PORTFOLIO

Every 9 min, a new patient is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, long considered incurable due to the irreversible loss of neurons in the brain. But today, there is hope, as it is now possible to produce these lost neurons from stem cells in the lab and to transplant them back into patients’ brains to restore their lives. However, current approaches remain limited by low survival, inefficient formation of functional neurons, and unclear long-term durability, as engrafted cells remain vulnerable to the same disease mechanisms that caused degeneration in the first place. At AzureCell, leveraging decades of academic research and a strong patent portfolio, we’ve developed a groundbreaking approach that allows us address these specific challenges, and to develop the next generation of regenerative cell therapies for Parkinson’s disease that are that are engineered to actively survive, integrate, and withstand disease-driving processes within a degenerating brain.

With the support of the GRS InnoBooster grant, AzureCell aims to further develop and optimise reproducible processes for generating dopaminergic neurons from stem cells. This effort closes a critical translational gap between academic proof-of-concept and scalable, clinically compatible manufacturing processes, and will significantly accelerate our path toward submitting our first regulatory package for clinical trials, thereby expediting market entry and patient impact.
At the current stage, we have mapped multiple candidate end-to-end processes, identified critical quality attributes (CQAs) and critical process parameters (CPPs), established a QC assay panel, and are performing initial pilot runs to assess reproducibility of early dopaminergic lineage markers. Upcoming implementation activities will focus on optimisation and validation, including improving reproducibility, yield, purity, and batch-to-batch consistency in preparation for GMP translation.
In parallel, AzureCell SA was incorporated in Geneva in Q4 2025 and has so far received over 10 startup awards, including recognitions from Venture Kick, the De Vigier Foundation, Venture.ch, MassChallenge Switzerland, and the Creative Destruction Lab (Toronto), among others. AzureCell has also engaged experienced CMC and translational advisors and is actively building partnerships with academic institutions, industry, CDMOs, and regulatory stakeholders as the program advances. On the fundraising front, over CHF 1.4 million has been secured through a combination of grants, convertible loan agreements, and equity investment, with FONGIT as AzureCell’s first institutional investor.