Company set-up
A look back at Start-me up 2026: a resounding 11th edition!
On July 2 and 3, 2026, the Startup division, the Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship office (STTE), the Department of Application of Research and Relations with Industrials (DARRI) successfully hosted the 11th edition of the Start-me up. This year’s theme, “Innovation in Biotechnology and Life Science: Transformation through Digitalization,” brought together the brightest minds in our ecosystem.
A day of insights and connection
The event kicked off on July 2 with expert talk sessions featuring Pasteur researchers and key players from the innovation ecosystem.
Morning session: exploration of the theme ‘Digital transformation in biotechnology and the life sciences’ and an in-depth analysis of the applications of data and AI in the life sciences.
Afternoon session: an exploration of the key factors required to transform laboratory research into market-ready solutions, along with practical advice on regulation, funding and how to prepare the perfect pitch.
Networking: participants exchanged ideas and made new contacts during a lively networking lunch in the greenhouse.
“Pitch Your Idea”: the highlight of this event
The standout feature wad the pitch session, where young researchers showcased their innovative work with the potential to become future startups. Nine projects delivered compelling pitches, taking thier first step toward transforming scientific results into business concept.
To prepare, eight projects of these projects refined their concepts during the intensive “Value-up your idea” workshop (June 5 & 12, 2026) expertly led by JongEun Ihm, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program manager. This year marked a unique collaboration: 10 HEC MBA students joined forces with young scientists from Institut Pasteur, the Institut Imagine team, and winners of the Tremplin Inception program.
Guided by a stellar panel of eight mentors-including external experts and DARRI members (Nicolas Mouz, Head of Innovation Development, Sotiris Missalidis, Head of Vaccine Innovation Development, Sierra Parker, Startup Manager, and JongEun Ihm) – each team transformed their scientific ideas into visable business concepts.
Jury’s Feedback and Award Winners
On July 3, the finalists presented to an expert jury comprising Pascale Jordan (acting director of the DARRI), Marielle Mailhes (Investment Director, Life Science Team, Bpifrance), Madison Lenormand (Investor, Daphni), Clara Brouaux (Head, Shaker Program, Genopole), and Amandine Touzeau (Research Program Coordinator, the French Foundation for Medical Research (FRM)).
The jury provided overwhelmingly positive feedback on the quality and potential of the projects.
These are the pitching ideas/projects:
CelOr-Chip (Emmanuelle Rota Graziosi (ENS), Paloma Hedde (former postdoctoral researcher at the Institut Pasteur), Arani Sivakumar (HEC MBA student), Roman Masselus, Andrea Cottignies-Calamarte): ”Vascularized skin-on-chip for predictive human testing” (Tremplin Inception and ENS project)
ContrePi (Philipp Deist, Dongyu Jin, Guillaume Guegan & Mark Dillemuth (HEC MBA students)): ”To disarm, not to kill: A new paradigm to cure invasive meningococcal disease” (Institut Pasteur’s project)
Effel Bone Therapeutics (Nicoals Doulet, Charline Vilpreux, Elisa Muller): ”The safest and most efficient therapeutic product for treating FGFR3-related disorders” (Institut Imagine’s project)
Choanoresponse (Maitre Freire Delgado, Emma Rego Lemaire, Shreya Pal (HEC MBA student & Intern of the DARRI)): ”Biological Monitoring of micro & nano plastics in water” (Tremplin Inception & Institut Pasteur’s project)
Smart Mirror Care (Kama Atretkhany, Tanaka Dhomobo (HEC MBA student)): ”Neuroscience-driven behavioral therapy platform in a smart mirror” (Institut Pasteur’s project)
Tèra (Tanaka Dhomobo & Ishita Kedia (HEC MBA students), Kama Atretkhany): ”Identifying mental health deterioration risks for postpartum depression” (HEC MBA’s project)
MYRNPP (Charfeddine Gharsallah, Liliana Avila Ospina, Yassine Messat, and Louis-Maxime Bois(HEC MBA student): ”A software platform to design optimized microRNA therapeutics in a single integrated workflow” (Institut Pasteur’s project)
BIGSdb-Pasteur (Anvita Bhargava, Giada Mura (former postdoctoral researcher at the Institut Pasteur), Tarbiya Jamil (HEC MBA student)): ”A user-friendly platform with curated genomic taxonomies, nomenclatures, and an analytical web tool for bacterial strains and gene variants” (Institut Pasteur’s project)
Pasteur Brain (Dalila Saulebekoba & JongEun Ihm): ”A locally-hosted AI-powered platform that aggregates fragmented institutional data into one queryable knowledge layer” (Institut Pasteur’s project).
The four winning projects are:
Gold medal: Tèra
Silver medals: CelOr-Chip and MYRNPP
Bronze medal: BIGSdb-Pasteur
Save the Date: Alumni Networking Event
All winners and participants are invited to celebrate these achievements at the Pasteur Startup Alumni networking event on November 6, 2026, from 6 to 8pm at The 25, where an award ceremony will be held during the event.
If you are interested in meeting entrepreneurs from Institut Pasteur, please register you
A special thank you to the mentors, jury members, and the entire DARRI team for their unwavering support in making this year’s Start-me up a success. Congratulations to all pitchers for your creativity and hard work!
Watch the participants' testimonials
Looking forward to meeting you at the 12th edition of Start-me up 2027 on July 1-2, 2027.
For those inspired to turn research into innovation, contact darri@pasteur.fr to help you bring your idea to life!