CHF financing round. The company is a spin-off of the Universities Basel and Zurich. See attached press release for further information.

(15.11.2017) Xeltis AG, a medical devices spin-off company of the University of Zurich founded in 2006, announced the completion of an oversubsribed €45 Million Series C financing. The company develops implants for cardiovascular applications.

(19.09.2017) Among the 13 projects selected for Phase 1 of the BaseLaunch Program there are two spin-off companies from the University of Basel, i.e. Polyneuron Pharmaceuticals and T3 Pharmaceuticals. Moreover, one project from the University of Bern in the field of neurological disorders was chosen. The projects were selected from more than 100 applications.
In addition, Roche joined the program as a new partner.

(30.08.2017) The recently created UZH Life Sciences Fund is making its first investment, putting one million CHF into Cutiss AG, a young company aiming to bring bioengineered skin grafts to market. The first product of the company currently is undergoing clinical trials in humans.

The fund will be investing in further spin-offs with the goal of accelerating the transfer of UZH research findings into practice. The UZH Life Sciences Fund is financed by equal contributions from the UZH Foundation and the Novartis Venture Fund.

(22.06.2017) Kuros Biosciences, a University of Zurich spin-off company, announced that it has received CE certification for its novel dural sealant Neuroseal. Neuroseal is designed as an adjunct to suturing to seal the dura after cranial surgery. The dura is a membrane surrounding the brain and spine and separates the central nervous system from the rest of the body. Neuroseal contains two synthetic polymers that are applied via a hand-spray device. It is based on research performed at the University of Zurich (UZH).
The CE certification allows Kuros to sell Neuroseal in more than 30 european countries.

(02.06.2017) New results from two centres in Zurich and London show that sepsis can be detected in just 5 minutes with the newly developed test from the company Abionic. The test which received the CE Mark in January 2017 enables the risk assessment from a single drop of patient’s blood. The test is based on research performed by Prof. Rolf Graf at the University Hospital Zurich and development work of the company Sepstone Diagnostics Sàrl.

(13.04.2017) Polphor AG, a University of Zurich spin-off company, announced the successful closing of a CHF 40 million private financing round. The company focuses on the development of macrocycle drugs addressing antibiotic resistance and respiratory diseases.
The proceeds will be used to finance the Pharma business unit, and particularly the pivotal registration program of the antibiotic Murepavadin (POL7080) against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, including its most resistant strains, and the proof of concept program for the elastase inhibitor POL6014.
Murepavadin (POL7080) is the first representative of the Outer Membrane Protein Targeting Antibiotics (OMPTA) class, a class of antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria with a novel mode of action discovered by Polyphor. It is the first new class of antibiotics against Gram-negative pathogens to enter late-stage clinical development in over 40 years.

(03.04.2017) The medical device company Symetis AG announced that it has agreed to be acquired by Boston Scientific for USD435 million in an all cash, up-front payment. Symetis was founded in 2001 as a spin-off company from the University of Zurich. It specializes in minimally invasive heart valve replacement devices where it markets the Acurate product family.

(13.02.2017) Under its new programme "UZH BioEntrepreneur-Fellowships" the University of Zurich provides additional support for people planning to create a spin-off company in the Life Sciences and related fields. The fellowship amounts to CHF 150'000 for a period of 18 months. It further includes support and advice for fellows on various topics.
The submission deadline for the 1st call is 13 March, 2017.

(07.02.2017) 2016 marks the most successful year in the more than 20 year history of Unitectra, the joint technology transfer unit of the Universities of Basel, Bern and Zurich. Most key performance indicators for the technology transfer activities of the three universities rose on a high level.
The number of newly executed research agreements for collaborations with outside partners from the private and public sector reached a new alltime-high (>1200). This also holds true for the cash research funding resulting for the university researchers from such collaboration agreements (>130 million CHF). These figures only relate to those faculties supported by Unitectra in the area of research collaborations, i.e. Medical, Veterinary and Natural Sciences faculties of the three universities.
The activities for the commercialization of research results also showed a marked increase with regard to most parameters. New record values were achieved, among others, for the number of evaluated invention disclosures, the number of newly executed licenses and options and for the license revenues. In addition, several new spin-off companies were created and a range of products under license from the universities reached the market.

(11.01.2017) Piqur Therapeutics AG and Pierre Fabre announced today that they have signed a collaboration agreement for the development of PIQUR’s lead compound PQR309 in dermato-oncology. Piqur, a Swiss clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, was founded in 2011 as a spin-off company of the University of Basel.

(23.11.2016) T3 Pharma, a spin-off company from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, successfully closed the first financing round. The company specializes on the development of novel bacteria-based cancer therapies. The funding will allow the company to expand the research activities and the initiation of preclinical development.

(04.11.2016) AOT develops, produces and markets a computer-assisted laser system for bone surgery. The company Aesculap is one of the investors that participated in the Series C financing round which has a total volume of approx. CHF 11.5 million.

(26.10.2016) BRIDGE is a joint programme managed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI). It offers new funding opportunities at the intersection of basic research and science-based innovation, thereby supplementing the funding activities of the two organisations.
The programme comprises two parts. "Proof of Concept" supports young scientists, while "Discovery" addresses more experienced researchers.
The deadline for the first call for Proof of Concept is December 12, 2016. Discovery will start in spring 2017.