Headstart Day in France: Extra funding, mentoring

EIT Health France grants additional support at a gathering of Headstart start-ups.

All 15 start-ups chosen by EIT Health France for Headstart funding were awarded additional funding during the 19 November 2019 French Headstart Day, an event that included intensive training and mentoring.

In July 2019, EIT Health France awarded Headstart grants of €40,000 each to 15 start-ups as part of the Headstart Funding Programme, which accelerates the market launch of selected healthcare start-ups through grants as well as support with networking and developing a project plan. Under the rules of the EIT Health France Headstart programme, these start-ups became eligible to compete for an additional €10,000 each in funding. At the EIT Health France Headstart Day on 19 November 2019, a decision was announced that all of the start-ups chosen in July would receive the additional €10,000.

Events of the EIT Health France Headstart Day

Over the course of the 19 November event, members of the 15 start-ups underwent a total of 28 one-to-one mentoring sessions, as well as four group workshops.

Eleven experts and mentors from our EIT Health Mentoring and Coaching Network provided between one and three face-to-face mentoring sessions of two hours each. These mentors were identified by start-ups as able to help them with their needs. Parallelly to these sessions, four EIT Health Partners, Voisin Consulting, Ex Materia, Strammer and Efficient Innovation, provided a group workshop to eight start-ups. The group workshops were on the topics of hands on perspectives on medical device software development process, the technological valorisation of start-ups through intellectual property, the dos and don’ts of C-level recruitment and information about how to conduct a market study.

On top of the additional €10,000 in funding to further develop their projects. The two best ranked start-ups, Neuraltide and N-Vibe were also awarded a booth at the start-up village during the EIT Health Summit which was held on 2-3 December 2019 in Paris.

The Headstart winners chosen by EIT Health France

Biotech category

Etisense SAS: DECRO is the first connected jacket able to perform combined cardiorespiratory monitoring in small mammals, in a non-invasive and unrestrained way. With DECRO, scientists will be able to collect improved data while responding to the more and more strict ethical rules of using animal models in preclinical research.

Imescia: Their vision is to provide cancer patients and hospital staff with a simple-to-use subcutaneous formulation of anticancer drugs, which can be used to replace the traditional intravenous formulation, to simplify patient intake and eventually allow at-home cancer treatment.

Linseg Tech SAS: This is a new type of optical microscope which was developed by Linseg team members (CEA members) and allows the creation of super resolution images (less than 100nm) by assembling focal points of a large number of images (10 000 images) and reconstructing the image through a software treatment. The patent was deposited by CEA and CNRS in 2016.

MedTech category

Ganymed Robotics SAS: Ganymed is developing a revolutionary active therapeutic device to enhance surgical precision in knee replacement surgery. Working in close collaboration with high-volume orthopaedic surgeons, the company is seeking to improve patient outcomes with a compact system offering unparalleled surgeon-friendliness and reduced operating time.

Neuraltide: Neuraltide is currently developing for commercialisation in Europe a low risk medical device to treat acute ischemic stroke. The mode of action is innovative, able to enhance cerebral perfusion and to reduce stroke handicap. The device offers a new therapeutic option for physicians and stroke patients known to have high unmet medical needs.

Service/Care Model category

Prev & Care SAS: Prev & Care is the first personal assistant for family caregivers. Our Care managers bring personalised information, admin and financial support; they find qualified homecare experts; and they set up and coordinate all necessary actions. Caregivers can care for their loved one while preserving their health and life.

DigiHealth Technology/System category

BrainTale SAS: This solution makes it possible to quantify brain damage from an MRI after head trauma, cardiac arrest or stroke with sufficient accuracy to predict the emergence of patients with an unparalleled level of certainty. A prognosis of the chances of long-term recovery of comatose patients can help caregivers and relatives make therapeutic decisions.

PLS Experience (SAS): Provides companies first aid training in virtual reality to empower employees to save lives. By living a one hour immersive experience, while in the safety of a virtual environment, people are better prepared to respond.

Galeon SAS: This system allows for better sharing of obstetrical records. The platform includes a patient portal and the business tool for carers in the hospital and in the city. The platform data is structured in accordance with international standards.

Gleamer (SAS): Gleamer develops a system to read medical images with artificial intelligence-based software, using the latest deep learning technologies. The solution automatically detects subtle abnormalities in medical images and presents them to the radiologist for final validation, thus providing safety, time saving, and reading comfort.

Kee Lab: Kee Lab develops AI-based software that allows for the automation of histological diagnosis, improving a vital step in the detection of cancer and other pathologies. The solutions enable pathologists to fulfill a growing number of diagnoses while maintaining an unwavering level of reliability.

Meditect SAS: Meditect is an authenticity and traceability solution to strengthen the legal distribution of medicines in Africa. It is designed for pharmaceutical companies, pharmacists and patients, and relying on blockchain, a robust and proven technology that guarantees an immutable data safeguarding process.

Neuradom: Neuradom provides patients needing physical rehabilitation with a home tele-rehabilitation service combining the most advanced techniques, the easy usability of digital as well as a personalised medical follow-up.

N-Vibe SAS: Using GPS and vibrating bracelets on the left and right hand, this solution acts as a guide for the visually impaired, helping them to get around by themselves. There are 15 million visually impaired people in Europe. N-Vibe’s mission is to make them explorers.

Whitelab Genomics: WhiteLab Genomics aims to revolutionise the way gene therapies are developed using artificial intelligence. Whitelab Geneomics will serve gene therapy companies by addressing their needs and challenges to develop therapies optimally while significantly reducing cost and time.

About the EIT Health Headstart programme

The EIT Health Headstart programme is designed to help start-ups and SMEs develop their healthcare innovations faster and better. The programme provides early-stage healthcare companies and SME’s with non-dilutive funding to:

• support the next steps towards the market and shorten time-to-market for innovative products and services;
• verify the need of the product or service, and the benefit of the product or service for users, customers, health care
• providers and also for the EIT Health Partners;
• increase the possibility of attracting further private investment.