OCCIDENT – the Entrepreneural Venture Capital Investor

12/2021 Portfolio

RESISTELL PRESENTS SPECTACULAR STUDY RESULTS

Congratulations to our portfolio company Resistell. The Basel-based start-up announced the successful completion of the pilot phase of its clinical Performance Evaluation Study with 100% accuracy and at least 7 hours shorter time-to-result (TTR) compared to gold standard methods.

Resistell is developing the world’s fastest phenotypic Antibiotic Susceptibility Test (AST) with its groundbreaking nanomotion technology platform.

More information in the press release under the following link.

11/2021 Portfolio

OCCIDENT JOINS TWO EXCITING NETWORKS

At OCCIDENT, we believe that collaboration with strong partners and a powerful network are key components for our success and that of our portfolio companies. Therefore, we are delighted to have joined the EIT Health Investor Network as well as the BioRN Life Science Cluster Rhine-Neckar.

The EIT Health Investor Network is a European initiative connecting innovative startups with experienced investors to drive innovation in healthcare while promoting collaboration across Europe.

The BioRN Life Science Cluster Rhine-Neckar is a network of leading life sciences players from academia and industry, mostly from the highly innovative Rhine-Neckar region.

We look forward to learning about exciting new ideas, participating in great events and connecting to new partners.

More about EIT Health Investor Network

More about BioRN Life Science Cluster Rhine-Neckar

11/2021 Portfolio

IMPLANDATA WINS RENOWNED MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY AWARD

Our portfolio company Implandata from Hanover won the first prize of the “Health Care Innovation World Cup” at the renowned medical technology event Medica in Düsseldorf. The company was able to prevail against 300 startups that had registered for the competition.

Implandata is a Digital Health company and develops disruptive solutions for ophthalmology, especially for glaucoma patients.

Congratulations on this well-deserved success!

OUR CEO IN THE GERMAN HANDELSBLATT

Great article in the German Handelsblatt about the most active female venture capital investors in Germany and the introduction of our CEO Patrizia Schützenhöfer. She has developed the family-owned group OCCIDENT into one of the leading early-stage investors with a scientific focus.

The fact that success depends on different and very versatile competencies and that a good mix is needed in every team is also evident in the many successful female founders in OCCIDENT’s portfolio.

Read more about this in the Handelsblatt of November 15, 2021 on page 44 (only available in German language).

11/2021 About

OCCIDENT WELCOMES VENTURE LEADERS DEEPTECH

We are very happy to have hosted the 15 winner startups of the Swiss Venture Leaders Deeptech program by Venturelab to pitch to selected German deep tech investors.
Highly innovative and well-funded technologies with entrepreneurial and highly motivated founders are essential to address our societal challenges, not to mention climate change or resource scarcity. Our aim was to build bridges from new technologies to successful applications, as well as from founders to investors.
Many thanks to all for making this happen and working together on the challenges of our time.

More about Venture Leaders Deeptech

10/2021 Portfolio

ITHERA RECEIVES EIC ACCELERATOR GRANT

Congratulations to our medical device portfolio company iThera Medical for being successfully funded by the EIC Accelerator Program, Europe’s largest and most selective public funding program for breakthrough innovation projects.
Through this project, iThera Medical will translate its proprietary optoacoustic imaging technology (MSOT) from research use to routine clinical application, providing physicians worldwide with a powerful new diagnostic tool. This will enable improved diagnosis and treatment monitoring for diseases related to inflammation, fibrosis and cancer.

More information can be found in the press release under the following link.

More about iThera Medical

09/2021 Team

TEAM OFFSITE IN BERLIN

EAT. BERLIN. SLEEP. REPEAT.

For 4 days we did just that at this year’s major offsite in Berlin. Besides many culinary highlights, we explored this great city in very different ways and presented our new employee benefits @ OCCIDENT to the team.

It was wonderful to spend time together again after the many months of limited contact, vaccinated and tested, and to get to know our four “new” employees better in private as well.

09/2021 Portfolio

MK2 BIOTECHNOLOGIES IN THE CURRENT PLATTFORM LIFE SCIENCES

Thank you, Plattform Life Sciences, for introducing our latest portfolio company. With its technology platform, mk2 Biotechnologies can produce peptides also for price-sensitive industrial applications. For the first time, there is the potential to use peptides in antibiotic substitutes, sustainable crop protection agents, sustainable preservatives for food, but also in pharmaceuticals against diseases such as cancer or AIDS, which are currently very difficult to treat or cure.
The market for biocatalysts is already a multi-billion market with double-digit growth rates, so we look forward to seeing the concrete results of the collaborations with industry that are already underway.

More about OCCIDENT can be found in the fact sheet on page 98, and details about mk2 Biotechnologies can be found on page 111 of the Plattform Life Sciences (only in German language).

09/2021 About

CELEBRATING SUCCESS TOGETHER

As an investor and entrepreneurial partner, we support our founders over many years. We are therefore thrilled to see the fantastic development they are going through and the great successes they are celebrating.
We are now happy together with our Swiss portfolio companies Resistell and hemotune about their recognition at #9 and #37 at the Top 100 Swiss Startup Awards. It is also fantastic to see Versantis and Lunaphore recognized among the Top 25 Scale-ups.

More about Resistell
More about hemotune

More about the Top 100 Swiss Startup Awards

08/2021 About

WE SHAPE OUR TOMORROW

OCCIDENT invests not only in innovations, but also in talents. For 7 years now, we have been supporting CO-OPERAID’s Talents project, a scholarship program for young people from very poor families in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Laos. We are proud that with our support so far 54 students have gained access to higher education; already 15 of them have successfully completed it and are improving our tomorrow in a sustainable way as doctors, lawyers or kindergarten teachers.

We look forward to supporting more talents in the future and giving them the opportunity for an education.

More about the Talents project

07/2021 Portfolio

INVESTMENT IN MK2 BIOTECHNOLOGIES

OCCIDENT invests in industrial biotech for the first time and participates as lead investor in Munich-based startup mk2 Biotechnologies, which focuses on the development and production of peptides. With the multi-million seed funding, the company accelerates its further growth and aims for additional development milestones towards industrializing its new peptide production platform. This revolutionary, scalable synthesis technology platform enables the production of authentic peptides, regardless of their physical or chemical properties, at large scale and low cost.

More information can be found in the press release under the following link.

More about mk2 Biotechnologies

06/2021 Portfolio

INSPHERO FORMS CONSORTIUM WITH LEADING PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES

Our portfolio company InSphero has formed a pre-competitive consortium with Pfizer, Sanofi, Merck and Genentech to better investigate potential negative side effects of new drugs on the liver at an early stage. Drug-induced liver damage is often the reason why the development of a new drug is discontinued.

The safety of new drugs is typically assessed in animal studies prior to the start of a clinical trial, which are not always reliable and should be reduced if possible. The consortium therefore aims to perform these studies on 3D micro tissues from animals and humans to provide a validated in vitro liver model and improve the ability to predict the risk of drug-indiced liver injury from new drug candidates.

More about

06/2021 Portfolio

SUCCESSFUL PRODUKT DEVELOPMENT AT IOP

Congratulations to our portfolio company Implandata Opthalmic Products (IOP) on two great achievements. Within a few weeks, the company announced that it had received both the European CE Mark certification and the American FDA Breakthrough Devices Designation for its EYEMATE system.

The innovative EYEMATE implant allows continuous monitoring of intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients and thus represents an important component for the optimal and efficient treatment of glaucoma in the future.

More about CE Mark

More about FDA Breakthrough Devices Designation

06/2021 Portfolio

RESISTELL STARTS PERFORMANCE EVALUATION STUDY

Starting the Performance Evaluation Study in June 2021, our portfolio company Resistell has reached a major milestone in the development of its phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility test based on the nanomotion technology. The study is being conducted at the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV).

Since our initial investment in 2018, the company has always kept track of its goals to develop the world’s fastest antibiotic susceptibility test. We are now more than enthusiastic to see this technology being brought a major step closer to the commercial use.

More about

05/2021 Portfolio

ITHERA MEDICAL RECIEVES CE CERTIFICATION

Congratulations to our portfolio company iThera Medical. The company announced that it has received CE mark for its MSOT Acuity Echo. This device combines optoacoustic with ultrasound tomography and features a real-time tomographic ultrasound image. The co-registration of these two imaging modes gives clinicians the opportunity to identify relevant anatomical structures based on the ultrasound image and then probe the tissue of interest for functional and molecular biomarkers using MSOT.

More about

05/2021 Portfolio

INSPHERO INITIATES TWO NEW COLLABORATIONS

For our portfolio company InSphero from Schlieren, May is an eventful month. Within a few days, InSphero managed to land two promising collaborations.

InSphero was awarded a grant for a joint research project with Dr. Wytske van Weerden’s team at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam. The goal of the collaboration is to develop reliable, physiologically relevant in vitro models to study metastatic cells.
More about

In addition, InSphero announced a collaboration with Hamilton, a global leader in automated workstations and laboratory automation technology. The goal of this collaboration is to improve the production and handling of 3D microtissues.
More about

02/2021 Portfolio

INVESTING ON THE EDGE OF SCIENCE

As a deep tech investor, we believe in science, its innovative power and its potential to sustainably improve the quality of tomorrow’s life. That is why the majority of our portfolio consists of successful spin-offs from universities and research institutions, which provide the basis for successful companies by researching groundbreaking innovations.

We are now particularly proud that all of our new investments in 2020 have made it onto the Forbes list of the “30 Spin-offs to Watch 2021” in the DACH region. This shows once again that OCCIDENT anticipates the potential for success early on and makes the right investment decisions.

Congratulations also to the great founding teams of hemotune, Tubulis and Code Intelligence!

More about (only in German language)

02/2021 Portfolio

ADIVO CONCLUDES FURTHER GLOBAL COLLABORATION AGREEMENT

Our portfolio company adivo has succeeded in entering into another partnership with one of the leading animal health companies to develop therapeutic antibodies for companion animals. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, the animal health company will gain access to adivo’s species-specific monoclonal antibody technology.

More about

02/2021 Portfolio

CODE INTELLIGENCE'S FUZZ TESTING IS OPEN SOURCE

After Google released an open source fuzzer for Python in December, our portfolio company Code Intelligence now enables modern fuzz testing for the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) with Jazzer.

Using automated software security testing for developers, Jazzer can increase test coverage and find edge cases to more effectively locate software bugs. No changes to code or build system are required. Jazzer supports not only the JVM, but also programming language mixing.

More about Code Intelligence

02/2021 team

WELCOME LISA

OCCIDENT is pleased to welcome another new member to the team and welcomes Lisa Maier as new Team Assistant & Office Manager at the Zug office. In addition to her studies in Media and Communication, Lisa has gained professional experience in the areas of marketing, event organization and team assistance in the medical technology industry.

01/2021 About

WE ARE ONCE AGAIN CLIMATE NEUTRAL

Even though corona is an omnipresent topic, we do not want to forget about climate change and the associated negative consequences. As a sustainable company, we wish to make our contribution to climate protection. We have calculated our corporate carbon footprint for the year 2020 and, based on this, support projects to reduce CO2 emissions in cooperation with the Swiss foundation myclimate.

More about myclimate

01/2021 team

WELCOME AAGAM

OCCIDENT welcomes Aagam Shah as new Investment Analyst for the life sciences sector at the Zug office. Aagam studied Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University and holds a PhD in Neurotechnology from ETH Zurich. His previous professional experience was in the fields of medical technology, neuroscience and cardiovascular research. At OCCIDENT, Aagam supports the comprehensive analysis and due diligence of new investment opportunities.

12/2020 Portfolio

GNA RECEIVES AUTHORIZATION

Fantastic achievement by our portfolio company GNA Biosolutions. The Munich based company receives emergency use authorization from the German Health Authority BfArM for its ultrafast molecular covid testing system. This represents a significant step in getting the pandemic under control.

Congratulations to the whole team!

More about

12/2020 About

LET'S SHOW INITIATIVE!

“If we take the future seriously, we must stop leaving it up to others and become active ourselves.” (Jane Goodall)

Especially the last year with all the new challenges has taught us how important it is to show initiative and to become active ourselves. We have all learned that you can make your own contribution and that you should not leave it to others. We were confirmed how important science and research are. We were made aware that in the future, innovation will become increasingly important, and that it will become more and more important that each individual can make a difference.

With this in mind, we would like to thank you for the enriching and inspiring cooperation this year in particular and look forward to tackling the challenges together to sustainably improve tomorrow’s life.

The OCCIDENT Team wishes you a peaceful, inspiring Christmas season and a fantastic year in 2021.

11/2020 Portfolio

SWISS TECHNOLOGY AWARD FOR HEMOTUNE

Congratulations to our portfolio company hemotune on winning the Swiss Technology Award in the startups category. Another great achievement for this innovative medical technology start-up dedicated to the fight against sepsis.

More about hemotune (video)

11/2020 team

WELCOME MIRCO

OCCIDENT welcomes Mirco Müller as new Investment Analyst for the life sciences sector at the Zug office. Mirco studied chemistry and economics at the University of Freiburg in Germany and spent a semester abroad in Singapore. He gained professional experience in the research and development of novel material systems. At OCCIDENT, Mirco supports the comprehensive analysis and due diligence of new investment opportunities.

11/2020 About

OCCIDENT IN THE VENTURE CAPITAL MAGAZINE

“Strong companies are shaped by entrepreneurs and not by investors”, our CEO Patrizia Schützenhöfer is quoted in the special edition Start-up 2021 of Venture Capital Magazine. Which manifold added value investors can bring into start-ups besides capital and how valuable a good fit in a consortium is, gets explained in the corresponding article.

Issue 07/2020 from page 40 (only available in German language)

10/2020 Portfolio

FOLLOW-UP INVESTMENT IN ADIVO

adivo, our portfolio company in the field of veterinary medicine, convinced us for a second time to invest in the promising technology and the highly motivated team together with High-Tech Gründerfonds. The current funding will be used to continue the company’s own projects, expand the successful partnering and enlarge the team.

More about adivo

09/2020 About

OCCIDENT FEATURED IN THE PLATTFORM LIFE SCIENCES

We definitely “dare” – with almost 50% of our life sciences investments in the biotech sector, we are absolutely convinced of its success potential, innovative strength and impact. How our CEO, Patrizia Schützenhöfer, assesses the current situation of venture capital in biotech and how OCCIDENT invests in this field, can be found in the latest issue of the Plattform Life Sciences.

Issue 03/2020 from page 134 (only available in German language)

09/2020 About

OCCIDENT INVESTS IN DEEP TECH

As a deep tech investor, we are pleased to be perceived as such by the University of Zurich. OCCIDENT is one of the most active investors in life sciences spin-offs from Swiss universities, which account for almost one third of our portfolio. Together with our German spin-offs, almost two thirds of our start-ups’ technologies were developed at universities or research institutions. For us, this once again demonstrates the great potential of excellent research in Switzerland and Germany.

TOP 100 SWISS STARTUP AWARD 2020

Just like in 2019, we congratulate three of our portfolio companies on their placements among this year’s TOP 100 Swiss Startup Award – two of them even made it into the TOP 8. Congratulations to Versantis, Resistell and hemotune for their ranking as 3 of the most promising start-ups in Switzerland. OCCIDENT is proud to have these aspiring start-ups in its portfolio.

More about Versantis

More about Resistell

More about hemotune

09/2020 About

NEW ADDRESS IN MUNICH

Growth needs space – that’s why we are moving with our Munich team into our own and bigger offices near the Gärtnerplatz. We are very much looking forward to welcoming our portfolio companies, further team members and business partners and to meeting highly motivated founders in the Isarvorstadt.

08/2020 team

WELCOME SIMON

OCCIDENT welcomes Simon Schild von Spannenberg as new Junior Investment Manager for the high-tech sector at the Munich office. Simon studied Industrial Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) as well as Energy Science and Engineering at the Technical University of Darmstadt and spent a semester abroad in Nicaragua. Afterwards he gained experience as a founder and in the field of M&A with a focus on Cleantech. At OCCIDENT, Simon is responsible for deal sourcing and building a high-tech start-up portfolio.

08/2020 Portfolio

INVESTMENT IN HEMOTUNE

For the third month in a row, we are proud to welcome a new venture to our portfolio. OCCIDENT acted as lead investor for the Series A of the Swiss start-up hemotune, which developed HemoSystem, a groundbreaking platform technology for extracorporeal blood purification. This technology uses magnetic nanoparticles to purify the blood of previously inaccessible pathogenic biomolecules and toxins. The primary applications are sepsis and septic shock, the consequences of which up to 6 million people die every year according to the WHO.

More information can be found in the press release under the following link.

More about hemotune

07/2020 Portfolio

INVESTMENT IN TUBULIS

OCCIDENT participates in the Series A financing round of the Munich-based start-up Tubulis, which is working on one of the best current innovations for improved cancer treatment. Using proprietary platform technologies, Tubulis develops uniquely tailored Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) with the aim of improving and expanding their therapeutic potential. The conjugates consist of chemotherapeutic agents that are firmly bound to a cancer-sensitive antibody which enables a specific release of the drug molecule at the tumor site. Tubulis is thus developing the basis for a more targeted and effective therapy of cancer.

More information can be found in the press release under the following link.

More about Tubulis

07/2020 Portfolio

Resistell receives EIC Accelerator Grant

In times of COVID-19, the signs are more in favor of saving than investing. Especially life sciences start-ups can therefore only develop or test their life-saving technologies at a slower pace. This makes it all the more important for us to support young companies in the current situation. We are therefore very pleased that the European Commission has the same ambition and supports Resistell in the generation of an improved method for detecting antibiotic resistance with the Enhanced European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Grant totaling 2.5 million euros.

More information can be found in the press release under the following link.

More about Resistell

06/2020 Portfolio

INVESTMENT IN CODE INTELLIGENCE

OCCIDENT invests in the Bonn-based start-up Code Intelligence. Together with LBBW Venture Capital und investiere, a very good consortium has been formed for the Pre-Series A financing round. Code Intelligence enables software security testing through innovative fuzzing already in the development phase of software. Using CI Fuzz, vulnerabilities can be detected earlier and fully automatically, allowing developers to analyze errors faster and to fix them at the code base. Thus CI Fuzz drastically improves the stability and reliability of software.

More information can be found in the press release under the following link.

More about Code Intelligence

06/2020 Ventures

FOLLOW-UP INVESTMENT IN ADVANCECOR

For the second time, OCCIDENT is participating in a financing round for the Munich-based biotech company advanceCOR GmbH, which specializes in the personalized therapy of cardiovascular diseases. The unique feature is the lead project Revacept® developed by advanceCOR, which does not interfere with the body’s own blood coagulation, but acts directly at the site of vascular damage. The active ingredient has already been successfully tested in two clinical trials. With the new investment, advanceCOR now wants to further accelerate the development of Revacept®.

For more information please read the press release under the following link.

More about advanceCOR

05/2020 Portfolio

GNA RECEIVES FUNDING FOR CORONA TEST

Again we have great news from our portfolio company GNA Biosolutions. The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), a partnership between the European Union and the European pharmaceutical industry, has committed financial support to GNA to promote approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19.

The IMI selected GNA as one of eight institutions and the only German lead company out of 144 proposals. The decision is based on the quality and speed in which patients can be tested for COVID-19 thanks to the disruptive technology. Due to GNA’s molecular diagnostic method using PCA, patients could be tested almost anywhere in laboratory quality and within 15 to 20 minutes they would have clarity if they were suffering from corona virus.

For more information please see an article by AktienCheck (link in German language) and the press release of IMI (Link).

More about GNA

04/2020 Portfolio

GNA has developed corona test

Our Munich-based portfolio company GNA Biosolutions is making its contribution to the fight against the corona virus and is also supported by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs in order to enable the market launch of the mobile test device within 8-12 weeks. GNA Biosolutions uses a novel detection method, which provides a reliable result regarding a possible COVID-19 disease within 15 minutes. With 1,000 devices about 300,000 tests could be performed daily.

In addition to the current challenges, the rapid diagnosis of highly infectious diseases will continue to provide a good database for the future in order to identify pandemic risks at an early stage and initiate appropriate measures.

More information can be found in the article in Süddeutsche Zeitung (text in German language) under the following link.

More about GNA

03/2020 About

OCCIDENT – digital and financially strong

As a company that has been digital for years, the conversion to home office in the course of COVID-19 was not difficult for us. Since mid-March, we have been keeping our physical distance responsibly and considerately, but we are still making a digital effort to promote interpersonal exchange and cohesion during the crisis. During this time, it becomes particularly clear how important the digitalization of our processes and the solidarity towards our fellow human beings are.

For years, OCCIDENT has been investing in start-ups that make digital and medical progress possible and thus represent added value for society. As a financially strong and entrepreneurial investor, we will continue to support start-ups. Especially in the current crisis, we take our responsibility seriously and continue to be a trustworthy partner for visionary founders.

Stay healthy and take care of yourself!

01/2020 Portfolio

Follow-up Investment in Lunaphore

Already for the third time, OCCIDENT participates in a financing round for the Swiss diagnostics company Lunaphore, which revolutionizes tumor diagnostics with its technology. Following the successful market launch of LabSat, the new funds will flow into the company’s growth and internationalization, as well as into new innovations.

More information can be found in the press release under the following link.

More about Lunaphore

01/2020 Portfolio

News advanceCOR

Congratulations to advanceCOR! With its lead compound Revacept®, our portfolio company was able to prevent the local activation of blood platelets at sites of vascular injury in carotid stenosis patients in a phase II clinical trial and thereby achieving an almost 50% reduction in new silent strokes (microinfarctions). More information can be found in the press release under the following link.

More about advanceCOR

01/2020 EXIT

Successful exit Cunesoft

We are happy to start the new year with great news. After nearly four years of investing in Cunesoft and supporting the exciting development of digital data management in the healthcare sector, we could realize a successful exit. With Phlexglobal, Cunesoft has found a perfect match for its further internationalization of its unique software solution. We congratulate the founders and the whole team and wish them all the best!

More information can be found in the press release under the following link.

01/2020 About

We are climate neutral

Also at the beginning of the year 2020, climate change and its negative consequences are more present than ever. As a sustainable company, this issue is important to us, which is why we also want to make our contribution to climate protection. We have calculated our CO2 corporate balance for the year 2019 and, based on this, support projects to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in cooperation with the Swiss foundation myclimate.

More about myclimate

12/2019 About

When you raise your eyes, you see no boundaries

(Japanese proverb)

We would like to make ourselves aware at the end of the year that in a fast-moving and continuously success-oriented time it is always necessary to pause for a moment in order to actually be able to realize the unlimited potential of innovation.

With this in mind, we would like to thank you for the enriching and inspiring cooperation and look forward to working together in the future to raise our eyes and improve tomorrow‘s life sustainably through meaningful investments.

We wish you a peaceful, inspiring Christmas season and a fantastic year in 2020.

12/2019 Portfolio

Follow-on Investment in Resistell

Resistell closes the year successfully with OCCIDENT as lead investor in the Series A financing round. Founded in 2018, the start-up is dedicated to the precise and rapid identification of antibiotic resistance. In order to advance clinical validation and marketing approval, additional funding was provided by existing and new investors. More information can be found in the press release under the following link.

More about Resistell

12/2019 Portfolio

Investment in Algiax Pharmaceuticals

OCCIDENT invests in the German clinical-stage biotech start-up Algiax Pharmaceuticals, which develops innovative and unique therapeutics for the treatment of neuropathic pain. More information can be found in the press release under the following link.

More about Algiax

12/2019 events

BioM BioAngels Pitch Day in Munich

Congratulations to BioM for the successful 7th BioAngels Pitch Day in Munich! With the excellent selection of startups BioM proved the exceptional quality of the event again this year. We were happy to support as sponsor and investor expert and are looking forward to the events in the new year.

More about BioM

10/2019 Human Resources

OCCIDENT Workshop in Hamburg

Investing in start-ups is based on mutual trust and good cooperation. Our investment team has grown this year, and so we took the time to professionalize the topic of communication in a workshop in Hamburg. In addition to talking about our own motivation and inspiration for our job, we also had time to get to know each other better away from our everyday work.

09/2019 About

First OCCIDENT Event in Germany

For the start of autumn and on the occasion of OCCIDENT’s new office in Munich we invited to a housewarming. In a relaxed atmosphere, our portfolio companies, existing and potential co-investors as well as business partners were able to engage in fruitful exchanges. Interesting conversations, exciting discussions and promising contacts made the evening a full success. We thank all guests for the great premiere and look forward to further inspiring events.

09/2019 Portfolio

TOP 100 Swiss Start-Up Award 2019

Congratulations to our portfolio companies Lunaphore, Versantis and Resistell on their respective placements among the 35 most promising start-ups in Switzerland! We were pleased to support the award organized by Venturelab as a jury member and are looking forward to further successful cooperation.

More about Lunaphore

More about Versantis

More about Resistell

08/2019 Human Resources

Offsite Team Meeting in Munich

In August we spent our offsite in Munich. As a team, we were able to deepen our knowledge in the areas of life sciences and digital with exciting topics in the Deutsches Museum, as well as gain exclusive insight behind the scenes of two of our portfolio companies. A Segway tour through the city, the numerous culinary highlights and a visit to OCCIDENT’s new offices rounded off the positive impression of Munich and increased the anticipation of further exciting investments.

08/2019 Portfolio

Investment in GNA Biosolutions

OCCIDENT invests in the German molecular diagnostics company GNA Biosolutions, which is developing a disruptive technology for ultrafast and cost-effective molecular diagnostic analysis of DNA from complex clinical samples. More information can be found in the press release under the following link.

More about GNA

08/2019 About

Munich Office

OCCIDENT has moved into new offices at Mindspace Stachus in Munich. We are looking forward to the new location, the local exchange and the proximity to our current and future portfolio companies.

07/2019 Portfolio

News InSphero

Congratulations to InSphero! Our portflio company has achieved a breakthrough in 3D cell technology for drug discovery and safety testing with the launch of its 3D InSight™ Human Liver Disease Discovery Platform for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

More

05/2019 Portfolio

News iThera

Our portfolio company iThera Medical received the CE Mark for its MSOT Acuity imaging system. This non-invasive, novel technology enables soft tissue imaging without the use of radiation or contrast agents. It combines laser excitation and ultrasound detection for the analysis of hemoglobin, lipids, collagen and other chromophores in tissue. Congratulations!

More

05/2019 About

Occident featured in the VC Magazin

Many thanks to the German VentureCapital Magazin for the presentation of OCCIDENT in the current issue. We are delighted to have been able to contribute our experience to the cover story and to share our fascination for ventures.

Issue 05/2019 from page 18 (only available in German language)

04/2019 Portfolio

News Resistell

Resistell has attracted CNN Money’s attention with its innovative approach to fighting antibiotic resistance. In her 90-second interview, founder Danuta Cichocka provides exciting insights into her company.

Video to LinkedIn

04/2019 Portfolio

News adivo

adivo signs first major collaboration agreement with Bayer Animal Health to jointly develop species-specific therapeutic monoclonal antibodies to address the demand for innovative pet therapies. We congratulate adivo on this major step and look forward to further successful collaborations.

More

03/2019 Portfolio

News Implandata

Congratulations to our portfolio company Implandata Ophthalmic Products on the CE certification of the EYEMATE-IO 1.1 microsensor implant for continuous monitoring of intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients! Market entry can thus take place in April 2019.

More

03/2019 Portfolio

News Resistell

According to the Swiss business magazine Bilan, our portfolio company Resistell is one of the 50 start-ups in which to invest in 2019. We agree and congratulate Resistell!

More about Resistell

02/2019 About

Fostering talents

OCCIDENT is the proud partner of the Co-Operaid Talents Program and this year again supports 25 disadvantaged students in Laos, Cambodia and Bangladesh with scholarships. This enables these young, highly motivated people to make their dreams come true and to create sustainable added value for the society, often disadvantaged ethnic minorities of the respective country, through their education.

In 2018, the Talents Program produced the first graduate, a lawyer from Bangladesh.

More about the Co-Operaid Talents program

02/2019 About

Tomorrow happens in Germany

In recent years, OCCIDENT has intensified its investment activities in Germany and we are now ready to take the next step by establishing our own branch office in Munich. We believe that Munich is a great location for our business, thanks to its top international universities and global technology leaders, along with a solid network of renowned investors.

Our goal is clear: we will press on and deepen our existing investment strategy in Germany, by reinforcing and expanding our investment team there as well.

02/2019 Portfolio

News Lunaphore

Congratulations to our portfolio company Lunaphore for the launch of its first product LabSat™ for research applications!

More

12/2018 Human Resources

Team-Offsite Meeting in Heidelberg

At the end of the year, the OCCIDENT Team visited the German university city of Heidelberg. An exact picture of the human anatomy could be attained in the Körperwelten Museum which led to conversations about the one or the other portfolio company. The Christmas market in the picturesque old town of Heidelberg provided a very contemplative setting for Christmas.

With this in mind, we wish you a peaceful and Inspiring Christmas season!

12/2018 Portfolio

News advanceCOR

The OCCIDENT portfolio company advanceCOR announces the successful completion of patient recruitment for the phase II study of Revacept in patients with symptomatic carotid artery stenosis. Congratulations on reaching this important milestone!

More

12/2018 Portfolio

Investment in iThera Medical

OCCIDENT invests in the Munich-based diagnostics company iThera Medical together with existing investors Fluxunit – Osram Ventures, Bayern Kapital, BayBG Bayrische Beteiligungsgesellschaft and Extorel in its extended Series C financing round of 9 million euros. The company develops imaging methods for medical diagnostics based on multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT). This laser-enabled technology allows for the evaluation of optical tissue properties and thus enables a more accurate and non-invasive diagnosis in a variety of indications such as cancer and inflammatory diseases. The additional funding will be used for the further development of the MSOT systems and for entry into the clinical market.

More about iThera Medical

12/2018 Portfolio

News Cunesoft

Gruenderszene.de published a good article (only available in German language) about our portfolio company Cunesoft and its use of artificial intelligence as added value for the pharmaceutical industry (link).

12/2018 Portfolio

Investment in Resistell

OCCIDENT invests in the Basel based diagnostic startup Resistell, which develops a technology for more precise and fast antibiotic susceptibility testing. More information in the press release under the following link.

More about Resistell

12/2018 Portfolio

News Implandata

In a clinical study, the EYEMATE-SC sensor was implanted in the human eye for the first time. Congratulations on reaching this important milestone!

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11/2018 Portfolio

News Lunaphore

Lunaphore starts strategic partnership with A. Menarini Diagnostics S.r.l., one of Europe’s leading diagnostic solution providers and part of the Menarini Group, bringing a new and innovative system to the market.

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10/2018 About

Happy to support

Technology fascinates us, but in this case the challenge is simplicity and robustness. As part of our philanthropic activities, we are pleased to support the aid organisation Aqua Alimenta and its irrigation technology as the key to food security for smallholder families in Odisha, India.

More about Aqua Alimenta

More about Projekt Odisha

09/2018 Portfolio

News Lunaphore

Lunaphore starts strategic partnership with A. Menarini Diagnostics S.r.l., one of Europe’s leading diagnostic solution providers and part of the Menarini Group, bringing a new and innovative system to the market.

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09/2018 Human Resources

Offsite Team Meeting in Montafon

A trip to the Austrian Alps allowed the OCCIDENT team to work on further improving cooperation and internal processes. Despite bad weather, there were also plenty of opportunities to get to know each other better off the job.

09/2018 Portfolio

TOP 100 Swiss Startups 2018

Congratulaitons to Lunaphore and Versantis! We are proud that two of our portfolio companies have been voted amongst the top 10 startups in Switzerland.

More about Lunaphore

More about Versantis

09/2018 Portfolio

News 4tiitoo

Controlling the computer with your eyes – this fascinating technology has also made the Frankfurter Allgemeine curious. The complete article can be found under the following the link (German language).

Or as aptly drafted by VDI, the engineers’ news portal: “PC reads wishes from the eyes” (article in German language under the following link)

08/2018 Portfolio

Follow-on Investment in Lunaphore

OCCIDENT participates in the financing round of the Swiss medtech firm Lunaphore that develops innovative next-generation devices for cancer tissue diagnostics. The funds will enable the product’s CE marking and support product launch. More information in the press release under the following link.

08/2018 Portfolio

Follow-on investment in iMusician

iMusician has shown in recent years that its business model can also be successful internationally. In order to promote further internationalization, iMusician closes another financing round with OCCIDENT as lead investor and other investors.

More about iMusician

08/2018 Portfolio

Investment in adivo

OCCIDENT invests in the Munich-based biotech company adivo, which develops therapeutic antibodies for pets. More information in the press release under the following link.

More about adivo

06/2018 Portfolio

News InSphero

InSphero starts promising collaboration with ALPCO on further development of its product range in the area of diabetes research.

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06/2018 Human Resources

Team Offsite: Mastering challenges together

At AdventureRooms Zurich, the team worked under pressure to explore all the options for escaping from a locked room. Fantastic cooperation in the team and the different skills of each individual team member made this experience a great success. As a reward, there were culinary delights to enjoy at Food Zurich.

06/2018 Portfolio

News Lunaphore

Lunaphore launches a cooperation with Spanish company Vitro S.A. in the field of In Situ Hybridization (ISH).

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05/2018 Portfolio

Investment in Implandata Ophthalmic Products

OCCIDENT participates in the medical device company Implandata Ophthalmic Products in Hannover. More information in the press release under the following link.

More about Implandata

04/2018 Portfolio

Follow-on investment in InSphero

To support the rapid development of InSphero as the leading supplier of 3D microtissues, OCCIDENT joined forces with new and existing investors to provide follow-on financing for this Zurich-based biotech firm. This will allow InSphero to reinforce its outstanding position in this fast-growing future market.

More about InSphero

04/2018 Portfolio

Follow-on financing for 4tiitoo

Thanks to the intense interest from industry and full order books, 4tiitoo decided to raise additional capital to realize its full potential. After strengthening the team with a VP Sales, the company is now ideally positioned to revolutionize the workplace with intuitive gaze-tracking technology.

03/2018 Portfolio

News Lunaphore

OCCIDENT’S portfolio company Lunaphore is launching a promising collaboration with Perkin Elmer for the quicker analysis of tumor samples.

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03/2018 team

New Junior Legal Counsel

OCCIDENT is pleased to welcome Matthias Schrader to the team. Following completion of law school in Lucerne and admission to the Swiss bar, Matthias is taking on the position of Junior Legal Counsel in the OCCIDENT team, with responsibility for all legal matters.

03/2018 Portfolio

Investment in advanceCOR

The Munich-based biotech firm advanceCOR develops innovative medications for the personalized treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Financing was realized with a group of reputable co-investors and provides advanceCOR with liquidity until completion of the phase II studies on patients.

More about advanceCOR

02/2018 Portfolio

News Versantis

The following article focuses on Vincent Forster, CEO & Co-Founder of our portfolio company Versantis.

02/2018 Human Resources

Offsite team meeting with Asian culinary delights

After an introduction to traditional sake making and Japanese drinking culture, the OCCIDENT team enjoyed a sake tasting. Dinner afterwards was a great occasion to explore and enjoy the diverse cuisine of Indonesia.

HEMOTUNE WINS GERMAN INNOVATION AWARD

LUNAPHORE WINS AWARD

FOLLOW-UP INVESTMENT IN TUBULIS

FOLLOW-UP INVESTMENT IN HEMOTUNE

RESISTELL STARTS RESEARCH PROJECT WITH PFIZER

WELCOME OLIVIA

OCCIDENT HAS BEEN CLIMATE NEUTRAL FOR MANY YEARS

LET'S MAKE THE UNTHINKABLE THINKABLE!

ADIVO RECEIVES EIC ACCELERATOR GRANT

RESISTELL PRESENTS SPECTACULAR STUDY RESULTS

OCCIDENT JOINS TWO EXCITING NETWORKS

IMPLANDATA WINS RENOWNED MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY AWARD

OUR CEO IN THE GERMAN HANDELSBLATT

OCCIDENT WELCOMES VENTURE LEADERS DEEPTECH

ITHERA RECEIVES EIC ACCELERATOR GRANT

TEAM OFFSITE IN BERLIN

MK2 BIOTECHNOLOGIES IN THE CURRENT PLATTFORM LIFE SCIENCES

CELEBRATING SUCCESS TOGETHER

WE SHAPE OUR TOMORROW

INVESTMENT IN MK2 BIOTECHNOLOGIES

INSPHERO FORMS CONSORTIUM WITH LEADING PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES

SUCCESSFUL PRODUKT DEVELOPMENT AT IOP

RESISTELL STARTS PERFORMANCE EVALUATION STUDY

ITHERA MEDICAL RECIEVES CE CERTIFICATION

INSPHERO INITIATES TWO NEW COLLABORATIONS

INVESTING ON THE EDGE OF SCIENCE

ADIVO CONCLUDES FURTHER GLOBAL COLLABORATION AGREEMENT

CODE INTELLIGENCE'S FUZZ TESTING IS OPEN SOURCE

WELCOME LISA

WE ARE ONCE AGAIN CLIMATE NEUTRAL

WELCOME AAGAM

GNA RECEIVES AUTHORIZATION

LET'S SHOW INITIATIVE!

SWISS TECHNOLOGY AWARD FOR HEMOTUNE

WELCOME MIRCO

OCCIDENT IN THE VENTURE CAPITAL MAGAZINE

FOLLOW-UP INVESTMENT IN ADIVO

OCCIDENT FEATURED IN THE PLATTFORM LIFE SCIENCES

OCCIDENT INVESTS IN DEEP TECH

TOP 100 SWISS STARTUP AWARD 2020

NEW ADDRESS IN MUNICH

WELCOME SIMON

INVESTMENT IN HEMOTUNE

INVESTMENT IN TUBULIS

Resistell receives EIC Accelerator Grant

INVESTMENT IN CODE INTELLIGENCE

FOLLOW-UP INVESTMENT IN ADVANCECOR

GNA RECEIVES FUNDING FOR CORONA TEST

GNA has developed corona test

OCCIDENT – digital and financially strong

Follow-up Investment in Lunaphore

News advanceCOR

Successful exit Cunesoft

We are climate neutral

When you raise your eyes, you see no boundaries

Follow-on Investment in Resistell

Investment in Algiax Pharmaceuticals

BioM BioAngels Pitch Day in Munich

OCCIDENT Workshop in Hamburg

First OCCIDENT Event in Germany

TOP 100 Swiss Start-Up Award 2019

Offsite Team Meeting in Munich

Investment in GNA Biosolutions

Munich Office

News InSphero

News iThera

Occident featured in the VC Magazin

News Resistell

News adivo

News Implandata

News Resistell

Fostering talents

Tomorrow happens in Germany

News Lunaphore

Team-Offsite Meeting in Heidelberg

News advanceCOR

Investment in iThera Medical

News Cunesoft

Investment in Resistell

News Implandata