OCCIDENT – the Entrepreneural Venture Capital Investor

03/2023 Portfolio

Thermosome receives BfArM approval

Big congratulations to our portfolio company Thermosome on the approval by the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) and the responsible ethics committee to conduct a phase 1 trial with its lead program THE001 in patients with soft tissue sarcoma.

THE001 is a thermosensitive liposomal formulation of the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (DPPG2-TSL-DOX).
It has a different mode of action than conventional liposomes which enables intravascular drug release initiated by a mild heat trigger using clinically established hyperthermia devices. This results in up to 15-fold higher local drug concentrations and improves efficacy by creating a local boost at the desired site of action.

We keep our fingers crossed and hope that this approach will quickly find its way to patients.

More information in the press release under the following link.

More about Thermosome

03/2023 Portfolio

World Tuberculosis Day on March 24

On World Tuberculosis Day we aim to raise awareness of the global tuberculosis epidemic. It is crucial to draw attention to the urgency of tackling this serious disease that affects millions of people worldwide. To illustrate the scale of the problem, let’s consider the following statistics from 2021:

– 10.6 million new cases, including 1.2 million children
– 4.1 million cases remain undiagnosed
– 1.6 million deaths
– 0.5 million people suffer from a multidrug-resistant form
– 123 countries are monitoring multidrug-resistant tuberculosis
– 48% of patient households faced devastating treatment costs (>20% of annual household income)

Unfortunately, many cases of tuberculosis and other respiratory infections that lead to pneumonia are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, leading to delays in treatment and further spread of the disease or misuse of antibiotics. That is where our portfolio company Avelo comes in.

“About one-third of all tuberculosis cases go undiagnosed, in part due to the major limitations of current diagnostic tools. I am convinced that with our technology we can improve this situation and make a difference in the fight against tuberculosis,” says Melanie Aregger, CEO of Avelo.

Avelo is developing the breath collector AveloCollect that can be used in combination with existing PCR test infrastructure to improve the diagnosis of tuberculosis and other respiratory infections that cause pneumonia. Avelo’s technology can help address the shortcomings of current samples such as sputum, improve patient outcomes and ultimately save lives.

More about Avelo

03/2023 Portfolio

Hemotune launches feasibility project with AstraZeneca

We congratulate our portfolio company hemotune on the initiation of a joint feasibility project with the renowned pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.

The project is based on hemotune’s HemoSystem, a therapeutic blood purification platform under development, designed for the selective and efficient removal of large biomolecules directly from blood. Unlike conventional blood filters, this process is based on proprietary nanostructured magnetic particles.

More information in the press release under the following link.

More about hemotune

03/2023 Portfolio

Follow-on Investment in Lunaphore

Congratulations to our portfolio company Lunaphore on the successful closing of series D1!

OCCIDENT participated in this Series D1 totaling 40 million Swiss francs under the lead of Ernst-Göhner Stiftung Beteiligungen (EGSB) together with the other existing investors PHC Holdings Corporation, Swiss Entrepreneurs Fund and Redalpine.

The funds will be used to strengthen the growing product portfolio offering in spatial biology and support commercialization to meet ever-growing customer demand. We look forward to the next exciting steps in the company’s development!

More information in the press release under the following link.

More about Lunaphore

03/2023 Portfolio

International Women's Day

We would like to focus on female startup founders, on the occasion of International Women’s Day on March 8. There is every indication that female founders successfully build and lead startups, and that diversity brings countless advantages – but in fact there are still far too few female founders.

We at OCCIDENT would like to encourage all women to take the plunge – not only has OCCIDENT been successfully led by a female CEO for many years, but also seven of our portfolio companies were founded or co-founded by women and are successfully headed by them.

Unfortunately, it is still the case that more is expected of female founders than of male ones, and that as a woman you have to do more convincing. So let’s all work to bring more diversity into the startup world and take the opportunity to benefit from each individual’s qualifications and skills!

03/2023 Team

OCCIDENT Team goes ice hockey

As venture capitalists, we are always on the lookout for breakthrough technologies. But investing is a team sport, so our team attended an ice hockey game. From the speed of the game to the calculated risks players take, hockey shares many similarities with venture capital investing. Both require quick thinking, strong teamwork, and the ability to adapt flexibly to changing circumstances in order to succeed.

Offsite events like this give us the wonderful opportunity to come together with our team in a new environment, share ideas and discover new interests. By working together and each contributing their expertise, we can achieve our goals and make successful investments that truly change the future for the better.

We attended a home game of EV Zug, the club at OCCIDENT’s Swiss location. Our team had a blast cheering on the local team to win and getting to know each other on a whole new level.

We are already looking forward to the next offsite event, where we will continue to build our mutual team understanding and discover new opportunities together.

02/2023 About

Launch of OCCIDENT@ACADEMIA

European universities are among the best in the world and a key driver of global scientific progress. However, attracting adequate funding to translate these great scientific achievements into successful businesses remains the Achilles heel of the European innovation ecosystem.

Therefore, we are excited to see the sentiment now changing and a greater focus is being put on building a healthy European deep tech ecosystem, fuelled by the success of many great European startups in recent years.

As an early-stage deep tech investor, most of our portfolio companies are spinoffs from universities or research institutions. To further collaborate with leading universities and research institutions, we have launched our OCCIDENT@ACADEMIA program, where we actively seek to support young academic startups on their entrepreneurial journey.

We are super excited about our first OCCIDENT@ACADEMIA event “How to successfully apply for an EIC Accelerator grant” in collaboration with Helmholtz and our portfolio company Resistell on February 27.

02/2023 Portfolio

World Cancer Day on February 4

On World Cancer Day, let’s draw attention to one of the biggest challenges in modern medicine. Despite significant improvements in treatment and diagnosis, cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide, and innovative solutions in the field of cancer research and treatment are needed more than ever.

As an entrepreneurial and science-driven venture capital investor, OCCIDENT is proud to currently support four companies developing novel therapeutic approaches in the fight against this disease. Last year, we further strengthened our oncology portfolio with the Swiss start-up Invasight.

Karthiga Kumar, CEO and founder of Invasight, underlines: “Cancer is a vicious disease, not only for the patients but also for their families. That’s why we at Invasight have chosen to fight cancer’s most lethal feature – its invasiveness. However, cancer therapy must not come at the expense of side effects and patients’ quality of life. Therefore, our mission is to develop advanced targeted therapies for invasive cancers that combine high efficacy with a favorable safety and toxicity profile.”

More about Invasight

01/2023 About

Thanks Co:operaid

As a venture capital investor, OCCIDENT is an enabler – our motivation is to empower visions and support the creation of great things. What the founders of our portfolio companies have in common is that they inspire others and make a positive contribution to society.

The opportunities to do this are similar around the world, but the circumstances are sometimes very different. We are therefore delighted to have been funding educational scholarships for disadvantaged young people in Laos, Cambodia and Bangladesh for 8 years now, so that these particular talents can receive higher education and in turn change the lives of their families and their communities for the better.

Through OCCIDENT’s long-term commitment, 33 higher education courses have been completed to date to become lawyers, doctors, nurses, accountants and farmers, with 13 more to be added in the current year. The goal for 2023 is to actively support a total of 53 students and include Kenya to the program.

Many thanks to Marcel, Rashid and the entire Co:operaid team for their tireless efforts and for making this wonderful scholarship program possible!

01/2023 Team

Welcome Lars

OCCIDENT welcomes Lars Bohnert as new Investment Analyst for the life sciences sector at the Munich office. Lars studied medicine at the University of Ulm and Heidelberg with several stays abroad. He gained his first professional experience as an equity research analyst at a small and mid cap biotech fund. At OCCIDENT, Lars supports the comprehensive analysis and due diligence of new investment opportunities with his medical knowledge and understanding.

12/2022 Team

When change happens, chances appear.

The year 2022 has once again brought us many changes in various areas, has shown us that nothing can be taken for granted and that we must constantly adapt to new realities. At the same time, we were strengthened in our values and in our investment philosophy to invest courageously and visionarily in topics that change all of our lives for the better. Many thanks to all for the enriching and positive cooperation!

Both venture capital investors, and especially startup founders, are skilled at adapting to new situations and dealing with uncertainty. So we can all be quite optimistic about the future, and at the same time learn from the past that changes always offer opportunities which we can use together and bring to success.

We wish you a peaceful, inspiring Christmas season and hope to live in a more peaceful and free world again in the future and experience more unity and togetherness. Let us work together to make 2023 a year full of new chances!

12/2022 Portfolio

Follow-up investment in Resistell

OCCIDENT has been invested in Resistell since the seed financing and is now again participating in the first tranche of 8.5 million of the Series B. Together with the EIC Fund, TRUMPF Venture, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Launchpad and other private investors, the foundation is thus laid for the next successful phase of the company.

Resistell is a leading MedTech company in the field of phenotypic nanomotion technology for measuring living cells through which antibiotic resistance can be tackled. The additional funding will be used to complete clinical trials for antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) and to launch the R&D device Phenotech Research. This device shows in the first clinical study for bacteremia and sepsis an accuracy of about 95% and a massive reduction of time to result compared to the gold standard.

More information in the press release under the following link.

More about Resistell

12/2022 Team

Refining our recipe for success at the end of the year

As every year, we took the opportunity just before the end of the year to pause and continue to refine with our OCCIDENT recipe for success.

First, we looked back on our achievements in our annual review, celebrating in particular our successes such as the exit of Versantis, as well as three new and five follow-on investments. We then looked ahead in our outlook to ensure that OCCIDENT’s successes continue over the coming years.

Finally, we spiced up our recipe for success with a hefty dose of team spirit. After being introduced to the basics of Japanese cuisine by Sherly, we were able to cook our own Japanese menu and spent a fun evening full of memories of the last great years.

11/2022 About

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week

On the occasion of the WHO’s World Antimicrobial Awareness Week from November 18 to 24, we would like to highlight antibiotic resistance as one of the biggest threats to global health. WHO also calls it the “silent pandemic”.

Antibiotic resistance can affect anyone of any age and in any country, leading to higher medical costs and mortality. If antibiotics lose their effectiveness, healthcare professionals will no longer have the ability to treat bacterial infections and control these often life-threatening infections.

At OCCIDENT, we believe it is essential to give this topic a higher profile in society so as not to run the risk of this “silent pandemic” developing into a very serious one in the future. Melanie and Danuta, founders of two of our portfolio companies developing solutions for the fight against antibiotic resistance, shared their thoughts.

Melanie from Avelo points out that “antimicrobial resistance has the potential to be the next big global health problem if we don’t act now. The fight against antimicrobial resistance is of particular relevance as we can prevent millions of unnecessary deaths and billions in economic losses.”

Danuta adds that “the discovery of antibiotics marked the birth of modern medicine and trivialized once deadly microbial infections. However, we ignored the fact that antibiotic resistance develops naturally – the more antibiotics we use, the faster antibiotic resistance spreads. Without antibiotics, simple infections will lead to more deaths, child mortality will rise again, and modern medical interventions such as surgeries or cancer therapies will become impossible. That’s why we at Resistell aim to support a shift from empirical therapy to precision therapy for infectious diseases to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance.”

Read more about the World Antimicrobial Awareness Week under the following link.

10/2022 Team

OCCIDENT Pitch Event

Thank you all for making this pitch event addressing tomorrow’s sustainability challenges such a success. Despite a currently more difficult investment environment and a generally negative investor sentiment, we can nevertheless be cautiously optimistic. Both venture capitalists and startup founders know very well how to deal with uncertainty. Moreover, investors know how to deal with startup challenges, essentially technological challenges and entrepreneurial challenges.

Quite an essential consideration behind sustainability is that an innovative new technology uses resources as efficiently as possible. However, sustainability goes beyond technology and also means a long-term orientation and a forward-looking approach to building a business. This includes a trusting partnership with both the founders and co-investors for successfully building companies and overcoming multiple challenges.

At the event, we heard many great pitches from some OCCIDENT’s portfolio companies and the Ventureleaders Cleantech winners 2022. It has been a real pleasure to intensify partnerships to address tomorrow’s challenges together!

10/2022 Portfolio

WORLD SIGHT DAY

On the occasion of World Sight Day on October 13, we would like to draw attention to the approximately 40 million blind people worldwide and the 250 million people with a visual impairment.

Max Ostermeier, CEO of our portfolio company IOP, emphasizes the importance of innovation in this area: “Glaucoma is a fatal chronic eye disease in which asymptomatic elevated intraocular pressure leads to progressive damage of the optic nerve, resulting in irreversible loss of vision and blindness in a large number of people worldwide. And as we all know, vision loss severely limits the quality of life for patients and their families and increases the risk of falling or suffering fatal accidents.

Fortunately, treatments to lower and control intraocular pressure are available to preserve patients’ vision, either through medication or surgery. But unfortunately, all of these therapies have limited effectiveness, and patients respond differently. To date, therapeutic decisions have been based on only a very few random snapshots of a patient’s eye pressure, measured during infrequent office visits, usually every 3-6 months. Because of this uncertainty, ophthalmologists can only hope to use the most effective therapy for the patient and to detect early when this is not the case or when the patient’s response to therapy changes. In addition, it also means that patients are unable to self-monitor their disease.

At Implandata, we enable ophthalmologists to provide personalized precision medicine to their patients to make disease management more efficient and empower patients to self-monitor their disease and alleviate their fear of ineffective therapies and vision loss by implementing the breakthrough EYEMATE system for reliable continuous monitoring and self-monitoring of eye pressure under normal living conditions and remote disease management. We are confident that we can prevent patient blindness and give hope to all people with glaucoma around the world.”

More about IOP

10/2022 Team

CONGRATULATION TO MIRCO ON HIS PROMOTION

After joining us less than two years ago as an Investment Analyst, we are very proud to announce that Mirco will be promoted to Junior Investment Manager for the life sciences sector as of October 2022. We are convinced that Mirco not only adds great value to OCCIDENT, but also to all of our existing and new portfolio companies as well as co-investors who will have the great opportunity to work with Mirco in his new role.

More about Mirco

09/2022 Portfolio

SUCCESSFUL EXIT VERSANTIS

We are proud and congratulate our portfolio company Versantis on its exit. French buyer GENFIT, a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, aims to strengthen its position as a leader in acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) through Versantis’ strong pipeline of a Phase 2 ready program based on first-in-class scavenging liposomes technology, a pediatric program focused on urea cycle disorder (UCD), and an early-stage program focused on hepatic encephalopathy (HE).

GENFIT pays CHF 40 million upfront and an additional CHF 65 million contingent on successful clinical and regulatory milestones, as well as one-third of the net proceeds from the potential sale of a priority review voucher, if awarded by the FDA.

More information in the press release under the following link.

09/2022 Portfolio

INITITAL INVESTMENT IN CORE SENSING

OCCIDENT invests in an innovative sensor technology for machine components and takes the lead for the Series A of 4.5M growth capital at core sensing.

The TU Darmstadt spin-off has found a sophisticated way to place smart sensors inside mechanical components, which in combination with intelligent algorithms provide valuable insights into machines, plants and commercial vehicles. This allows them to be digitized and thus operated more efficiently, potential problems to be detected at an early stage, expensive scrap and downtime costs to be avoided, and new digital business models to be implemented. The additional capital will primarily be used to bring the products into further applications and to scale the customer base.

More information in the press release under the following link
More about core sensing

09/2022 Portfolio

INITIAL INVESTMENT IN AVELO

OCCIDENT further strengthens its portfolio in the field of diagnostics and leads Avelo’s oversubscribed 2.2 million seed financing round.

The Zurich-based diagnostics startup develops a simple breath collector to improve the diagnosis of tuberculosis and other respiratory infections that cause pneumonia – the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Physicians will be able to use this non-invasive sampling tool to painlessly collect a patient’s breath sample from the respiratory tract, particularly from the lower respiratory tract, and analyze it with existing PCR testing infrastructure for fast and accurate diagnosis.

More information in the press release under the following link.

More about Avelo

09/2022 Portfolio

Sepsis as an underestimated problem

On the occasion of World Sepsis Day on September 13 we would like to draw attention to this important and generally underestimated problem. Very specifically, we would like to highlight the work of two of our portfolio companies, hemotune and Resistell. They show relentless commitment and great courage to research and bring to market the solutions of the future, which will have a great added value for patients.

Lukas Langenegger, CEO of hemotune, shares his thoughts:
“Sepsis is one of the main challenges for the global healthcare system. It affects nearly 50 million people every year and about 20% of all deaths are related to sepsis. In addition to the great suffering caused by each sepsis case, sepsis is also a major financial challenge. The combination of very high mortality rates and the health economics make sepsis an area of huge need, but also huge potential for innovation. We are convinced that sepsis can only be solved by precision medicine approaches. Our blood purification technology offers unique opportunities for this.”

Danuta Cichocka, CEO of Resistell, considers as follows:
“Most common infections such as pneumonia, urinary or skin infections can lead to sepsis. Sepsis is the most common pathway to death from infectious diseases. Nearly half of all sepsis cases occur among children, and nearly half of all severe sepsis survivors experience long term mental issues and physical disabilities, such as loss of organs or limbs. While bloodstream infections can be treated with antibiotics, effective and targeted antibiotic therapy is difficult in the absence of fast and reliable diagnostics. At Resistell, we are committed to providing very fast and reliable antibiotic susceptibility tests that improve patients’ care, and result in faster recovery and less complications.”

More about hemotune
More about Resistell

09/2022 Portfolio

TOP 100 SWISS STARTUP AWARDS

Once again, it was a fantastic Top 100 Swiss Investor Summit, culminating in an exciting Top 100 Swiss Startup Award ceremony. We are happy to see all three of our newest Swiss portfolio companies represented in the ranking. Congratulations to Resistell, hemotune and Invasight for this important recognition of your exceptional achievements and persistence over the past years.

Thank you Venturelab and all participants for this great event!

More about Resistell
More about hemotune
More about Invasight

07/2022 Portfolio

ADIVO ACHIEVES TWO MAJOR MILESTONES

Our portfolio company adivo, focusing on developing the next generation of species-specific targeted drugs for companion animals, has announced the achievements of two major milestones!

First, the company celebrates the commercial launch of its proprietary FELIX library, which enables the development of synthetic therapeutic monoclonal antibody therapies for cats. So far, targeted therapeutical options for cats are very limited and often not specifically designed for cats. Hence the innovative FELIX library targets a major medical need for cat owners and promises highly effective new therapy options with less side effects.

Second, adivo has announced the extension of its ongoing collaboration with one of the leading global companies in the animal health sector. While the original agreement covered several research projects for dogs, the extended partnership now also includes the joint discovery and development of therapies for cats.

More information in the press release under the following link.

More about adivo

06/2022 Portfolio

INITIAL INVESTMENT IN INVASIGHT

OCCIDENT extends its deep tech portfolio with another startup in the field of cancer therapies. In the oversubscribed CHF 4.5M seed financing round, OCCIDENT took the lead and is financing the next important development milestones with a strong syndicate.

Invasight is a Zurich-based preclinical stage biotech startup focusing on oncology, accelerating the development of targeted therapies with less side effects for patients with invasive cancers. The core of the company is the proprietary screening platform ACINDA®, which dramatically shortens the drug discovery and drug development process and enables the development of specific protein-protein interaction antagonists (PPIAs). The lead project F2i is a novel FGFR pathway inhibitor for the treatment of various invasive cancers, which sets new benchmarks in safety and efficacy.

More information in the press release under the following link.

More about Invasight

06/2022 team

OCCIDENT Team says "Bonjour Paris"

Our summer offsite this year brought us to Paris, where the teams from our two offices spent some exciting and entertaining days together.

After an amusing introduction at the cabaret “How to become a Parisian in one hour”, we explored the city in different ways via Segway tour and on foot, learned exciting things about the city and created our own perfume at a workshop. And of course, according to the French cliché, we enjoyed wonderful food every day.

Thanks to the entire team, it was a great few days away from the daily business routine!

06/2022 Portfolio

MK2 ANNOUNCES JOINT DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

mk2 Biotechnologies, WACKER and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) today announced their joint project for the development, large-scale production and purification of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) for various applications. The project aims to tackle the final steps towards the introduction of industrially applicable AMPs as a sustainable alternative to artificial preservatives.

Peptides are short amino acid chains that exhibit extraordinary properties. For example, antimicrobial peptides, which are also found in the human body, are effective against pathogens.

However, due to the complex synthesis and the resulting high prices, the potential of AMPs has remained largely untapped until now. To change this, the consortium is developing a scalable and cost-effective production platform based on microbial fermentation.

More information in the press release under the following link.

More about mk2

06/2022 Portfolio

FOLLOW-UP INVESTMENT IN CODE INTELLEGENCE

After the team has consistently impressed us over the past years and the company has developed very positively, OCCIDENT is once again investing in the Bonn-based startup Code Intelligence. With the Series A funding, led by Tola Capital from the US, Code Intelligence will invest heavily in product development as well as support for additional technology stacks and a self-service SaaS platform.

Software will become safer and more reliable by enabling more automated software testing through Code Intelligence’s AI and fuzz testing.

More information in the press release under the following link.

More about Code Intelligence

05/2022 Portfolio

HEMOTUNE WINS GERMAN INNOVATION AWARD

Congratulations to the whole team for winning the German Innovation Award 2022 in the medical technologies category.

Our Swiss portfolio company, active in the field of blood purification, was able to convince the renowned jury, which particularly appreciated hemotune’s achievements in the areas degree of innovation, user benefit and efficiency. In addition, the German Innovation Award honors products and solutions that distinguish themselves through social, ecological and economic sustainability as well as energy and resource consumption. All these values are also important to us at OCCIDENT as a basis for sustainable success in the future, which has repeatedly convinced us to invest.

More information in the press release under the following link.

More about hemotune

05/2022 PORTFOLIO

LUNAPHORE WINS AWARD

Congratulations to our portfolio company Lunaphore. The Lausanne-based diagnostics company won the MedTech Breakthrough Award for the Best New Technology Solution in Drug Development.

The award was granted by MedTech Breakthrough, an independent market research organization that recognizes the world’s most groundbreaking companies, people, platforms and products in the healthcare and medical technology sectors.

The award recognizes Lunaphore’s technological achievements, including its flagship product COMET™, which enables research applications and the development of targeted therapies in immuno-oncology and immunology.

More information in the press release under the following link.

More about Lunaphore

05/2022 PORTFOLIO

FOLLOW-UP INVESTMENT IN TUBULIS

OCCIDENT participated in this € 60 million Series B led by Andera Partners with participation from new investors Evotec and Fund+. Also, it is very pleasing to see all existing investors participating in this financing, including Bayern Kapital, BioMedPartners, coparion, High-Tech Gründerfonds and Seventure Partners.

The additional capital will enable the Munich based biotech company to access the true therapeutic potential of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) by further progressing its proprietary pipeline of uniquely matched ADCs as well as advancing its novel programs addressing a range of solid tumor indications towards clinical evaluation.

More information in the press release under the following link.

More about Tubulis

04/2022 TEAM

HEALTH@OCCIDENT

OCCIDENT walks for a good cause!

As part of our Health@OCCIDENT program, we launched a step competition and tracked all our daily steps as a team for a month. With the goal in mind that OCCIDENT would donate the winning team’s steps to a charity of the winners’ choice, we all made a special effort to take as many steps as possible.

We are very happy to be able to donate a total of CHF 3,600 to the Swiss children’s charity Terre des hommes, which is dedicated to supporting children in need in Ukraine and caring for their safety as well as physical and mental integrity in the war zone.

Fittingly, we have taken so many steps together to get from Munich to just about Kiev….

More about Terre des hommes

04/2022 PORTFOLIO

FOLLOW-UP INVESTMENT IN HEMOTUNE

OCCIDENT has again taken the lead in the latest financing round of hemotune. With the fantastic support of existing and new investors, we are very pleased to contribute to such a relevant therapeutic area as sepsis with a technology that can benefit many patients in the future.

The team at hemotune has done a tremendous job over the last years and convinced us once again. With this funding, the company will be able to continue the very encouraging development of its platform device.

More information in the press release under the following link.

More about hemotune

04/2022 PORTFOLIO

RESISTELL STARTS RESEARCH PROJECT WITH PFIZER

Congratulations to our portfolio company Resistell for entering into a research project with the US-pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Goal of this project is to provide a pre-clinical proof of concept of Resistell’s Antibiotic Susceptibility Test for a novel antibiotic.

Multi-drug resistant bacterial infections represent a key challenge for today’s global healthcare systems. Resistell is developing the world’s fastest Antibiotic Susceptibility Test which provides highly accurate results in just four hours, thereby setting a new industry benchmark.

A positive outcome of the research project may contribute to a paradigm shift in the treatment of bacterial infections. This could help healthcare professional to improve therapy decisions and drastically enhance patient treatment.

More information in the press release under the following link.

More about Resistell

03/2022 TEAM

WELCOME OLIVIA

OCCIDENT welcomes Olivia Adler as new Team Assistant & Office Manager at the Zug office. In addition to her studies in Global Business Management, Olivia gained professional experience in event and account management, and is also founder of a startup.

01/2022 About

OCCIDENT HAS BEEN CLIMATE NEUTRAL FOR MANY YEARS

Even a small contribution can change our future if everyone takes responsibility for their carbon footprint!

In keeping with our philosophy of making a positive contribution to society through sustainable investments, we have been supporting climate neutrality initiatives for many years. Specifically, we have also calculated our corporate carbon footprint for the year 2021 and, based on this, support various CO2 reduction projects in collaboration with the Swiss foundation myclimate.

More about myclimate

12/2021 About

LET'S MAKE THE UNTHINKABLE THINKABLE!

The last two years have shown us all more than ever how revolutionary technologies can help us humans to be better off, healthier, live safer and work more efficiently.

We support startups in turning such technologies into forward-looking products. This is the goal that unites us.

Our motivation goes beyond technological fascination: it is the enthusiasm for the unprecedented, the curiosity for the impossible, the passion for profitable collaboration and the commitment to our goals.

We wish you a peaceful, inspiring Christmas season and a year full of new opportunities for 2022 – a year in which we can make the unthinkable thinkable together!

12/2021 Portfolio

ADIVO RECEIVES EIC ACCELERATOR GRANT

Congratulations to our biotech portfolio company adivo on its successful funding through the EIC Accelerator Program. This makes adivo one of only 99 highly innovative companies across Europe that the European Commission is supporting with a total of 627 million Euros to bring promising technologies to market.

adivo develops therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of serious and chronic diseases in companion animals. The EIC Accelerator Program will support the company to further develop their CAESAR-IBD project (treatment of canine inflammatory bowel disease) over the next two years and conduct initial clinical trials.

More information under the following link.

More about adivo.

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 About

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 (in the print edition on page 44; only available in German language).

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!

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 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

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

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

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

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

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 (only available in German language).

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!

More

11/2018 Portfolio

News Lunaphore

Our portfolio company Lunaphore Technologies won the Swiss Technology Award 2018 in the category “start-ups”. Congratulations!

More

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.

More

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

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)

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

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 Lunaphore

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

More

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 InSphero

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

More

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 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

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.

More

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.

OCCIDENT Team explores Amsterdam

Positive Interim Analysis

First Patient In

Third OCCIDENT Pitch Event in Munich

Tubulis to collaborate with Bristol Myers Squibb

Strategic Partnership of Bio-Techne and Lunaphore

Resistell collaborates with CRISP

InSphero announces financing round with ZEISS Ventures

advio starts clinical study

Thermosome receives BfArM approval

World Tuberculosis Day on March 24

Hemotune launches feasibility project with AstraZeneca

Follow-on Investment in Lunaphore

International Women's Day

OCCIDENT Team goes ice hockey

Launch of OCCIDENT@ACADEMIA

World Cancer Day on February 4

Thanks Co:operaid

Welcome Lars

When change happens, chances appear.

Follow-up investment in Resistell

Refining our recipe for success at the end of the year

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week

OCCIDENT Pitch Event

WORLD SIGHT DAY

CONGRATULATION TO MIRCO ON HIS PROMOTION

SUCCESSFUL EXIT VERSANTIS

INITITAL INVESTMENT IN CORE SENSING

INITIAL INVESTMENT IN AVELO

Sepsis as an underestimated problem

TOP 100 SWISS STARTUP AWARDS

ADIVO ACHIEVES TWO MAJOR MILESTONES

INITIAL INVESTMENT IN INVASIGHT

OCCIDENT Team says "Bonjour Paris"

MK2 ANNOUNCES JOINT DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

FOLLOW-UP INVESTMENT IN CODE INTELLEGENCE

HEMOTUNE WINS GERMAN INNOVATION AWARD

LUNAPHORE WINS AWARD

FOLLOW-UP INVESTMENT IN TUBULIS

HEALTH@OCCIDENT

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

OUR CEO IN THE GERMAN HANDELSBLATT

IMPLANDATA WINS RENOWNED MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY AWARD

OCCIDENT JOINS TWO EXCITING NETWORKS

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

SUCCESSFUL PRODUKT DEVELOPMENT AT IOP

INSPHERO FORMS CONSORTIUM WITH LEADING PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES

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

WE ARE ONCE AGAIN CLIMATE NEUTRAL

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