Last week saw the award of the first Impact Investment Readiness Program – seif Label to the Basel-based company BioVersys focusing on the development of a new, more efficient treatment for tuberculosis (TB).
The Program, developed in collaboration with the Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI), is a certification for impact investors that the company is ready for investment and growth.
Marc Gitzinger, CEO of BioVersys said: “It is an honour for BioVersys to become the first ever company in Switzerland to get the seif Label awarded. It really shows that we as a company are working on important healthcare topics that also address the developing world in a sustainable way. The seif Label will help us to get access to impact investors and thus support our programs that focus on neglected diseases.”
The social enterprise BioVersys addresses the high-unmet medical need for new treatments of life-threatening bacterial infections that emerged in recent years due to antibiotic resistance with a focus on TB. This disease is the leading cause of death globally from a bacterial infectious condition with about 1.6 million people die annually from TB and 9 million new cases of active TB every year, according to WHO reports.
Magne Orgland, one of the seven members of the Jury, highlighted the importance of BioVersys’ work: “Antibiotic resistant bacteria is a major concern for the future health of mankind. BioVersys may hold the key to switch off this drug resistance. The current research on Tuberculosis could have a major health impact in developing countries and clearly deserves the support of the Impact Investment Readiness Program-seif label.”
Together with the potential impact on the quality of life of TB patients, the Jury highlighted the innovative combination of molecules to make TB treatments more efficient and easier to follow for patients, the team’s professional background and their commitment to improving the cure rates of this disease affecting especially developing countries.
The Jury was made up of eight exceedingly respected, skilled and knowledgeable professionals representing a variety of disciplines with extensive experience in the field of impact investment and start-up development.
Lutz Nolte, President CTI Start-up & Entrepreneurship said: “We at CTI are very pleased with the tremendous progress the seif Label program has made. BioVersys is a perfect example of a high-tech company that also addresses social challenges. They clearly deserve to be awarded with both the CTI and seif Label.”
About SEIF
The Social Entrepreneurship Initiative and Foundation (seif) aims to support those individuals and teams who seek to solve social challenges through entrepreneurial and innovative ideas. By offering them training and workshops tailored to their stage of development as well as mentoring and financial opportunities, seif seeks to foster professionalism and capacity building within the social entrepreneurship community.
The Impact Investment Readiness Program – seif Label offers social enterprises between 50 and 100 hours of tailored coaching support to ensure the company’s development while preparing them to pitch before impact investors.
About BioVersys
The Swiss biopharmaceutical company BioVersys focuses on research and development of small molecules, which switch off drug resistance against existing antibiotics. With the company’s award-winning TRIC technology it will be possible to restore the efficacy of established antibiotics. BioVersys’ compounds will be used in combination with existing antibiotics, thereby renewing efficacy as well as intellectual property for the established drug. The current research focus is on Nosocomial Infections and Tuberculosis. In collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and a consortium of the University of Lille, BioVersys aims to develop an effective treatment against Tuberculosis.
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