August 7, 2025
Imagine you discover a breakthrough technology at university or develop a game-changing platform from the comfort of your home. You start building around it, and the momentum picks up. It’s tempting to stay put. The environment is familiar, the costs are low, and you’ve got everything in place to get by. But staying in your comfort zone, whether it’s the academic bubble or your own four walls, could mean missing the one move that changes everything.
In this article, you’ll learn what common beliefs life sciences entrepreneurs share, how you can benefit from your own workspace, and why the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area could be the right fit for you.
When you hear “workspace,” you might think desk, Wi-Fi, coffee machine. Maybe a cool co-creation area. Everything beyond the physical space, like mentors, legal guidance, or meeting investors, can feel like a separate step. Something you’ll sort out later, in a different place, with a different partner.
Workspace for startups can (and should) be so much more than square meters. The right workspace plugs you into an extensive infrastructure, provides support services, and puts you in an ecosystem your startup can really thrive in.
DryLabz is on a mission to turn unstructured data into precision diagnostics. It enhances standard lab tests, like bloodwork, with existing patient data, including electronic health records, medical history, and lifestyle inputs.
Since joining the Novartis Campus, DryLabz has tapped into the broader Basel Area ecosystem, joining programs like DayOne and the QAI Ventures accelerator, to access legal guidance, mentoring, and support with the technicalities of setting up a company in Switzerland.
What we are finding here is a vibrant ecosystem of so many different startups as well as established companies. Being on the Novartis Campus has its unique attractiveness: where else in the world can you be at the headquarters of a leading pharmaceutical company?”
Stefan Suter Head of Holmusk Europe, Novartis Campus resident
Renting a dedicated office or lab makes most founders think, “What if we skyrocket in growth in the next six months?” Or, “what if we don’t?” Besides the fear of an expensive rental bill, you don’t want to get locked into something that won’t fit your company half a year from now.
Renting workspace doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing decision. The good workspaces for startups are designed to scale with you, up and down. Think various office sizes, short-term leases, and shared lab setups that let you expand when the funding lands or pull back when you hit a roadblock.
T3 Pharma is a spin-off of the University of Basel and BaseLaunch alumni. It has developed a therapeutic platform that uses live bacteria to deliver immunomodulatory proteins into cancer cells and tumor microenvironments.
Despite already operating its own full suite of labs and offices at the Main Campus HQ, T3 faced an urgent need for more capacity. Rapid progress toward the clinical phase (and its €450 million sale to Boehringer Ingelheim) called for additional lab space on short notice. For a seamless expansion, they turned to us for private, ready-to-use lab facilities.
Expanding into private lab space on short notice helped us maintain momentum without getting caught up in facility or moving logistics. It allowed us expanding within the ecosystem and bridging the growth-gap smoothly while keeping our research on track.
Simon Ittig, CEO and Co-founder, T3 Pharmaceuticals AG, Main Campus resident
You love meeting friends at coffee shops. It’s cool and casual. So why not meet investors and potential business partners in the same comfortable environment, even if it’s a little noisy? And the presentation can be done on your laptop screen, too, right?
When it comes to high-stakes meetings with investors or potential partners, your environment says (almost) as much as your pitch does. A professional environment signals that you’re building something serious and gives your guests confidence in your operations. When someone walks into your space and sees clean labs, modern offices, and a staffed front desk, they listen differently.
Glycocalyx Therapeutics AG is a spin-off from the University of Basel. Their research focuses on the endothelial glycocalyx, a protective layer of the vascular system, with the goal of developing therapies that restore its function and prevent organ damage in conditions like sepsis or diabetes.
Glycocalyx Therapeutics heard about the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area through the university’s Innovation Office. Today, they work from a fixed desk here, giving them access to quiet booths for online meetings, flexible rooms for company gatherings, and shared spaces for informal chats and networking.
We often have clients visiting. Most of them are based in the area. They like coming here because it’s beautiful here.”
Johannes Merkelbach, Head of Operations, Eldico Scientific, Main Campus resident
If you’ve just founded your startup, you’re most likely watching every Rappen (the cent equivalent in Swiss Francs). Between high equipment costs and first hiring expenses, having your own lab sounds like something for later-stage startups. Especially if the rent for an office is stacked on top of it!
You don’t need to build your own lab. You don’t even need VC money to rent one. Organizations like incubators, accelerators, and innovation parks will let you rent private or shared lab spaces at a fraction of the cost you’re imagining. And because it’s already built and fully permitted, you can get started right away!
Altamira Therapeutics is advancing RNA-based therapeutics using its proprietary delivery platform. The company’s lead programs are currently in preclinical development, having demonstrated in vivo proof of concept.
To accelerate progress without tying up resources in infrastructure, the company moved into the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area – Main Campus Shared Lab. Here, Altamira can focus on advancing its technology in oncology and inflammatory diseases while staying embedded in Basel’s biotech hub, close to potential collaborators, clients, and investors.
I love that you have a city within the city with countless amenities, parks, restaurants, and convenient traffic connections. The Rhine is nearby to have a dip, too.”
Norbert Farkas, Co-founder, DryLabz, Novartis Campus resident
You’ve got your space, your laptop, your lab bench, and your most trusted business partners. Time to lock in and get to work on the next big innovation, right? When you’re building something complex, it’s easy to believe that focus is everything. That real progress happens when you stay in your lane, block out the noise, and grind with your core team.
In life sciences, innovation rarely comes from solitude. Isolating yourself from the broader ecosystem can mean missing out on the conversations, challenging debates, and input of people who see things differently.
Engimmune Therapeutics AG, a spin-off from ETH Zürich, is developing precision T-cell receptor (TCR) therapies to detect and fight cancer at the cellular level.
When they joined the Main Campus, one of their main goals was proximity to other scientific minds. That proximity paid off fast. Just one staircase away was the team from CSEM, a research and tech innovation center. Casual chats turned into collaboration, and CSEM introduced Engimmune to droplet-microfluidics technology that significantly accelerated their workflow.
Without the local proximity, this project wouldn’t have happened this fast and at this quality.
Rodrigo Vazquez‑Lombardi, Co‑founder and CSO, Engimmune Therapeutics AG, Main Campus resident
Building and construction account for 37% of global emissions. What if the choice of your office space could make a difference? Meet HORTUS.
We interviewed Stephen Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of the BIIE on why they chose the Main Campus and its innovation district.