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.

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.

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/

Looking ahead

DCB will continue to support the finalist teams beyond the Challenge with access to expert guidance, clinical expertise, and strategic support.

Bern, 4 October 2024 – The start-up Integrated Medical Sensors (IMS) 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 Start-up Night at  Kursaal Bern. 

Incredible 100 ideas were submitted to the DCB Open Innovation Challenge this year. Six finalists from the U.S., the U.K., Switzerland, Spain, and Sweden, pitched their innovations live on stage at Kursaal Bern in front of a big audience and an international jury. This year’s winner, IMS, impressed the jury with a revolutionary, particularly small, and minimally invasive device for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The world’s first fully integrated single-chip device monitors blood glucose using multiple sensors simultaneously and can also record other physiological parameters such as tissue temperature. It is also able to measure various physiological parameters such as glucose and ketones – all with just one device.  

A Night of Innovation and Celebration

Incredible 100 ideas were submitted to the DCB Open Innovation Challenge this year. Six finalists from the U.S., the U.K., Switzerland, Spain, and Sweden, pitched their innovations live on stage at Kursaal Bern in front of a big audience and an international jury. This year’s winner, IMS, impressed the jury with a revolutionary, particularly small, and minimally invasive device for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The world’s first fully integrated single-chip device monitors blood glucose using multiple sensors simultaneously and can also record other physiological parameters such as tissue temperature. It is also able to measure various physiological parameters such as glucose and ketones – all with just one device.  

We are very proud of our top six finalists mastering their pitches after a successful preparation in the DCB Innovation Bootcamp. They showcased the diversity of innovations on stage, joining us on the journey to make life better for people with diabetes.

says Hanne Ballhausen, Project Manager Innovation and organiser of the DCB Bootcamp.

We extend our gratitude to everyone contributing to the success of the DCB Start-Up Night, on and off stage. The event was supported by mylife Diabetescare, Dexcom, Comerge, the Economic Development Agency of the Canton of Bern, the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, and Diabetes Switzerland. 

About the DCB Innovation Challenge 

After the initial launch in 2021, the DCB Open Innovation Challenge took place for the fourth time this year. The aim of the challenge is to promote innovative, international projects in the field of diabetes management. It is the largest Innovation Challenge in diabetes technology, awarded with USD 100,000.  Applications are open to start-ups, medical and research professionals, and individuals. 

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The fiscal year 2023/24 was a year marked by major milestones and remarkable progress for the Diabetes Center Berne (DCB), thanks to the great commitment of all employees. The DCB Annual Report has now been published and you can read more about the projects, teams, and their achievements of 2023/24.

Download the full report now!

DCB is thrilled to be featured in the Nature Portfolio Spotlight on Switzerland. The article “Cutting-edge diabetes technology to make lives easier” dives into our work at DCB and outlines significant advancements in diabetes management.

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