Diabetes is one of the most common diseases of our time and a key driver for the increase in healthcare expenditures in the years to come. The market for diabetes care devices alone is expected to reach over $40 billion by 2025.
June 14, 2021 – Zurich / Berne / Solothurn | The Swiss Startup Group AG (SSUG), the DCB Research AG (DCB), a hundred percent daughter company of the Diabetes Center Berne Foundation, and Simon Michel are announcing today the launch of the first venture fund dedicated to diabetes technology. The Swiss Diabetes Venture Fund (SDVF) will invest up to CHF 50 million over the next 5 years, with a target portfolio size of 20-30 investments in Switzerland, Europe and the USA.
The Swiss Diabetes Venture Fund (SDVF) will be managed by the investment arm of the SSUG, and benefit from the skills, networks and levers of its three General Partners: Simon Michel who will bring his experience as CEO of the Ypsomed Group, Derek Brandt as CEO of the DCB with his global reach in the diabetes ecosystem, and Mike Baur, CEO of SSUG, pulling on the resources and experience of SSUGs 6-year track record in building up the largest Swiss venture platform.
“Over the past few years a true diabetes-technology-hub has emerged in the Berne area in Switzerland. This eco-system profits not only from companies like Ypsomed, but also from strong partnerships with common goals. Teaming up with the world-renowned diabetes clinic UDEM at the Insel Bern University Hospital, the sitem-insel translational center that enables faster translation from bench to bed into clinical trials, the Diabetes Center Berne is in an excellent position to scout diabetes technology startups and support them in the translation from bed to market. And for this purpose we build the SDVF”, comments Simon Michel the establishment of the dedicated fund.
“We are proud to officially launch the Swiss Diabetes Venture Fund as the first themed fund in our multi venture fund strategy announced past February,” said Mike Baur, CEO of SSUG. “Switzerland is a global hub for innovation and HealthTech startups and offers promising opportunities for proactive corporates to boost their innovation agenda through targeted acquisitions. The Swiss Startup Group’s investment experience, channeled through the multi-fund strategy, provides the right platform to execute on highly focused investments delivering high returns. And this is how venture truly becomes a dedicated asset class.”
“Diabetes is a fast-evolving, global challenge and there is a strong need especially for new diabetes technologies that help people with diabetes in their daily life. With this dedicated fund we want to give those ventures an opportunity to grow their technologies and solutions and help closing the gaps we observe in the research”, added Derek Brandt, CEO of the DCB.
Today,1 out of 11 adults globally suffers from diabetes. The market for solutions and services for people with diabetes is growing epidemically as the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) states. According to the IDF, the number of people living with diabetes will increase over 50% to 700 million people worldwide until 2045.
About SSUG
Founded early 2015 by venture entrepreneurs Mike Baur, Max Meister and Oliver Walzer, the Swiss Startup Group is today the largest privately financed venture platform in Switzerland. The Group offers its investors advanced venture asset management, and a unique ecosystem and whole lifecycle support to startups. The Swiss Startup Group has become one of the most active Swiss early-stage investors and has offices in Zurich, Bern and Lausanne.
About DCB
The Diabetes Center Berne Foundation is a private, independent Swiss foundation, established in 2017. It helps research projects and entrepreneurial ideas to grow. Based in Switzerland, the Diabetes Center Berne provides projects around the world with expertise, access to clinical research facilities as well as its own laboratories and workspaces, as well as financial resources. It is located at the sitem on the Insel Campus in the Swiss capital Berne. The DCB works in close scientific partnership with the Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology, Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism of Bern University Hospital (UDEM), a university hospital with a stellar international reputation in the field of diabetes technology.
