Meliodays Medical is developing a hormone-free treatment for period pain. The active ingredient is designed to be released specifically within the uterus, providing a long-term treatment option for patients. DEMECAN produces pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis in Saxony and covers the entire value chain from cultivation to delivery to pharmacies. The third award went to Oxaphil GmbH. The company develops functional polymers for applications in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries and translates research findings from Dresden University of Technology into industrial applications. A total of 116 start-up projects were submitted for the competition. For the first time, a prize was awarded for scale-ups in addition to the ‘Newcomer’ and ‘Start-up’ categories. The results highlight the growing importance of science-based spin-offs for Saxony as a centre of innovation. In particular, companies in the fields of biotechnology, life sciences and medical technology are increasingly becoming a defining feature of the regional start-up landscape.
Press release from the “Saxon State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour, Energy and Climate Protection” dated 17 June 2026