DayOne, the Healthcare Innovation initiative based in Switzerland, announces the extended deadline for the global call for its digital health accelerator to Friday 5th November 2021.

Start-ups with a focus on pain therapy can apply to be considered for the DayOne Accelerator by 5th November 2021. DayOne is looking for companies with emerging technologies for pain treatment as well as digital healthcare solutions in pain management.

The DayOne Accelerator is the healthcare innovation initiative of Basel Area Business & Innovation and is split into three categories: Digital Health, Tech and Innovation Booster. They support promising new digital health and precision medicine ventures with guidance, mentorship, funding, and collaborative workspaces. From 2018, DayOne has supported 20 companies with a combined valuation of over CHF 65 million, contributing to the life sciences ecosystem of the Basel Area. DayOne has helped launch, connect and mentor a number of innovative healthcare ventures, which include companies such as Zoundream and Nutrix in addition to others in medtech, medical device, digital health, AI, nutrition, health monitoring, medical access and more.

Building on this success, the DayOne Accelerator is extending its offering – both in terms of content and the area it covers. Going forward, DayOne is opening its accelerator to start-ups operating in practically all areas of digital health. It will also expand its financial support to allow companies in the fields of prevention, diagnostics, and treatment to apply for grants as well.

For the Digital Health track, three start-ups will be considered for the three-month funding program, with each in line to receive a grant of up to CHF 45,000 in funding and services in addition to expert coaching and access to the world leading biopharma ecosystem of the Basel Area.

Lucas Scherdel, director Healthcare Innovation – DayOne, said: “At DayOne, we believe that the future of health can only evolve if advances in medical and healthcare technologies go hand in hand with innovation across the ecosystem. Today innovation primarily takes place within separate silos, where pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers and governments have different agendas. Bringing all these areas together in a neutral setting of collaboration is the key to shaping the future of health, building an innovation hub. We are delighted to launch these new calls to encourage innovation in digital health and support entrepreneurs realise their vision while providing much needed solutions for patients.”

DayOne is also announcing calls for its Tech and Innovation Booster verticals, with deadlines in Q1 2022. For the Tech vertical, the focus is on start-ups in medical robotics, 3D printing, virtual reality in healthcare applications and technological solutions for personalised medicine. The winners will receive financial support of up to CHF 100,000 in funding and services, amongst other benefits including offering of shared offices and access to a world leading medtech and microtechnology network.

Finally, the Innovation Booster category supports budding projects in digital health. The focus here is on patient-centric solutions that have been jointly developed by start-ups in close collaboration with academic partners and Big Pharma. The Innovation Booster category is operated on a nationwide basis, with start-ups able to submit applications in the first quarter of 2022.

In addition to financing support, DayOne helps build out companies and teams from inception to a point where they can raise financing and enter strategic collaborations. Harnessing the Basel Area’s unique position as a global healthcare hub, as well as its rising popularity among investors, DayOne is looking to attract the next generation of breakthrough companies. Interested groups can find information at www.dayone.swiss/digitalhealth.

Application deadlines

DayOne accelerates innovative ventures across three verticals:

—     Digital Health: Pain management track starts Jan 2022 – apply by Nov 5, 2021

—     Tech: Ventures in medical robotics, virtual reality for healthcare or personalised medical technologies – call opens Q1 2022

—     Innovation Booster: Empowered by Innosuisse, with a special focus on the interface with big pharma and academia – call opens Q1 2022.