AliperTherapeutics, a spin-off of IOR, wins the fifth edition of Boldbrain Startup Challenge

The winners of the 2022 edition of the Boldbrain Startup Challenge, the acceleration programme for innovative ideas organised by Fondazione Agire with the support of USI Startup Centre and sponsored by the Department of Finance and Economy (DFE) of the Canton Ticino and BancaStato, were announced on December 13th at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Lugano in front of 550 participants. AliperTherapeutics won the first prize, a cash cheque of CHF 40.000 and a full scholarship for USI EMBA worth CHF 52.000. The audience award went to Revozona.

The national jury of the competition, chaired by Jean-Pierre Vuilleumier, assessed the 10 finalists and selected the five winners, who won cash prizes worth CHF 120,000, as well as in-kind prizes and consultancy services to help them continue the development of their project. The first prize went to AliperTherapeutics, a spin-off of the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR, affiliated to USI and member of Bios+) that aims to develop pharmacological treatments for prostate cancer with a drug composed of bacteria that help standard therapies work better and delay the development of severe forms of the disease. The winner receives a cheque for CHF 40,000, a full scholarship of CHF 52,000 for USI EMBA and a voucher for legal advice at Bär & Karrer worth CHF 5,000.

The CHF 30,000 cheque for second place went to AQUAtryp®, an innovative spray for treating chronic wounds. Zario, a digital wellness platform that combines psychology and gamification in daily challenges designed to help users live a digitally balanced life, reducing and replacing screen time and cultivating healthy habits in an engaging and motivating process, came third, receiving a cheque for CHF 20,000. The fourth place and a cheque for CHF 10,000 were taken by GiPSy, a buoy drone that can be controlled and moved remotely via a Web-App and can maintain its position without anchor thanks to two battery-powered electric motors. Finally, the fifth place and the audience award, each worth CHF 10,000, were won by Revozona, a startup that uses ozone gas to clean the materials used by the fashion industry to produce clothing, saving 90% of CO2 and water emissions and over 40% of energy and chemicals.

The top three startup projects of the Boldbrain Startup Challenge are also given the opportunity to participate in the Swiss Economic Award and MassChallenge Switzerland, two programs that foster the development of later-stage startups, coaching vouchers offered by Connect Switzerland and consulting days at yourCFO. In addition, all finalists receive a voucher from the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property to conduct an initial assisted patent search.