Alva Innovation wins the DCB Open Innovation Challenge 2025

6 · Nov · 2025 | Press Release

Bern, 6 November 2025 – The start-up Alva Innovations has won first place in the DCB Open Innovation Challenge. The company was honoured with a prize of USD 100,000, including in-kind support, at the DCB Day of Innovation, taking place at sitem-insel in Bern.

Header Open Innovation Challenge 2025 schmal

Incredible 54 ideas were submitted to the DCB Open Innovation Challenge this year. Five finalists from various countries pitched their innovations live on stage at sitem-insel in front of a big audience and an international jury. This year’s winner, the U.S.-based start-up Alva Innovations, convinced the jury with its pioneering real-time filtration system for insulin pumps, designed to prevent infusion-set occlusions and improve therapy safety for people living with diabetes.

Their technology has the potential to significantly enhance the reliability of insulin delivery systems and reduce treatment disruptions addressing one of the most frequent challenges in insulin pump therapy today.

A full day dedicated to innovation

For the first time, the DCB expanded the traditional Start-Up Night into a full Day of Innovation, held on 5 November 2025 at the sitem-insel in Bern. The event brought together leaders from healthcare, academia, MedTech, industry, and policy to explore future-driven solutions in medicine and health technology.

The programme featured:

Start-up pitches from the Top 5 finalists (Alva Innovations, Neuraura, SynchNeuro, Diawiser, MEMS MicroPump Module)
Keynotes and insights from research, translational medicine, and industry translational research at DCB, sitem-insel, CSEM)
Showcases demonstrating real-world impact and successful commercialisation (T1D1, SNAQ, Piomic, MYNERVA, GO-Pen, Alveolix)
Perspectives from policy (Christoph Ammann) and medical ethics (Prof. Giovanni Maio) on advancing innovation and artificial intelligence in healthcare
Networking sessions connecting innovators, investors, clinicians, and partners

Celebrating five years of innovation impact

Since its launch in 2020, the DCB Open Innovation Challenge has supported a lot of start-ups from around the world, helping accelerate promising innovations in diabetes technology from concept to market. Many alumni have since achieved regulatory milestones, clinical validation, or commercial success.

It was an honor to lead this year’s DCB Open Innovation Challenge again and to transform our traditional Start-Up Night into a full day of innovation celebrating Swiss diabetes technology alongside inspiring projects from the wider Bern ecosystem. Seeing so many alumni from the past five years showcase the real-world impact of their innovations, improving diabetes care and successfully bringing products to market was truly inspiring. We are proud to have supported their potential and remain committed to helping start-ups and innovators on their journey to success.
It is exciting to see our project grow and gain recognition as a global hub for innovation in diabetes technology, and we look forward to continuing to expand its impact,

says Ema Grabenweger, Innovation Manager at DCB and responsible for the Open Innovation Challenge 2025.

About the winner: Alva Innovations

Alva Innovations aims to enhance the safety and efficiency of insulin pump therapy by integrating advanced micro-filtration directly into the infusion set. By reducing the risk of occlusions, the solution could lower therapy interruptions, prevent glycemic instability, and ease the daily burden of diabetes management. More about Alva Innovations: https://www.alva-innovations.com/