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Three InnoTREK grants awarded in 2019

February 10, 2020

In response to the 2019 autumn call InnoTREK, Mrs. Birge Ozel Duygan, Mrs. Loulia Kasem and Mr. Sylvain Perriot submitted three innovative projects. They were all three chosen to benefit individually from the InnoTREK grant of CHF 100’000.-. These funds will be a great help to continue developing their project and subsequently create their own start-up.

The project of Birge Ozel Duygan, named “CellCognize”, concerns incorporation of machine learned classified flow cytometry microbiota data in community diversity assessment.
Mrs Oezel Duygan will be hosted in Prof. Greub’s laboratory at the Microbiology Institute of the CHUV.

The project of Mrs. Loulia Kasem named “Rea” is issue from a work collaboration between the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). This project concerns a Smart Pad, which resolves a global medical need: inefficient diagnostics of preterm birth.
Rea’s technology is technically and clinically well-balanced and the two cofounders, Loulia Kassem and Erick Garcia Cordero, got simultaneously two grants of the Canton of Vaud : Innogrant of EPFL and InnoTREK of CHUV. Mrs. Kasem will be hosted in Prof. Baud’s laboratory at the Maternity of the CHUV.

The Project of Mr. Sylvain Perriot named “Glial therapeutics” consists of an in vitro model of human brain using stem cells derived from patients, which will be used to screen for drugs against multiple sclerosis. Mr. Perriot will be hosted in Prof. Du Pasquier’s laboratory in the department of clinical neurosciences at the CHUV.

The InnoTREK grant, managed by PACTT with the financial support of FIT (Fondation pour l’Innovation Technologique) as part of the InnoPACTT fund, supports selected researchers of UNIL and CHUV who have the ambition to venture into the business world with their innovative projects. These successful projects are chosen in a competitive process from applications received during the two calls per year. Since the launch in 2013, 19 laureates of UNIL and CHUV have benefited from the InnoTREK grant.

Holiday closing from Dec 24 to Jan 3

December 16, 2019

Due to the coming holiday season, please note that our office will be closed from December 24, 2019 until January 3, 2020.
We will reopen on Monday, January 6, 2020.

PACTT team wishes you a wonderful holiday season!

Four week online course “FROM THE LAB BENCH TO THE BEDSIDE – A FANTASTIC VOYAGE OF DRUG/DEVICE DEVELOPMENT”

August 16, 2019

Starting on October 14, 2019, a 4 week online course is jointly organized by the School of Life Sciences, EPFL, and the College of Sciences, San Diego State University :
“FROM THE LAB BENCH TO THE BEDSIDE – A FANTASTIC VOYAGE OF DRUG/DEVICE DEVELOPMENT”

Experienced instructors from Europe and the US will introduce you to the fundamentals of drug/device development, and the requirements for regulatory and quality compliance. You will have exposure to the requirements in Europe and the US in terms of the approach, the attitude to risk-taking, and the cultural divide.
Advances in biotechnology, medical technology, and information technology give new hope for treating diseases never imagined before. To bring these advances from the laboratory bench to the patient bedside requires training and experience that are not available in academia. This course is intended to fill that gap. It is a four-week interactive course, involving intensive self-study and team-work. The course will bring you close to your future workplace.
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
• Describe the major steps of the drug and device development process from bench to bed-side.
• Compare and contrast US and European Union regulatory and quality requirements.
• Discuss the basics of a Quality Management System.
• Develop a Product Profile for a drug/device product or therapy.
• Draft the basic components of a Development Plan for a Phase 1 clinical trial, including a Preclinical Plan, a Clinical Trial Protocol, and CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls) Plan.
• Work with other life science professionals on a team.
• Feel more confident about job seeking and job interviews.

Register at
https://www.epfl.ch/schools/sv/school-of-life-sciences/innovation/catalyze4life/educate-to-innovate/

• The course is open to all members of Swiss Academic Institutions. Minimum of a Bachelor degree, in a relevant field, is required to participate
• Members of early start ups, strictly linked to a Swiss University, may be eligible; please contact the organizer
• Price for Non EPFL members is 400 CHF, Price for EPFL members is 200 CHF, Payment online shall be possible from September
• There are limited places; 1st come, 1st served
• Deadline is September 30

Contact
Program Director : Kostas Kaloulis
Email : catalyze4life@epfl.ch

Innosuisse : Call for innovation project applications in the Social Sciences & Business Management sector

July 12, 2019

In its strategic objectives, the Federal Council gives Innosuisse the mandate to support more innovation projects in non-technological areas, given their major interest for the economy. Innosuisse invites you to submit applications for this type of innovation project and to provide your comments on the new information about the various fields in the online application form. Projects submitted before 16 October 2019 can already start this year.

Read more (text in French and German only)