21 start-ups reach EIT Health Catapult Final

Twenty-one start-ups from across Europe have secured their places at the EIT Health Catapult Final. The finalists represent the most promising European start-ups across BioTech, MedTech and Digital Health. 

The EIT Health Catapult, currently in its seventh year, boosts the development of European health start-ups by exposing them to leading experts and international investors. Winners often go on to achieve impressive growth. For example, Leuko, one of last year’s winners, closed a €5M Series A round only five months after being awarded Catapult MedTech Winner as well as receiving two Catapult industry awards (eg technology and AstraZeneca).  

Magda Krakowiak, Director of Business Creation at EIT Health, said: “It is another great year with a cohort of stellar start-ups in the programme. We are delighted to announce the 21 promising start-ups that will compete in this year’s finals of EIT Health Catapult. We look forward to seeing them pitch their innovative solutions live on stage at Bits & Pretzels HealthTech in June. We are sure the pan-EU exposure and support they have been receiving will set them on a path to success.” 

Meet the finalists 

Three podium finalists from each category will compete on the main stage of Bits & Pretzels HealthTech during the final on June 20. Our runners-up are invited to the final to have the opportunity to pitch on a side stage. 

BioTech 

Podium finalists: 

ImmunyX (Israel): is developing next generation drugs for immune modulation with a focus on neutrophils (white blood cells which help fight infection) in chronic disease. 

MediSieve (England): has developed magnetic blood filtration, a revolutionary platform therapy that enables the physical removal of specific substances from the bloodstream of patients. 

StemSight (Finland): Develops off-the-shelf cell therapies for unmet medical needs in corneal blindness. 

Finalists (runners-up): 

Ablevia (Austria): develops therapeutics for the efficient and selective removal of unwanted and disease-causing antibodies. 

Ahead Therapeutics (Spain): fights autoimmune diseases with their breakthrough nano-tech platform with the aim of developing a therapy able to substitute chronic palliative treatment with definitive healing. 

Gate2Brain (Spain): develops therapeutics that efficiently cross biological barriers such as the blood-brain. Their platform uses peptide-based patented technology, applicable to therapeutic areas where biological barriers hinder the delivery and activity of drugs. 

One-carbon Therapeutics (Sweden): is tackling the most difficult to treat cancers, inflammation and autoimmune diseases by targeting the DNA damage response and metabolism using first-in-class drugs. 

MedTech

Podium finalists: 

Biome Dx (Austria): advances precision medicine through microbiome-based technologies that transform cancer detection and treatment. 

Chipiron (France): makes MRI accessible to all by building a new generation of small, light and portable MRI machines for a fraction of the cost. 

Time is brain (Spain): has developed BraiN20®, the stroke ECG, a portable medical device that enables real-time monitoring of brain viability from stroke onset and during the entire patient journey. 

Finalists (runners-up): 

MIMARK (Spain): is developing innovative in vitro diagnostics’ assays (investigative procedures in laboratory medicine) to improve the management of life-threatening gynecological malignancies. 

Omini (France): develops a new generation of connected blood tests to improve chronic disease management. 

FMT (Germany): has designed a medical device to save dental implants, increase quality of life and give patients their smile back.   

atro medical (Netherlands): is developing the first artificial meniscus for patients with chronic knee pain. 

Digital Health 

Podium finalists: 

Deepeye (Germany): is preventing age-related blindness by empowering ophthalmologists with an AI-based retinal therapy assistant. 

Longenesis (Latvia): Offers digital solutions to enhance data-driven healthcare and empowers patient engagement with privacy and ethics at heart. 

Surge (France): offers a diagnostic solution, that anticipates post-surgical complications based on pre-surgical analysis of a patient’s immune system. 

Finalists (runners-up): 

Legit Health (Spain): has created a clinical decision support tool that helps dermatologists with the diagnosis and severity measurement of skin pathologies using artificial intelligence (AI) to extract clinical data from pictures.  

Sycai Medical (Spain): has developed the only non-invasive device to assist in the early detection of pancreatic cancer.  

Viderai (Czech Republic): offers automated quantitative and qualitative retinal image diagnostics to be used by doctors as a clinical decision support tool. 

XUND (Austria): enables healthcare companies to easily build digital patient interactions, like symptom checks, or risk assessments and through this, focus their medical resources where they really matter. 

The EIT Health Catapult Finals 

Each team will now pitch their solution at the Bits & Pretzels HealthTech, where healthtech start-ups get to meet investors and EIT Health Partners from the worlds of business, research and education, and debate the most pressing topics facing our industry.  

The three Podium finalists in each category (MedTech, biotech and digital health) will compete for three prizes: €40,000, €20,00, and €10,000. One of the finalists will also win the “Alex Casta Audience Award”. This gives them 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. 

This year, the EIT Health Catapult has also joined forces with leading healthcare players in Europe to further support the most promising start-ups. Amazon Web Services (AWS), Astrazeneca, eg technology, Lusiadas, McDermott Will & Emery and Merck will award the Industry prizes providing the winners with their expertise and support. 

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

• AWS will offer promotional credits and consultancy to all semi-finalists. 
• Astrazeneca’s prize connects winners to its corporate teams worldwide for projects roll-outs. 
• eg technology’s most innovative products prize offers engineering support in product development to three companies. 

• Lusiadas Saude’s prize offers winners the opportunity of a pilot at the hospital group. 
• Mc Dermott Will & Emery’s prize allows three winners to benefit from hours of legal consultancy. 
• Merck’s emerging biotech prize offers their winner the opportunity to take their first steps towards clinical manufacturing together with Merck with Merck’s M Lab facility. 

Bits&Pretzels HealthTech will see our vibrant community of world-leading healthcare innovators come together to envision a long-lasting agenda for healthcare in Europe. The EIT Health Catapult Final and award ceremony will happen on June 20 on the mains stage. Learn more and register your interest.  

Applications are open for the next EIT Health Catapult Edition. Apply by May 2.