Innovative Strength Driven by Basic Research
Last year, research conducted at UZH gave rise to 27 patent and trademark applications and 57 inventions. This is in line with the university’s excellent track record: over the past 10 years, a total of 722 inventions and 353 patent applications have emerged from UZH. They include innovations in oncology, diagnostics, artificial intelligence, imaging, agricultural science and veterinary medicine, among others.
Another indicator of UZH’s innovative strength is the number of companies founded: last year, four new spin-offs emerged as a result of research at UZH. They are working to find suitable treatments for individual patients, detect eye misalignments using smartphones, combat rare genetic diseases, and make the evaluation of neuropsychological examinations more efficient.
Here we introduce the four new spin-offs:
Eviive: Decision-making aids for cancer therapies
The spin-off Eviive has its sights set on complex particles: extracellular vesicles are difficult to detect, tiny – and at the same time a source of great hope for people suffering from cancer. They are sent out by cells as messenger substances to convey biological “messages.” This information is valuable for therapies against various cancers and tumors because it can reveal the communication between immune cells or between immune cells and cancer cells.
The team of experts led by Eviive founders and immunologists Kevin Yim and Richard Chahwan is developing a new method that aims to refine and accelerate this process – based on research conducted at the University of Zurich and experience gained during years of cooperation with the University Hospital Zurich. The idea is that deciphering the messages between the immune system and cancer cells will help to find the most appropriate therapy for each patient – or even answer the question of whether a single treatment or a combination of several therapies is the best choice.
As an example, Yim cites a study on melanoma that was completed in early 2026. Using blood samples from 125 patients with this type of skin cancer, the developers showed that they could accurately predict the success of therapies of patients with over 90 % confidence. Following these and other encouraging successes, the team at the young spin-off Eviive is now working on scaling up this innovative analysis. “We are validating the analysis with external clinical network across EU and US and pharma partners simultaneously,” explains Yim, “with the robust utility evidence required in modern precision medicine.”
EX3D: Measuring bulging eyes using a smartphone
The autoimmune disorder Graves’ disease, as well as other conditions such as tumors or vascular malformations, can cause the eyeballs to bulge. Measuring the degree of protrusion is an important step in diagnosis and monitoring treatment. For more than a century, an ophthalmological device known as the Hertel exophthalmometer has been used around the world for this purpose. However, it has a major drawback: it does not guarantee consistent measurements. In fact, the results are highly dependent on the examiner.
This is where the spin-off EX3D comes in. It is developing an app that uses smartphone cameras to create a three-dimensional model of the face and, based on this model, to precisely measure the eyeballs. Konrad Weber, professor of neuro-ophthalmology at UZH and senior attending physician at University Hospital Zurich, conducted a study comparing this method with a professional 3D scanner. The smartphone solution proved to be just as precise as the scanner, which costs around CHF 25,000, and more accurate than measurements taken with a traditional Hertel exophthalmometer.
Weber initiated the project, developed the idea, and led the relevant studies along with his research team. An initial version of EX3D already exists. However, before the app can be launched on the market, there are still a few hurdles to overcome, such as obtaining CE certification as a medical device and getting it approved in the App Store.
Weber has global ambitions for EX3D. He hopes that in the future, ophthalmologists around the world will be able to take measurements digitally using smartphones. Since the necessary camera technology is already available in millions of devices, this method has the potential to spread quickly, fundamentally modernizing a measurement technique that is over a hundred years old.
Nerai: Genetic healing with high-tech procedures
The CRISPR/Cas method, colloquially known as “gene scissors”, offers great hope in medicine, including in the treatment of rare hereditary diseases. At present, however, the method is still limited in its reach, partly because it cannot access all DNA sequences. This is where the UZH spin-off Nerai Bioscience AG comes into play.
As CEO Vincent Forster puts it, the young company was born out of a “fortunate convergence” of expertise from three cutting-edge disciplines brought together by specialists from the laboratory of Gerald Schwank, UZH professor at the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology: firstly, directed evolution of the so called CRISPR editor or the development of customized gene therapies in high throughput; secondly, machine learning and AI to further optimize the editors’ performance, and lastly, technologies that make it possible to test the editor for multiple diseases at once. Additionally, Forster explains, Nerai’s editors are designed to be reusable for several diseases – a strategy that should make individual therapies more accessible in the future.
As an example of this innovative approach, Forster cites the goal of developing a gene editing therapy for the genetic defect that causes Citrullinemia Type 1, which is a congenital metabolic disorder and urea cycle disorder in newborns that can lead to brain damage and severe cognitive impairment.
The spin-off is currently advancing preclinical development and raising seed capital to move its gene therapy platform toward medical implementation. The multitude of rare and still incurable hereditary diseases that often affect children motivates the team on its journey. Forster hopes that genome editing will one day become so efficient and accessible that no genetic disease will be considered “too rare to be cured” anymore.
neurodAIgnostics: Accelerating and expanding cognitive testing with AI
Like other branches of the healthcare system, psychiatry and psychology are overburdened. While the waiting time for a neuropsychological examination was around four weeks in 2018, today those affected often have to wait months – partly due to a shortage of specialists and partly due to time-consuming routine work. This is where the UZH spin-off neurodAIgnostics, founded in August 2025, comes in. As an alternative to widely used pen-and-paper cognitive tests, which are common in dementia diagnosis, for example, the team led by Nicolas Langer, professor at the Department of Psychology and co-founder of neurodAIgnostics, is developing a digital platform that makes such examinations more efficient.
Specially developed AI algorithms help to speed up proven workflows – embedded in intuitive mobile applications. One of the advantages of the system is that the automation of evaluations and reports on such tests reduces the time required by more than half, all while opening up new diagnostic possibilities through modern sensor technologies.
A practical example: tests with pen and paper provide valuable but previously unused data about participants – such as the sequence of individual strokes or the pressure of the pen on the paper. A digital pen can also register such signals, providing the basis for new diagnostic criteria to improve the early detection of cognitive impairments.
The team is currently working on obtaining medical certification for their first solution, based on research conducted at UZH with partners at ETH Zurich. The experts then plan to launch their product in German-speaking countries. Perrine Lhuillier, co-founder of the spin-off, certainly sees a need for it: more than 30 clinics have already expressed interest in collaborating with neurodAIgnostics, some of which are participating as pilot partners. The University Hospital Zurich is one of the leading partners.
Achievements of existing UZH spin-offs
No fewer than 165 spin-offs have been founded at UZH since 1999. Many of them achieved notable success in 2025:
- Seven UZH spin-offs were included in the 2025 TOP 100 Swiss Startup Ranking.More information
- CUTISS, a UZH spin-off, raised CHF 56 million in a financing round. The company produces living skin using the patient’s own cells, which can then be used to treat burn victims.
More information
Article: New Skin for Burn Victims - Reconnect Labs is well on its way to bringing its groundbreaking therapies for neuropsychiatric disorders to market – two drugs are in Phase 2 validation.
More information - The spin-off askEarth is making Earth observation accessible to the public using an intuitive search engine for satellite data. It has received CHF 2.26 million in a larger funding round to expand its activities.
More information - metaLead received support from the UZH Life Science Fund. The spin-off company is a pioneer in the development of new drugs to treat metal-related diseases, such as Wilson’s disease and lead poisoning.
More information - In a new round of financing, the company Oncobit AG secured over CHF 1.9 million in funds. This additional capital will support the company’s clinical developments and allow it to expand into new markets.
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