Given the local economic environment, the l`Arc lémanique plays a role of integrity in innovation for healthcare. What do you see as the biggest challenges and opportunities in this field and where are the future intentions heading?"

The canton of Vaud offers a variety of complementary opportunities for innovation in healthcare, through its geographical position at the heart of the Swiss Health Valley, its strong life sciences network, its talents pool, its renowned research institutions and innovation hubs, or export possibilities (25% of Vaud exports are from the life sciences sector). Vaud is also considered a leading R&D hub in oncology, with a connected network, 60+ research groups, best-in-class clinical teams and dedicated centers (Swiss Cancer Center Léman and Center for Experimental Therapeutics for instance).

Mr. Conz how do you elaborate on the specific healthcare innovation programmes initiated by the Canton of Vaud and the City of Lausanne?

Life sciences represent one of the 7 sectors prioritized by the law enabling state support to the economic ecosystem. Therefore, the state’s initial forms of services are all available to innovative healthcare projects.

How do you measure the impact of these innovation programs on the regional healthcare ecosystem?

Recently, the Greater Lausanne Region has been ranked 11th Emerging Startup Ecosystem out of 300 innovation ecosystems analyzed by Startup Genome, gaining +15 places since last year.

The report also highlighted life sciences as one of the 3 sub-sector strengths in the canton. Such rankings help the Canton tangibly illustrate its development as a strong ground for innovation, especially in healthcare.

Do you know some specific success stories or examples of companies that have significantly benefited from these initiatives?"

For instance, the startup HAYA therapeutics, which just signed a multi-year agreement with Lilly for 1 billion USD with pre-clinical, clinical and commercial milestones, or the startup, or ONWARD, which went public in 2021, developing the first solution to help people walk again with connected exoskeleton. They recently secured debt financing of up to €52.5 million.

What strategies are in place to encourage collaboration among startups, academic institutions, hospitals, and other key players in the healthcare sector?

The Canton supports infrastructures providing space to help these actors both meet and collaborate, whether physically present through spaces and labs, or network-based initiatives, such as the Swiss Health Valley concept or the BioAlps cluster.

Thank you Mr. Conz for the Interview.

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