Meet the Ireland & UK Catapult semi-finalists

Six UK-Ireland start-ups have been selected to pitch at the EIT Health Catapult 2020 semi-finals

Taking place online from 21- 23 October,  this unique event brings together 42 pioneering healthcare start-ups competing for an opportunity to enter our high-profile annual pitch competition, the EIT Health Catapult finals.

EIT Health Catapult is a training and competition programme that boosts the development of promising healthcare start-ups through exposure to leading experts and international investors. The programme sources and accelerates 42 European start-ups in biotech, medtech and digital health. Participating start-ups receive high-quality training in business modelling and planning, investment, deal negotiation, and pitch training – as well as facilitated access to top level experts and investors. The start-ups also engage in a competition, with those who win the EIT Health Catapult virtual semi-finals going on to compete for cash prizes and recognition during the finals.

Meet the UK-Ireland Catapult semi-finalists:

Biotech

Gelmetix (UK) designs bio-inductive gels that modify cell behaviour, to treat patients suffering from chronic lower back pain and osteoarthritis. The company’s DXM gel, is an injectable gel that is used to treat degenerative disc disease, the cause of 40% of all chronic lower back pain cases. It restores cell function, relieves pain and prevents further degeneration of the intervertebral disc. The company has approval to start the first-in-human clinical trials in Bordeaux this year.

MediSieve Limited: Magnetic Blood Filtration (UK) develops a platform technology to revolutionise the treatment of blood-borne diseases, such as COVID-19, sepsis and leukaemia, through the removal of specific harmful substances directly from the bloodstream.

Medtech

Sentinel Biosensor (UK) creates state-of-the-art, wearable, vital sign monitors that record data with medical grade accuracy while still being consumer-friendly, for use in hospitals and post-discharge in patients’ homes. Sentinel records pulse, respiration-rate, temperature, three-axis position, motion, stress, sleep quality, galvanic skin response and indoor GPS. It also provides cuffless blood pressure estimation and works off-grid. No connection or infrastructure is needed, either in the hospital ward or the patient’s home.

Zoan BioMed (Ireland) designs and develops orthopaedic devices through the sustainable cultivation of tropical marine coral, delivering disease-free, natural, safe, and effective bone graft solutions for surgeons. An ageing population is the prime market driver for sector growth, and Zoan caters to this market through an innovation pipeline addressing the most pressing clinical needs in bone repair.

Digital Health

miiCARE (UK): miiCUBE monitors the activities of the elderly in their home to keep them healthier, happier, and more connected. This includes monitoring of movement and vital signs, such as temperature and oxygen saturation. The solution builds a behavioural model to provide insight into activities, and raises alerts if it detects risks or changes in behaviour. A mobile and web app provides family and carers with up-to-date information.

Vitrue Health (UK) works to change the way musculoskeletal conditions are assessed and treated. Physiotherapy is one of the last areas of medicine where clinicians must rely on their sight alone to diagnose patients. Vitrue Health’s computer vision and biomechanics-based technology is changing that with quantitative and beautiful assessment reports that improve outcomes and please patients.

Watch the teams pitch live

The semi-finals run over the course of three days of pitching:

• Biotech pitch event: 21 October 2020
• Medtech pitch event: 22 October 2020
• Digital Health pitch event: 23 October 2020

Register here