Key Investor Signals
Secured CHF 300,000 in non-dilutive funding
EVIIVE won CHF 150,000 from Venture Kick in December 2024 after a CHF 150,000 Gebert Rüf Stiftung InnoBooster grant in November 2023, giving it CHF 300,000 in non-dilutive support.
Companion diagnostic partnership with Ymmunobio
EVIIVE partnered with Ymmunobio in June 2024 to co-develop an NPTXR liquid biopsy for selecting patients for Ymmunobio’s YB-800 drug platform.
Human melanoma evidence published in Science Advances
A 2025 Science Advances study using melanoma samples from University Hospital Zurich found miR-99a-5p enriched in B-cell vesicles from checkpoint-therapy responders.
Other Positive Signals
- Won the 2024 >>venture>> Health & Nutrition category, selected from 329 startup submissions.
- Selected for Venture Leaders Biotech 2024, joining the 10-company Swiss biotech team for a Boston investor roadshow.
- Recognised as a University of Zurich spin-off and added to University Hospital Zurich’s startup portfolio in 2025.
- Selected among 15 companies from nearly 200 applicants for the 2025 DayOne Healthtech Innovation Accelerator.
- Named one of seven finalists for the Ypsomed Innovation Award 2026, drawn from 34 submitted projects.
Team
Dr. Kevin Yim
CEO and Co-founder
- Molecular immunologist specialising in extracellular vesicles, with research experience at the University of Zurich.
- First author of a 2023 study evaluating flow-based analysers for extracellular vesicles in human biofluids.
- First author of a 2022 study linking serum extracellular-vesicle profiles to COVID-19 progression and immune response.
Dr. Richard Chahwan
CSO and Co-founder
- University of Zurich professor from 2018, where he led the Cancer Immunobiology Laboratory; appointed Full Professor in Luxembourg in 2026.
- PhD in cell and molecular biology from Cambridge, followed by postdoctoral research at Rockefeller and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
- Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter from 2013 to 2018 before establishing his research group in Zurich.
Product
EVIIVE’s IMPASS and IMPACT platforms profile individual extracellular vesicles from small plasma samples. IMPASS maps immune-cell vesicle populations, while IMPACT adds RNA, DNA and protein analysis to reveal molecular signals linked to treatment response.
IMPASS - immune profiling
IMPASS uses flow cytometry and machine learning to resolve immune-cell-derived vesicle subpopulations, grouping patients by immune activity, treatment responsiveness and biomarker expression.
IMPACT - molecular analysis
IMPACT applies RNA, DNA and protein analysis to the vesicle populations identified by IMPASS, revealing molecular signatures linked to immune phenotypes, resistance pathways and therapeutic targets.
Pipeline across four cancers
EVIIVE discloses programs in melanoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, renal cell carcinoma and cervical cancer. The pipeline is in discovery or validation, with no approved diagnostic yet.
Market Overview
Checkpoint inhibitors are widely used in oncology, but response remains limited. A 2025 analysis estimated that 57% of US patients with advanced or metastatic cancer were eligible in 2023, while about 20% responded. Melanoma, EVIIVE’s first target, had 331,722 new cases worldwide in 2022.
Treatment-selection diagnostics already have a commercial base. Grand View Research valued the immune checkpoint inhibitor market at $48.4B in 2023 and the oncology companion diagnostics market at $5.1B in 2024, forecasting $154.3B and $8.4B respectively by 2030. These markets create a clear commercial route for tests that help match patients to therapy.
Estimated melanoma diagnoses worldwide in 2022, the indication EVIIVE’s first test targets.
Estimated share of US advanced or metastatic cancer patients who responded to checkpoint inhibitors in 2023.
Projected global immune checkpoint inhibitor market value in 2030, up from $48.4B in 2023.
Projected global oncology companion diagnostics market in 2030, up from $5.1B in 2024.
Comparable Outcomes
Exosome Diagnostics
Exosome Diagnostics developed cancer tests based on extracellular vesicles released by tumors. Its lead product analyzed vesicle-carried RNA in urine to assess prostate cancer risk. Bio-Techne acquired Exosome Diagnostics in 2018 for $250 million upfront, with up to $325 million in milestones through 2022. The total potential value was $575 million.
Genomic Health
Genomic Health developed Oncotype DX, a breast-cancer test that analyses 21 genes to predict recurrence risk and likely benefit from chemotherapy. Exact Sciences acquired Genomic Health in 2019 for $2.8B in cash and stock, adding the Oncotype DX cancer diagnostics portfolio.
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Sources
This profile was built from public company materials, ecosystem sources, market references, and professional profiles.