MAKING AN IMPACT
0N PE0PLE’S HEALTH
BY SUPP0RTING
EARLY-STAGE INN0VATI0N.
Lichtsteiner Foundation
Annual Impact Report 2025
22
Health pioneers supported
9
Patient areas
Since
2018
WHICH GAP ARE WE FILLING?
Health innovations that can transform patient care (new therapies, diagnostic tools, regenerative treatments) begin in laboratories and early-stage startups. The path from discovery to patient takes 10 to 20 years.
45%
of all Swiss startup funding goes to the health sector
(EY Startup Barometer 2025)
<10%
of Swiss venture capital reaches seed-stage companies
(Swiss VC Report 2025, own calculation)
#1
Switzerland ranks first globally in healthcare innovation
(FREOPP World Index 2024)
−20%
Early-stage investment declined by a fifth in 2024
(Swiss VC Report 2025)
At the earliest stage, where scientific promise must become a viable health solution, pioneers need partners who share their mission.
This is where the Lichtsteiner Foundation operates.
0RIGINS AND MISSI0N
The Lichtsteiner Foundation was established in 2009 by Richard Lichtsteiner, co-founder of Interdiscount (the leading Swiss retailer for home and entertainment electronics), with a deep commitment to innovation and philanthropy.
The Lichtsteiner Foundation supports health pioneers in the fields of medical technology, biotechnology, life science, mental health, public health and wellbeing to improve people's health in a sustainable way.
It operates as a charitable, tax-exempt, independent foundation under Swiss law, overseen by the Federal Department of Internal Affairs.
A note from our leadership
“Our role as a foundation is to take responsibility for enabling meaningful progress that improves people's health – with transparency, rigour, and long-term commitment.”
Translating our intent for public benefit into practice requires discipline. Every decision requires us to make clear choices about what we support and why. This report makes our reasoning transparent, our assumptions visible, and our commitment to public benefit explicit.
Marco Strahm
President of the Board
“We operate in a space where commitment matters.”
Early-stage health innovation is essential for societal progress, and it is precisely at this stage that bold, mission-driven support makes the greatest difference. This report is an account of how the foundation understands its role, how it exercises judgement, and how it seeks to contribute to human health over time.
Sabina Sperisen
CEO / Management
H0W WE SUPP0RT
HEALTH PI0NEERS
We support disruptive innovations that have the potential to create real benefit for patients.
Our funding is provided as equity to incorporated early-stage startups. We act as co-funder, not as lead supporter, and we do not take an operational role in the companies we support.
We support early-stage health pioneers through a transparent, standardised, and consistent process with external expert assessment.
At every stage, we ensure that our practice safeguards the mission and maintains a clear separation between decisions and operational execution.
We support innovations that have the potential to create real benefit for patients.
Startup application
and funding process:
Application
Startups apply via website
Impact assessment
Lichtsteiner Foundation Impact Measurement and Management framework applied
Mission fitness
Internal review of alignment with foundation mandate
Expert rating
External expert assessment
Pitch I
Startup presents to the foundations’ team
Pitch II and decision
Decision on funding
Applications may be declined at every stage.
F0R THE BENEFIT
0F PATIENTS
22 health pioneers across 9 patient areas, all working to improve people’s health.
Cancer and Life-Threatening Conditions
Cancer and Oncology
Blood-related conditions (incl. oncology support)
Immune and Inflammatory Disorders
Immunology and Autoimmune Diseases
Allergies and Mast Cell Disorders
Neurological and Mental Health Disorders
Neurology and Psychiatry
Chronic and Metabolic Conditions
Metabolic Diseases and Systems Biology
Cardiovascular Diseases
Digestive Health (Gastroenterology)
Requiring Continuous Monitoring and Hormonal Care
Endocrinology and Hormonal Health
Reproductive Health
Infectious Diseases
Infectious Disease Diagnostics
(Sexually Transmitted Infections STIs)
Regenerative and Restorative Therapies
Dermatology and Skin Regeneration
Urology and Muscle Regeneration
Rare and Genetic Conditions
Genetic and Cell Therapy Enabling Technologies
Benefiting from Enabling and Platform Technologies (Cross-cutting)
Drug discovery and delivery platforms
Advanced biomaterials and implants
Cancer and Life-Threatening Conditions
Immune and Inflammatory Disorders
Neurological and Mental Health Disorders
Chronic and Metabolic Conditions
Requiring Continuous Monitoring and Hormonal Care
Infectious Diseases
Regenerative and Restorative Therapies
Rare and Genetic Conditions
Benefiting from Enabling and Platform Technologies (Cross-cutting)
H0W WE UNDERSTAND
AND TRACK IMPACT
The Lichtsteiner Foundation Impact Measurement and Management framework (IMM)
When a foundation supports early-stage health pioneers, a natural question arises: what difference does it actually make? Results are uncertain and final outcomes may be years away. Yet the question deserves an honest, structured answer. That is what IMM provides.
IMM answers two core questions:
What potential impact are the pioneers we support creating for patients?
And how does the foundation’s support contribute to that impact?
For each pioneer, IMM follows a clear logic:
H0W WE C0NTRIBUTE T0 IMPACT
The foundation enables – the pioneers create impact for patients
We are intentionally transparent about what we can and cannot claim. We distinguish between impact created by pioneers and impact contributed by the foundation. Our claims are proportional, we do not take credit for what pioneers achieve independently. Early-stage innovation is inherently uncertain, and we track outcomes without guaranteeing them.
Theory of Change
This is the foundation's contribution logic – it describes the foundation's role as enabler. Each health pioneer's own pathway to impact is documented separately in their Impact Assessment.
Inputs
Foundation resources
- In-kind servic (and support):
- Knowledge
- Time
- Network
- Financial support
Activities
What the foundation actually does
- Expert connections and referrals
- Application processing and expert rating
- Impact assessment
- Impact monitoring
- Ongoing dialogue and accompaniment
- Communication and visibility support
Outputs
Direct results of the support
- 22 health pioneers supported
- Impact monitoring established
- Testimonial films produced
- Annual Impact Report published
Outcomes
Startup progress
- Clinical milestones
- Regulatory progress
- Patient access
- Readiness for follow-on funding
Impact Vision
Long-term ambition
- Improved patient health
- Accessible treatments
- A stronger Swiss health innovation ecosystem
Public research funding is under pressure. Private capital is moving toward later, lower-risk stages. And philanthropic funders are increasingly expected to prove the impact they claim. Together, these shifts make mission-driven, accountable early-stage support more critical than ever.
EARLY SIGNALS 0F IMPACT
Two examples of startups in our community
What they do
Muvon develops a regenerative cell-based therapy that restores skeletal muscle function using the patient’s own cells, addressing the root cause of muscle weakness rather than managing symptoms.
Patient focus
Stress urinary incontinence (SUI): a condition affecting an estimated 400,000 women in Switzerland. Rarely life-threatening, but it profoundly limits the lives of those affected.
Key result
Phase 2 clinical study results (December 2025): 87% responder rate at six months, meeting both primary and secondary endpoints (p<0.0001). “A potential game changer” cited an independent expert.
Broader potential
Platform applicable to any condition caused by skeletal muscle damage or degradation.
What they do
CUTISS develops denovoSkin, a personalised skin tissue graft bio-engineered from the patient’s own cells – promising to improve recovery and quality of life for patients in need of skin surgery e.g. severe burns, reconstructive procedures.
Key results
Controlled, randomized, Phase 2 in burns and reconstructive: safety and efficacy demonstrated, results published in 2025 and 2026; reduced need to harvest healthy skin & improved scar quality. Controlled, randomized Phase 3 now ongoing for severe burns:
70 patients across 20 centres several countries in EU and Switzerland. Orphan Drug Designation from Swissmedic, EMA, and US FDA.
Real-world impact
Following the Crans-Montana fire disaster (New Year’s Eve 2026), CUTISS has been supporting the healing of patients in Switzerland and abroad both under the Phase 3 framework and in compassionate use.
LEARNING AND 0UTL00K
This report reflects the current state of our impact practice. It is the first step in a longer journey toward making the foundation's public benefit visible, measurable, and accountable.
Focus Area 1
Deeper Pioneer Impact Assessment
We will expand our assessments through structured conversations, updated clinical and regulatory evidence, and more detailed tracking of patient-level outcomes. Over the coming years, we aim to build impact narratives for every pioneer in the community.
Focus Area 2
Ecosystem Partnership
The Lichtsteiner Foundation is part of a broader ecosystem of foundations, co-funders, experts, and public institutions. The Lichtsteiner Foundation is member of SwissFoundations and a partner of the Kick Foundation. Impact measurement is stronger when it is shared, challenged, and improved through collaboration.
Focus Area 3
Context and Trends
Future editions of this report will position our community within broader developments – shifting priorities, regulatory evolution, and growing demand for accountability in philanthropic health support.