Startup story #5 - InkVivo

This year, InkVivo was listed among the Top 100 Swiss Startups for the second time in a row. Its advanced polymer platform enables the combination of multiple active ingredients into a single solution to enhance their absorption and bioavailability. Overall, this offers pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies an effective way to reformulate and extend the lifecycle of existing molecules while enhancing therapeutic efficacy. In this interview, USI EMBA alumnus Elia Guzzi, Co-founder and CEO, shares insights from his startup journey.

What is the advantage of combining different active ingredients in one solution?
The advantage is in leveraging the synergistic effect of ingredients to increase therapeutic efficacy. The concept of combining different therapies is not new and is currently implemented through different systems like simultaneous injections, for example. However, it is still a burden both from the clinician’s and from the patient's perspective. With our solution, we can provide safer and easier administration of medications, increase patient adherence, and simplify the work for the clinicians. The key thing is that thanks to our technology, we can design new medications in a way that ensures the temporally controlled and targeted release of bioactive compounds for oral, injectable, and implantable administration.

The project started in mid-2021. How did it evolve since then?
Yes, we started InkVivo in 2021 and won the 1st prize at the Boldbrain Startup Challenge the same year. Many things changed since then, mainly in terms of business strategy. We completely changed our focus and target customer, moving from a B2C to a B2B solution.  We advanced our technology with some more in vitro and in vivo testing. In 2023, we incorporated a company in Lugano and received the ETH spin-off label. We are expanding our team and have built a strong Advisory Board composed of industry experts and experienced entrepreneurs in the Biotech sector. 

What are your next milestones?
At the moment we are focusing on applying our solution in the nutraceutical space, which is a low-regulated environment and allows us to quickly validate the technology in humans. We are also closing a financing round to help us reach this milestone. We will then leverage the generated data to translate our technology to pharmaceutical products focusing on Type 2 diabetes and cancer therapy to solve unmet clinical challenges. 

You started this project during your PhD at ETH. Looking back, when is the right time to start?
I can only talk about my experience in the Biotech space, but if you do want to launch a startup in this sector, I recommend to start day zero of your PhD. It will give you time to learn, explore, refine your technology and build a relevant network. You also often receive a lot of support from your university and your professor. 

3 quick questions to wrap it up:

• What advice would you give other founders? – Always have a Plan B and Plan C, in case things do not work out as expected
• How do you deal with setbacks? – Learn from them and adjust the strategy while keeping the focus on our vision and supporting each other within the team
• What does success look like to you? – Setting your milestones and achieving them, one at a time, while learning something new