The “SxDiagnostics” project from the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) prevailed against over 100 competing teams in the start2grow competition and placed in the (shared) 4th to 10th spots. Start2grow is organized nationwide by the Dortmund Economic Development Agency and celebrated its 25th anniversary this year.
“SxDiagnostics,” led by Dr. Susanne Schmidt and Carolyn Krause, will use the prize money to further develop its innovative “SIRS chip” for detecting certain inflammatory responses towards market-readiness. This blood-based method can be used to assess the risk of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). SIRS is a life-threatening immune response that can occur after invasive surgery and lead to death. The resulting SIRS prognosis helps physicians implement advanced therapies against SIRS prior to surgery, thereby saving lives.
Start-up Momentum from the Medical Field
“We were thrilled to receive the start2grow award! Now we’re highly motivated to continue working on our business and financing plans and are looking for business administrators, sales professionals, lawyers, and regulatory experts who can actively support us in building our start-up,” says Dr. Susanne Schmidt. She heads the Immune Monitoring & Genomics working group at the Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology at the UKB. With her start-up project, she has already secured a GO-Bio initial grant from the BMFTR and a prototyping grant from the University of Bonn in 2025. The transfer teams from the Transfer Center enaCom and the Faculty of Medicine are supporting her on her path to founding the company.
Awards Ceremony in Dortmund
For the grand finale of start2grow 2025, held in Dortmund in March 2026, 20 selected teams were invited to present their business models to a panel of experts from the business, academic, and financial sectors. Among the top 10 teams, SxDiagnostics is the only one from the medical field. The top three spots went to the start-ups Spree Monitoring GmbH—a monitoring system for bridges—cargovibe UG—solutions for truck drivers—and wailand—an AI platform for engineers. All participants are supported by experienced coaches and benefit from expert knowledge, networks, and a variety of events.
About start2grow
The nationwide start-up competition start2grow, organized by the Dortmund Economic Development Agency, supports founders and start-ups with innovative and technology-driven business models.
Contact
Dr. Susanne Schmidt
Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology
University Hospital Bonn (UKB)
mail: susanne.schmidt@uni-bonn.de
phone: +49 228 28712102
