The inaugural edition of the Game Changer Switzerland conference brought together leading international experts from the fields of medicine, technology, finance and innovation in Zurich, turning the city for one day into a centre of discussion about the future of health and longevity. In the impressive venue Zentrum Glockenhof, more than 30 speakers and over 200 participants from different industries discussed topics that are increasingly shaping the global economy, from preventive medicine and biohacking to artificial intelligence and new financial models that are redefining the healthcare sector.
The conference opened a new chapter for the European innovation platform Game Changer, which connects science, business and technology through interdisciplinary dialogue and creates space for the exchange of ideas about the future of health, longevity and healthcare innovation.
One of the central themes of the conference was the growing longevity economy, an industry that increasingly connects medicine, technology, investment and the lifestyle sector. At the opening panel The Business of Longevity, leading European experts spoke, including Dr Patrick Schwarzentruber, CEO of Microstech Switzerland, who develops innovative business models at the intersection of health, the beauty industry and longevity science. In his presentation he emphasized that longevity is becoming one of the key drivers of new markets and brands, where prevention, wellbeing and performance optimization are increasingly integrated into modern products and services.
The investment and scientific perspective was also presented by Dr Elisabeth Roider, physician, investor and co-founder of Maximon, one of the first European investment funds focused on longevity and health-tech innovation. She spoke about how biotechnology and personalized medicine are already transforming the way we approach health and the aging process.
From the startup perspective, the discussion also included Alina Rui Su, CEO and co-founder of Generation Lab, who is developing new models of research and development in biotechnology. Duri Granziol, CEO of the Swiss longevity company AVEA Life, presented how scientific research on aging is increasingly finding its way into commercial products focused on optimizing health and performance.
One of the most notable presentations was delivered by Dr Anna Erat, Medical Director at the Swiss healthcare group Hirslanden and one of Europe’s leading experts in preventive medicine and longevity strategies. In her Bold Talk presentation she spoke about the transformation of medicine, from a system that reacts to disease to a model that actively extends healthy lifespan through personalized therapies, data analysis and preventive protocols.
In the same session, Dr Branko Barać, Director of the Institute for Rheumatology in Belgrade and an expert in regenerative medicine, presented how new therapies based on regenerative technologies and biomedical innovation can significantly transform the treatment of chronic diseases and the aging process.
Speaking about how scientific ideas are transformed into successful healthcare startups was Dr Heiko Visarius, founder of VISARTIS Healthcare and one of the pioneers of European MedTech entrepreneurship. Through practical industry examples he showed how innovations from laboratories are transformed into global companies developing new medical technologies and digital health platforms.
One of the most dynamic panels was FinTech Meets Health, which demonstrated how the financial sector is increasingly entering the fields of health and longevity. The panel was led by Dr Nadine Esposito, founder of Wellthspan Advisory and an expert in financial risk in healthcare, and Dr Christoph Nabholz, former Chief Research & Sustainability Officer at Swiss Re and now director of RiskInsight Consulting.
They were joined by investor Andrey Dubinin, founder of ADLIA AG, who spoke about the growing interest of investors in health-tech, wellness technologies and digital health platforms. The discussion showed that health is becoming a new investment category, while financial systems are adapting to a world in which prevention and the extension of healthy life carry increasing economic value.
Through panel discussions and Bold Talk presentations, the conference opened topics such as AI diagnostics, digital health, biohacking, preventive medicine and new business models in the wellbeing industry. The conclusion among participants was clear. The future of health will not be shaped by medicine alone, but by the synergy of technology, science, capital and new business models.
The inaugural edition of Game Changer Switzerland showed that there is a strong need for a platform that connects different industries in the search for solutions for longer and healthier lives. For one day, Zurich became a place where science, investment and vision met, and where the future of longevity took on very concrete contours.
