The BOOM Summit, a health conference held for the first time in Basel, was a great success. According to a press release, this was the conclusion of the event organizers DayOne, which is an initiative of the investment and innovation promotion agency Basel Area Business & Innovation responsible for driving health innovations in the Basel Area, and the MCH Group and Kenes Group, two companies focused on events and experience marketing.

On April 10 and 11, a total of 500 experts, entrepreneurs, patients, investors and political decision-makers convened at the event in order to exchange their knowledge and expertise, as well as to find out about innovative digital technology. The event underlined the particular importance of startups for innovations. However, they undoubtedly need to cooperate with life sciences companies when it comes to further developing innovative projects, making products ready for market launch and successfully commercializing them, the press release explains. According to the information, one key finding is that there is still plenty of room for improvement in this area.

Great ideas start small

In front of an international expert audience, Kaspar Sutter, member of the government of the canton of Basel-Stadt with responsibility for economic policy, sought to promote Basel as a life sciences location: “Great ideas start small”, he said, referring to the sharp growth in the number of startups located in Basel. This is not least down to the presence of the pharmaceutical companies Roche and Novartis in the area, Sutter explained further.

At the end of the BOOM Summit, the medtech startup aiEndoscopic was announced as the winner of the Innovation Showcase competition. The spin-off from the University of Zurich uses Artificial Intelligence to support complex endoscopic procedures. Second place went to the Polish company CliniNote, with InSilico Trials from Italy finishing third. Both are supported by the DayOne Health 4.0 accelerator. The BOOM Summit will take place again next year.