Very good news from the La Tulipe innovation ecosystem: Maude Rolland, co-founder and CEO of the startup Vectopia, has advanced to the Top 17 startups still competing for the prestigious W.A. de Vigier Award, one of Switzerland’s most renowned prizes for young entrepreneurs.
Each year, the W.A. de Vigier Foundation awards up to CHF 120,000 to five outstanding startups. Beyond the financial support, participants gain access to an exceptional network of investors, alumni entrepreneurs, and industry experts, providing valuable visibility and opportunities for growth.
Established in 1987, the award is considered one of Switzerland’s most prestigious startup distinctions, having supported more than 150 startups and distributed over CHF 15 million in seed funding.
The competition follows a rigorous multi-stage selection process.
From hundreds of applications, a jury first selects 50 startups to pitch their ideas on Selection Day. After this stage, the top 15 companies proceed to in-depth interviews and presentations before the final nominees are chosen.
Being among the Top 17 startups still in the running highlights the strong potential and impact of Vectopia’s innovative approach.
Vectopia, a startup hosted within the Fondation pour Recherches Médicales, is developing an innovative platform aimed at improving the manufacturing of viral vectors used in gene therapy.
Viral vectors, particularly lentiviral vectors, are essential tools for delivering therapeutic genes into patient cells. However, current production methods remain complex and costly, limiting the accessibility of these transformative therapies.
Vectopia’s technology aims to simplify and optimize vector production, ultimately helping make gene therapies more scalable and accessible to patients worldwide.
Vectopia is led by Maude Rolland and supported by a dedicated team including Fabien Abdul, Pascale Ribaux, and Karlheinz Krause.
The Fondation pour Recherches Médicales warmly congratulates Maude Rolland and the entire Vectopia team for reaching this important milestone in the de Vigier Award competition and wishes them every success in the next stages.
🔗 Learn more about the award:
https://devigier.ch/
🔗 Discover the pitch from Maude Rolland, co-founder and CEO of Vectopia:
https://devigier.ch/avada_portfolio/maude-rolland-vectopia/?portfolioCats=72
🔗 Learn more about Vectopia:
https://www.vectopia.ch/
