9 start-ups reach the EIT Health Catapult final

Nine of Europe’s most promising health start-ups are heading to the Health Catapult finals, where they will compete for the top prize, and the chance to gain invaluable exposure to international investors.

Now in its 9th year, the EIT Health Catapult programme is a leading accelerator for European life sciences and healthtech start-ups, helping them scale through expert coaching, investor access, and networking opportunities. Many past winners have gone to achieve remarkable growth and secure major funding.

Several alumni from the EIT Health Catapult programme have recently achieved significant milestones, demonstrating the impact and momentum generated through their participation. Medicud, based in Italy and a semi-finalist from the 2023–2024 competition, successfully closed an oversubscribed seed funding round in 2025, raising over €1.3 million. The funding will enable the launch of a pivotal clinical trial for the company’s groundbreaking wound healing device. Meanwhile, StemSight, a Finnish biotech company and finalist from the 2022–2023 cohort, secured €2.3 million to accelerate the development of its cutting-edge stem cell therapies aimed at restoring vision for patients suffering from corneal blindness.

Laura Kovinsalo, CEO of StemSight, shared her experience participating in HLTH 2024 through the EIT Health Catapult programme – and her excitement about seeing the Catapult finals return to this major event once again this year. “HLTH is a great stage for the Catapult finals, as the big event reflects the ambition level we should all be pursuing to become the next European health technology unicorns. The scale of the event allows companies to have a broader impact and greater visibility among relevant investors and potential partners,” she said.

She highlights how the programme’s evolution to include a major platform like HLTH offers even more opportunities for start-ups to grow and succeed.

Meet the finalists

Nine finalists will compete during the final at HLTH Europe on June 17 in Amsterdam, while the twenty semi-finalists still have an opportunity of being awarded some of the Catapult Industry Partners’ prizes.

Finalists

Life sciences category

Cellectric Biosciences (Austria) has discovered a new way for biologists to work with cells. Using electric fields, standard laboratory processes can be fully automated, with increased precision and without the use of chemicals.

Fusix Biotech (Germany) is developing a revolutionary cancer immunotherapy platform for a safe, effective, and non-invasive therapeutic solution for solid cancers.

Rejuversen (Spain) is developing an innovative therapy to treat the life-threatening disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Their therapy succeeds where previous treatments have failed by targeting the root cause: senescent cells.

Healthtech category

CureVision (Germany) AI-based wound diagnostics with cutting-edge sensors delivers assessment 10x faster, with 98% accuracy. Hospitals, wound centres and care providers use CureVision’s Medical Device Regulation (MDR) certified solution.

Custom Surgical (Germany) empowers eye care professionals with advanced digitalisation and AI tools. Through its platform and optical tools, it has built the largest database of eye care images and surgical videos globally.

Healshape (France) is a global regenerative medicine company having developed a 100% natural and resorbable breast bioprosthesis to regenerate tissues of women who have been subjected to a mastectomy following breast cancer.

mjn-neuro (Spain) is a technological platform focused on creating digital solutions aimed at enhancing the quality of life for patients with neurological diseases, particularly epilepsy and Alzheimer.

NimBio (Israel) is addressing the holy grail in treating inflammatory diseases with the world’s first non-invasive inflammometer for early detection of inflammatory flares.

The Blue Box (Spain) offers early-stage breast cancer detection from urine: pain-free, radiation-free.

Semi-finalists

Life sciences category

Aptadel Therapeutics (Spain) develops RNA-based therapies for the treatment of cancer with a special focus on paediatric indications.

ArrayPatch Ltd (Ireland) is a BioTech spinout that is leveraging its patent microneedle technology (DerMap) to develop therapeutics which are more efficacious and easier to administer. The first product is for the treatment of nail fungal infection.

Immunofusion’s (Lithuania) first-in-class CAR T-cell therapy combines precise tumour-specific targeting and T-cell signalling rewiring to cure chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) safely, designed to achieve lasting remission with fewer risks.

Nūmi (France) is the first European biotech developing a breakthrough cell culture technology to produce human breast milk ex vivo, ensuring ideal nutrition for infants when breastfeeding isn’t possible/desired/sustained over time.

PepKon (France) develops first-in-class therapeutic peptides for refractory or relapsed cancers with no remaining treatment options. This novel mechanism selectively targets cancer cells while reducing toxicity.

PoliRNA (Italy) is an innovative start-up company developing novel nanoparticles for a new generation of safe, efficient and precise RNA therapies for cardiac regenerative medicine and other custom-designed applications.

YOU2YOURSELF (Netherlands) develops a urine test for the early detection of life-threatening diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. In this way URIMON enhances the chances of cure and changes the healthcare system from reactive to proactive.

Healthtech category

Antegenes (Estonia) offers innovative clinical grade breast, prostate, colorectal cancer and melanoma genetic risk tests based on polygenic risk score technology for personalised cancer prevention and screening.

BrightComSol (Austria) is developing a reliable dosimetry system for FLASH radiotherapy – a breakthrough treatment that reduces therapy duration for cancer patients from 15 sessions to one. To be clinically approved, a reliable dosimetry system is required, and they are building this system.

Brightmind.AI (Austria) is developing a headset enabling personalised, at-home brain stimulation through electromagnetic pulses and AI. The first use case is migraines, where they can reduce attacks by over 50% in up to 90% of patients.

CC Diagnostics (Netherlands) improves cervical cancer screening with a test that detects early DNA damage. It offers 97% sensitivity, allows self-sampling, and cuts processing time 6x for faster, more accurate results.

CheckEye (Ukraine) is an AI-driven platform for mass screening of chronic diseases, enhancing preventive healthcare by enabling early detection and diagnosis, making healthcare accessible to all.

FindAir (Poland) is a Med-Tech company that develops smart inhaler solutions that support people suffering from asthma and COPD.

Galenband (Ireland) is a 90-day continuous ECG armband that provides reliable, non-invasive diagnosis of intermittent heart rhythm problems.

Kinetic Cortex (Poland) uses advanced AI technology to detect signs of Cerebral Palsy in infants as early as 12-15 weeks, enabling faster diagnosis and timely support to improve long-term outcomes.

Lifebloom (France) enables people in wheelchairs to walk on their own and live on their feet.

NIMBLE Diagnostics (Spain) brings a breakthrough in cardiac care: a safe, non-invasive way to monitor stents in real-time, empowering doctors to detect issues early on and keep patients healthier, longer.

Psycurio (Germany) is a mental health platform combining VR, body data feedback and AI to offer an effective, data-driven treatment of diseases like depression, PTSD, addictions and anxieties.

Tympany Medical will deliver Solascope the world’s first variable angle and self-cleaning imaging technology to enable a reimagined sustainable surgical visualisation experience. Led by CEO Dr Liz McGloughlin, Tympany is based in Ireland and will disrupt the surgical visualisation market.

VitalSigns (Finland) Healthcare is in crisis; doctors are on their limit. VitalSigns brings the stethoscope to the digital age saving physicians 5 minutes in a 15-minute exam and increasing diagnostic accuracy.

The EIT Health Catapult finals

Each finalist will now pitch their solution at HLTH Europe in Amsterdam, the leading global health innovation community that connects the healthcare ecosystem through international events, inspiring content, and impact-driven initiatives – all while addressing the industry’s most pressing challenges.

The nine finalists will compete for the Catapult prize of €30,000 in each category (life sciences and healthtech). The audience will also decide which of the finalists will win the “Alex Casta Audience Award”, which gives the winner a unique opportunity to have their logo displayed on the Nasdaq Tower in New York’s Times Square, where it will be seen by millions of people worldwide.

For the past five years, EIT Health Catapult has collaborated with leading healthcare players in Europe to further support the most promising start-ups. This year, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and AstraZeneca will award their industry prizes, offering winners valuable expertise and support. Both finalists and semi-finalists will have the opportunity to compete for these prestigious awards.

Here’s how our Catapult industry partners will be supporting those that win their prizes:

• AWS will support all semi-finalists and finalists with promotional credit and expert consultancy. Semi-finalists receive $ 10,000 in credits and access to dedicated office hours with an AWS Solutions Architect and Business Development expert. Finalists get $ 25,000 in credits, and exclusive office hours. A selected winner will be awarded a podcast feature opportunity.
• AstraZeneca will connect the winners with its global corporate teams to explore project roll-out opportunities and will offer TED-style speaker training to two start-ups.

The EIT Health Catapult finals and Award Ceremony will take place in Amsterdam on June 17 at HLTH Europe at 11:45 CET and 15:00 CET respectively. Learn more and get your conference ticket now to watch the Catapult finals live! (use our discount code HE25_EITCATAPULT250.)