Launch of the 2017 Neode Prize
Neode, the benchmark industrial incubator in French-speaking Switzerland, will be awarding CHF 50,000 for the best innovation in medical technology, and offering the winner a package of services to help industrialize his or her product.
For over ten years, Neode has been supporting start-ups with strong growth potential, particularly in the life sciences sector, which is particularly conducive to the emergence of new technologies. This type of project can sometimes take a long time to bring to fruition, particularly in order to meet compliance requirements, but then quickly benefits from global reach.
The aim of this prize is to promote the best technological idea that has already been patented. The winner will receive CHF 50,000, which will be used to draw up a business plan, build a prototype and raise funds for marketing or industrialization. The competition is open to any entrepreneur with an innovative product idea who wishes to set up a company in the canton of Neuchâtel.
A world-renowned jury
The Prize brings together a panel of judges made up mainly of internationally recognized doctors and professors, but also representatives of business, finance and industry. This approach covers the interdisciplinary plurality of Medtech products, which, combined with different aspects of industry and medicine, make it possible to produce a functional prototype and validate its success. This highly specialized committee for medical devices is the key element in determining the suitability and interest of the products submitted for the Prize. Jury chairman Prof. Afksendiyos Kalangos (President of the World Society of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery) brings experience and credibility to the competition, not least through his ideas realized in the form of products currently on the market.
By way of example: the success stories of the winners of the two previous editions
Coat-X, a start-up that won the Neode Prize in 2015, currently offers the tightest biocompatible encapsulation method for medical devices based on thin films. This new technology also makes it possible to miniaturize existing implantable devices and increase their resistance to body fluids. The industrialization of this new patented manufacturing process was made possible by the Neode Prize. The start-up is now housed in the Parc and continues to expand with the support of a major new investor. The funds provided will enable Coat-X to gradually increase production, set up ISO certifications and pursue development.
Winner of the Neode Prize in 2009, Swiss Advanced Vision (SAV-IOL SA) markets and develops a new generation of intraocular lenses for cataract treatment, enabling clear vision to be restored at any distance. The company is also expanding rapidly, with over 15 employees. Initially housed in the park, it left the incubator in 2011 to prepare for the commercialization of its product. The company currently sells its products in over 40 countries worldwide, and is also focusing on the development of new lenses featuring unique innovations in the field of intraocular surgery.
Winning synergies
Neode is a real knowledge pool, bringing together different partners such as doctors and engineers, who would not normally work together, and thus enabling the realization of successful projects. Through this award, Neode facilitates technology transfer in the medtech field and enhances the influence of the Jura Arc in high-tech, with world-class medical products.
See you then on December 7, 2017, in Neuchâtel at Microcity, where presentations by renowned speakers will follow one another to find out the winner of the 2017 Prize.
