What if there were someone in your life sciences network you could turn to for answers to all your questions and concerns? Someone with a proven track record of creating highly successful healthcare businesses, to help you realise the true potential of your own?
That’s the premise at the heart of Gold Track, which pairs promising businesses and great ideas with a panel of top flight advisors – world-class experts who immerse themselves entirely in both your ideating, strategising, and problem solving to help set your organisation on the path to success.
With its ambition to massively scale these businesses, Gold Track is built on personal relationships between mentors and mentees. Through individualised strategic guidance and custom tailored operational execution, Gold Track supports companies to unlock ambitious business and investment opportunities within short timeframes.
Gold Track’s individualised accelerator model, pioneered by our operator Advise Connect Inspire (ACI), has been validated across multiple European programmes where it has successfully helped companies raise over €250m and achieve four exits totaling over €1bn in only three years.
Access our global network of life science entrepreneurs and investors dedicated to supporting and developing your business
Receive individualised mentoring from experienced subject matter experts to support strategy, value creation, and execution
Fast-track your business’ growth in accelerated timeframes
Gain priority entry to other EIT Health programmes to expedite international growth and access to financing
Gold Track is a competitive programme based around various phases. Each phase begins and ends with a high-profile Gold Track Workshop to identify and fine-tune your business goals, before assessing your achievements so you can progress to the next level.
Apply:
Submit an application with your company, team and product/service information.
Get selected:
We invite 8-12 companies to a Gold Track workshop to compete for a place in the programme and convince at least one Expert Council member to champion your company.
Reflect with experts:
We assemble a carefully curated group of experts to get under the skin of your business and help your leadership team quickly understand your company’s current status and value, identify any important gaps, and set business priorities.
Set your goals and execute:
Together, we define 2-4 business objectives and commit to achieving results with the support of your mentors and experts.
Assess your progress:
You and all other companies involved in the programme report back to the Expert Council at the end of each phase to discuss achievements, adjust goals, and assess eligibility to progress to the next phase.
Graduate:
When you successfully complete all three phases of the programme, you will graduate and become a Gold Track Alumni. Alumni continue to receive support and unlock benefits from our network.
Whether newly incorporated or at an advanced stage, Gold Track’s individualised mentoring is flexible to meet your unique and stage specific business priorities and needs.
We set you up with:
If you’re an early stage start-up we’ll provide crystal clear business advice on your strategy, business model and company financing to guide you towards success and set you up to effectively raise capital. We provide high-value connections to our global network of investors and business partners. Our mentors also support you with operational implementation of your business and development strategy.
If you’re a later stage company we’ll give you laser-focused support in engaging top global investors and key decision makers in multinational pharma/device companies to catalyse your company’s capital value, and to expand your business partnerships and global competitiveness. Our mentors bring significant personal experience in growing newcos into successful public enterprises valued north of $1bn, and in achieving multi-million dollar exits. We provide a fresh look at your programmes, pipeline and strategy and also set you up with a solid market access and expansion plan. We’ll guide you on developing the right financing strategy and finding the right partners for your company’s successful exit.
You’ll learn from and work with successful entrepreneurs, experienced investors, and top industry executives from across the healthcare sector. Expert Council members work with other domain experts, specially recruited from our extensive global networks, to match your individual business needs and guide your development.
Ida Beerhalter is Co-head of IOME, a private investment office of women principals from the Persian Gulf with its head office in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She currently serves as Member of the Board of Auma Obama Foundation Sauti Kuu (Germany and Kenya), and is Head of Family Office Investments Division at Green Sands Equity (USA). She serves as Strategic Advisor to Impact Investment Partners LLP (United Kingdom), is Vice Chairman of the board of Trustees of First Light Trust (United Kingdom), and is a Member of the Advisory Board of Professors Without Boarders (United Kingdom) and the Arab African Economic Development Initiative (Nigeria & Dubai). She is also a Member of the Board of Jim Button Foundation (Germany), Ambassador to TBLI Group (Netherlands), and Spokesperson of the advisory board of the Charité Entrepreneurship Summitt (Germany).
Dawn Bell is Global Development Head, Strategic Partnerships Team for Novartis. In this role, she works closely with corporate and portfolio strategy to find disruptive opportunities in the white space. Dawn has deep knowledge of drug development, reimbursement and commercialization, and has developed and launched more than a dozen innovative medicines. She is a sought after mentor and advisor to start-ups in North America and Europe, mentor in two accelerator communities (Creative Destruction Lab and EIT Health’s Gold Track programme), and in 2019 was recognized as Associate of the Year for the Creative Destruction Lab’s Toronto site.
Jens Eckstein has more than 15 years of venture capital experience in biopharma and 10 years of operational experience in drug discovery and development. Jens is a Kauffman Fellow and a mentor for life science entrepreneurs and start-up teams in the area of innovative life science and healthcare IT companies.
Anya Eldan is responsible for the growth and establishment of some of the best Israeli high-tech companies; her task is to provide companies with a variety of unique tools designed to support the initial development phases of their technological project. The tools are intended to assist various kinds of clients – from the individual entrepreneur to the budding company – in their attempt to develop their initial idea into a product and then continue to the more advanced stages of recruiting and sales.
Dr. Vishal Gulati serves as a venture partner specialising in Digital Health at DFJ Esprit, Europe’s leading Silicon Valley style Venture Capital firm with over $1b under management. Since 2012, Vishal has been a leading promoter of investments into the emerging Digital Health sector and Chairman of Digital Health Forum, which supports the best-in-class Digital Health companies to grow into global enterprises. Vishal serves on several boards including Horizon Discovery Group PLC (Cambridge, UK), a gene editing company; Fluidics Analytics (Cambridge, UK), a next gen protein discovery engine; Frameshift Healthcare Information Flow Platform (London, UK) and EcoEos (San Francisco, USA), a consumer genomics business. His previous investments include Napo Pharmaceuticals, Glenmark, Renovo and Phagenesis.
Vincent Hennemand is the COO/CBO at Intergalactic Therapeutics. He was previously Senior Vice President of Strategy, Corporate & Business Development at Akili Interactive Labs. Prior to that he was a Principal in Sanofi’s corporate R&D venture group (“Sunrise”) where he was responsible for developing and managing new investment opportunities including Myokardia, Voyager Therapeutics, WarpDrive Bio, and Portal Instruments.
Regina Hodits is a Managing Partner at Wellington Partners Life Sciences (WPLS) and represents the WPLS funds on the Boards of AYOXXA, Endostim, GTX Medical, Polares Medical, Themis, and TRiCares. She was a founding investor in Rigontec (acquired by MSD), Sapiens (acquired by Medtronic), Middle Peak Medical (acquired by Symetis/ Boston Scientific), and an external director at GlaxoSmithKline's Respiratory TA Board. Since joining the industry in 2000, she has become an influential investor in the European venture capital industry, focusing on early-stage and growth deals in Life Sciences.
Dr. Werner Lanthaler was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Evotec AG in 2009. In his previous position, Dr. Lanthaler served as Chief Financial Officer of Intercell AG in Vienna, Austria, a global biopharmaceutical leader dedicated to the development of vaccines. In this role, he was also responsible for Business Development and Marketing & Sales.
Dr. Mayr was most recently the Chief Technology Officer for GE Healthcare Life Sciences and is responsible for all R&D investments, research programmes, business growth strategy, technology innovation, and R&D talent development across all business areas (BioProcess, Imaging Diagnostics/Contrast Media, Research Tools and Applied Markets, Cell & Gene Therapy, New Opportunities). Previously, he has been working as Vice President & Global Head, Reagents & Assay Development with responsibility for generation of all biological reagents and assay development activities across all therapeutic research areas at AstraZeneca.
Dr. Valentin Piëch is the Managing Director at Zurich based investment firm VP Venutre Partners. He was most recently the Investment Director at BioMed Partners. He joined BioMed in 2015 with a background in venture capital, science, and technology. Dr. Piëch founded impact2partners AG, a private venture capital firm with a focus on companies developing treatments and diagnostics for rare diseases. Prior to impact2partners, he was Investment Analyst and then Principal at Nextech Invest, a venture capital firm focusing on oncology. In addition, he is a private investor in a number of startup and growth companies.
Graziano Seghezzi is Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners which he joined in 2006. He seed funded and was on the Board of GlycoVaxyn which was sold to GlaxoSmithKline in 2015 and Omthera Pharmaceuticals which went public on Nasdaq in 2013, then was sold to AstraZeneca later that year. Graziano also seed funded and is on the Board of Mission Therapeutics, Crescendo Biologics, Hookipa Biotech, Corvidia, Hotspot Therapeutics, Polyneuron and Erydel. He promoted and is on the Board of BiovelocITA, Italy’s first biotech accelerator. Graziano started his career in venture capital in 2001 at Sofinnova Partners and then joined Index Venture in 2003.
Derek Young is an entrepreneur and innovator in the healthcare sector. He is a named inventor of over 32+ patents with commercial success globally. Mr. Young has successfully co-founded a number of European medical device startup companies including Medtech, Advanced Surgical Concepts, and Haptica before joining the Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI) in Dublin. While there, he established a Healthcare Innovation Hub to develop ideas received from clinicians and inventors in Europe and internationally. Mr. Young has spearheaded and completed at least 12 Medical Device Exits with key International Healthcare MNC over the last 12 years.
Constantin Schwaab is a serial entrepreneur who has pursued an active role as a life sciences investor in companies such as Quanta, NVision, and Merlion. Constantin is the CEO of Wirelane, a technology company focused on infrastructure solutions in the space of electromobility. He is a founder and CEO of Kinoheld, a market leading platform for movie tickets which was acquired by a global leader in live entertainment, the German CTS Eventim AG. Prior to this, Constantin was the founder and managing partner of Plain Energy, a Europe-wide PV-plant developer with approx. €50m assets under management. He is an experienced project manager with 10 years of expertise in all facets of the PV industry including power plant developments in 5 countries, and a strong track record along the value chain including site development, construction, financing and operation. Constantin started his career as the founder of one of the largest European e-commerce sites at its time; with a successful exit in 2007, when it was sold to NYSE Euronext listed as Loyaltouch. Constantin studied political sciences at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, the Uni Mail in Geneva and the UB in Barcelona. He speaks 4 languages, successfully competed in the endurance sports competition Iron Man Triathlon and has three kids.
“Company creation is my professional life. We dedicate our personal time, experience, and connections to enable Europe’s young entrepreneurs build the next generation of successful healthcare companies"
Christoph Lengauer – CEO, ACI and Partner, Third Rock Ventures
“For biotech companies, having top US investor involvement alongside their European counterparts can positively impact valuations at later stages and exit. Gold Track’s support can make all the difference in helping a company to achieve its fullest potential.”
Regina Hodits - Managing Partner, Wellington Partners Life Sciences
"Our aim is to coach companies in seeing their 'big vision' and lend our experience to help them develop the confidence and path to break out of a “European mindset” and take the big, bold steps necessary to set themselves up to be globally recognised."
Werner Lanthaler - CEO, Evotec
“Most start-up programmes help companies but I don’t know one that is more impactful than Gold Track. Working with Gold Track is like having a very motivated and involved board of experts to be your sounding board and guide you on key decisions.”
Vishal Gulati - Venture Partner, Draper Esprit
At each workshop, current and new companies compete for their place in the next phase of the programme through a transparent and high-energy selection process. During both 1:1 and group interactions with all Expert Council members you will discuss your company’s progress and debate new objectives. You must achieve championship votes to secure your place. You may also have the opportunity to present to our additional hand-picked group of investors and industry partners to broaden your network, promote visibility to your business, and build valuable personal relationships.
Our workshops are held across Europe three times per year. The next workshops are:
Gold Track Workshop 6, virtual
Gold Track Workshop 7 in Göttweig, Austria
Gold Track Workshop 8 in Paris, France
To be eligible, your company should:
Gold Track is sponsored by an EU grant and is free to companies to enter and to participate. We do not take equity in your company or charge any consulting fees. Our singular goal is to make you successful, and thus we share your risk – if your company does not achieve significant financial upsides, then our full package of business support and our valuable network are provided at no cost to you. If we are successful in enabling you to achieve significant financial events, we ask to partake in your financial success by charging a nominal success fee on your upside. Contact us to learn more.
“Participating in Gold Track has enabled us to literally think big, share a vision and act accordingly. In our company history we differentiate between ‘before’ and ‘after Gold Track’”
Hans-Maria Heyn, CEO, Smart4Diagnostics GmbH
“Two days at Gold Track have provided us with more actionable insights than any comparable programme we've been a part of - [including other elite accelerator programmes]”
Jack O'Meara, CEO, Ochre Bio LLC
“Goldtrack has enabled us to critically assess our market opportunities, identify our top business development priorities, sharpen our focus, and execute efficiently”
Andreas Schriefl, CEO, eMurmur (CSD Labs)
“I find the feedback [from your experts and KOLs] insightful and extremely powerful. It is also impressive that you connected us with one of the most recognised specialists in our field”
Rubén Molina-Conde, CEO, Innitius SL
“As part of the Gold Track programme, we fast-forwarded the value case of our lead asset, the depth of our development plan, and our overall strategy”
Lorenzo Corsini, Co-CEO, PhagoMed GmbH
eMurmur develops software solutions for cardiac and pulmonary auscultation. They have developed a CE and FDA cleared AI based clinical software system for recording and analyzing heart sounds to detect the presence of a murmur and determine if it is innocent or pathological.
Gedea Biotech is developing pHyph, a vaginal tablet for bacterial and fungal infections. The product is antibiotic free and composed of natural ingredients that lower vaginal pH and potentially return the vaginal microbiome to non-pathologic state.
Healium Medical develops no-contact guided ablation system for treatment of atrial fibrillation, with the goal to improve procedure efficacy, simplify procedure flow and shorten procedure time.
Innitus’ mission is to reduce the number of false preterm labour patients in the healthcare system. Their device FineBirth is designed to quantify changes in the mechanical properties of cervical tissue, and combined with their analysis software translate these to an assessment of true vs false pre-term labour in a woman with symptoms.
LenioBio develops the expression platform – ALiCE®, combining proprietary cell-free synthesis with machine learning to significantly change the way protein and peptide derived medicines are being produced.
Neuroelectrics’ vision is to vision to non-invasively diagnose and treat brain disorders and improve brain health. They are developing a platform that quantifies brain health via EEG, and a proprietary brain neurostimulation system for treating neurological disorders using transcranial direct current stimulation.
NU-RISE developed a new generation in vivo dosimeter that precisely measures the amount of radiation delivered in the tumor and in surrounding tissues. Their device can detect a wide range of doses and is designed to provide real-time data for clinical decision support.
Ochre Bio is building a drug discovery and development platform targeting metabolic stress in liver. Using high-resolution genomics and single cell approaches, Ochre Bio identifies gene signatures that can be targeted to revert a pathologic liver into a healthy one.
OncoGenomX develops a machine learning based adaptive platform for molecular precision diagnostics, disease prognostication and outcome prediction, and actionable clinical and disease intelligence, with an initial focus is on breast cancer.
PhagoMed is developing innovative phage and endolysin based treatments against persistent bacterial infections. Their goal is to develop precision antimicrobials that have the potential to revolutionize the first-line treatments for bacterial infections where antibiotics typically fail.
Proxygen GmbH is developing therapies against cancer and other life-threatening diseases by reprogramming the cellular protein quality control system, with a focus on particular small molecules called “molecular glue degraders”, allowing for the protein to be selectively eliminated.
ScarletRed has developed an innovative, CE class I approved software platform that enables standardized remote skin imaging and objective analysis of visible skin changes in >3000 skin diseases. ScarletRed’s products have been deployed in the biopharma and cosmetics industry, in hospitals, and CROs.
Selfdiagnostics develops a molecular diagnostics platform for laboratory level accurate and rapid diagnoses of specific infectious agents at point of care settings. Their first product is a fully disposable, non-instrumented nucleic acid amplification test for the detection of sexually transmitted diseases.
Smart4Diagnostics has developed a platform for blood sample collection and monitoring that allows aggregation of all sample QC data from collection to laboratory entry. Their goal is to revolutionise the preanalytical process in blood sample processing from “trust based” to “evidence based”.
SyNoesis Therapeutics’s vision is to cure Parkinson’s disease and other major brain diseases. SyNoesis’ proprietary small molecule oral inhibitor has potential as a symptom lowering and disease modifying treatment for Parkinson’s disease.
Tolremo Therapeutics is tackling adaptive resistance in cancer. Their proprietary drug discovery engine enables the identification of novel drug resistance regulators and the development of small molecule therapies.
Turbine combines a digital human cell model with simulation technology and molecular biology to understand the complex, underlying biology of cancer. Turbine’s simulation technology guides identification of targets, and predicts biomarkers and combination strategies for novel cancer treatments.
Visit our application portal, create a login, and select the Gold Track application form. Make sure you have your company, team and product/service information to hand, as you will need it to apply.
Apply now to join our gold standard mentoring programme to help accelerate your growth in healthcare innovation.
Apply
Are you an investor or corporate partner?
By working with a rigorously selected group of Europe’s most promising companies in biotech, medtech and digital health, Gold Track shapes tomorrow’s healthcare businesses and leaders. You can get early access to these emerging companies with the potential to massively scale and expand your network with high profile industry experts and peers by participating in our workshops.
Gold Track operates synergistically with venture groups to drive value in Europe’s healthcare innovation sector. We work with you to:
To work with us and join Gold Track workshops to meet Europe’s most promising innovators in healthcare, contact us for more information.
Gold Track is an EIT Health initiative, designed and operated in collaboration with Advise Connect Inspire (ACI). Our team has a strong track record of building successful life science companies and to learn more about the programme, contact us and a member of the team will come back to you.
