Debiopharm to invest in seed stage companies

Building on its strong track record of investing in 25 companies since the inception of the fund in 2006, with a focus on Digital Health since 2017, the Debiopharm Innovation Fund will now add seed funding activity to invest in more companies even earlier, with the ambition to transform pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) and advance digital innovation in cancer care.

While the fund has a global scope, Debiopharm wants to encourage the health tech innovation scene locally too. One of the first two investments is in Tune Insight, an EPFL spin-off. Tune Insight offers a privacy-preserving data collaboration platform enabling the training of artificial intelligence (AI) models through secure federated learning. “We will stay close to the digital health local ecosystem and look forward to discover more opportunities at the convergence of tech, science and care”, a Debiopharm spokesperson explained to Startupticker.

The second company in which Debiopharm invested is Neuroute, a UK-based startup that develops a no-code AI clinical development platform streamlining critical processes of clinical trials, such as study design and site selection. More investments will be announced soon.

Investments will focus on the next generation of pharma R&D to accelerate drug development, on new technology solutions enabling a more patient-centric approach in clinical trials, and on digital platforms uncovering new insights from clinical data for more personalized care pathways.

"At Debiopharm, we foresee a future where data sets the stage for the entire value chain of drug development, from generating novel drug designs to predicting clinical trial outcomes. The future of healthcare will be redesigned by AI-driven care and the companies behind those innovations," Marc Cikes, Managing Director of Debiopharm Innovation Fund said.

Debiopharm Innovation Fund aims to help young Seed start-ups access not only capital, but also the wealth of knowledge accumulated through years of investing at the intersection of technology, pharma R&D transformation and patient-centric healthcare. The company can help them to navigate the complex regulatory environments and to understand the needs and processes of large pharma companies. Debiopharm plans to support the most successful startups through their subsequent Series A financing, which will remain the fund’s flagship activity.

Marc Cikes explaines: "Despite tremendous advancements in treating cancer patients and the disease, there is still much more to discover in how we diagnose, treat, and cure cancer patients and by utilizing Debiopharm Innovation Fund’s extensive knowledge and expertise, startups will have the ability to grow into scalable, investment-ready companies that will have a lasting impact on patients worldwide."

(Press release / SK)