Start of construction for KSB Partner House II: ETH Zurich strengthens its presence on the KSB Health Campus
ETH Zurich is expanding its presence on the KSB Health Campus in Baden. As the main tenant in KSB Partner Building II, it will move into two floors. Representatives of the two institutions laid the foundations for further cooperation at the construction site. KSB Partner House II will be ready for occupancy in spring 2024.
"KSB and ETH Zurich have laid the foundation for a collaboration that is unique in the Swiss healthcare system. The aim of the cooperation is to realise joint initiatives and research projects. This should benefit patients to whom we want to continue to offer the best possible treatment in the future," reads the document that representatives of the two institutions have deposited in the foundation of KSB Partner House II.
KSB and ETH Zurich have been working closely together for years. ETH employees have been conducting research on site at Kantonsspital Baden since 2018. Their offices are located in Partner House I, where the KSB Health Innovation Hub is also based.
This collaboration is now being expanded. The aim of the "Clinical Research ETH@KSB" cooperation is to promote and support joint initiatives and research projects. This involves clinical studies and the joint evaluation of biological material and health-related data, which should significantly advance medical research. ETH also plans to establish several professorships on the KSB Health Campus and to offer infrastructure for ETH spin-offs in the health sector.
Construction of Partner House II has begun
The ETH external location will be housed in the KSB Partner Building II, which is currently under construction. The excavation work has progressed so far that the foundations for the new building, which will cost CHF 25 million, have already been laid. Commissioning of the five-storey building is scheduled for spring 2024. As the main tenant in KSB Partnerhaus II, ETH will occupy two floors.
"Our real estate strategy is to develop KSB from a hospital into a healthcare campus," says KSB President Daniel Heller. "To this end, we are networking with partners active in the healthcare sector on our site. This networking is leading to an increasing need for premises that we rent out to third parties."
Through the KSB Health Innovation Hub, founded in 2018, the KSB has advanced to become an interesting cooperation partner for ETH: "With ETH as the main tenant in Partnerhaus II, interesting perspectives are opening up for us to launch innovative ideas and projects."
The expansion of the infrastructure on the KSB Health Campus will create the basis for being able to set further accents in clinical research, says Prof. Detlef Günther, Vice President Research at ETH. "The proximity to the hospital is of great importance to us. This allows us to benefit from the KSB's clinical know-how."
Many research projects would be based on data: "Data reveals a lot - but not everything," says Günther. "That's why it's important to test and research. That's why the digital Trial Intervention Platform (dTIP) will also be working in Partner House II, testing new therapeutic approaches together with colleagues at KSB."
The focus is on practical benefits
"We are proud that an institution like ETH has decided to collaborate with a centre hospital from Aargau," says KSB CEO Adrian Schmitter. "With our hospital operations, we can offer the researchers a practical environment."
However, Schmitter emphasises that KSB will not conduct basic university research in the future: "We are much more interested in developing applications together with our partners that bring direct benefits to patients."