2nd June 2023
We are excited to introduce the start-ups selected for the EIT Health Austria Catapult Pitch Competition!
The competition will take place on 6th June at the Health Innovation Summit during ViennaUP’23. The participants will pitch in front of a jury of investors and industry leaders from the health care industry. Only the best three companies will continue their Catapult journey and get access to the European Semi-finals in Munich.
Meet the Austrian Catapult Start-ups:
Healthtech Category
AVVie: AVVie GmbH was founded in 2018 to focus on the development of novel minimally invasive implants to address a prolific heart valve condition affecting millions worldwide. AVVie’s solution is based on a minimal invasive transvascular approach, reconstructing coaptation between the augmented posterior and the natural anterior leaflet. The implant is designed to be easy to use, safe, and efficient, providing a shorter, low-risk intervention, significantly improving patients’ recovery, reducing hospitalization, and providing cost reductions for health care providers.
Brightmind.AI: Brightmind.AI brings clinically proven, self-learning brain stimulation to everyday life. Starting by addressing a literal pain point, migraines, Brightmind.AI’s neuromodulation approach has been shown to be dramatically more effective than currently available solutions, without the side effects of pharmaceuticals. Brightmind.AI’s solution will be leveraged in a range of neurological applications, including broader pain treatment, depression, and dementia.
Lumetry Diagnostics: Lumetry offers the first home monitoring solution to track pCO2 toxicity in lung patients’ blood via breath gas analysis. Finally, giving patients at risk suffering from diseases such as COPD, an objective & easy to use solution, more self-control and a reduced fear of hospitalization. Lumetry has promising pre-clinical data as well as an ongoing clinical pilot study with approximately 200 patients taking place right here in Vienna. The team behind the solution has multiple years of experience in respiratory analysis, data science, biomedical engineering, cloud computing, business development and more. Together the team aims to provide the number one lung disease platform and thereby bring the most reliable lung monitoring solution to patients’ homes.
Occyo: Occyo aims to radically change the future of ocular surface disease management by introducing the patented Cornea Dome Lens (CDL) ocular surface imaging system. The novel medical device dramatically shortens, digitizes and simplifies the workflow of ocular surface documentation. It provides for the first time a widefield, single-image capture of the visible curved surface of the eye.
Saphenus Medical Technology: Saphenus Medical Technology was founded in Austria in 2016 and has spent years researching the world’s first sentient prosthesis with leading scientists. In 2021, the first user was equipped with the sentient prosthesis. Saphenus Medical Technology cooperates with leading institutions in Austria and Germany and makes a significant contribution to making basic knowledge rapidly available to patients.
SOMAREALITY: SOMAREALITY develops eye-tracking based neurological and cognitive biomarkers for real-time monitoring and prediction. Their goal is to enable neuropsychological insights for anyone, anywhere.
Life Science Category
G.ST Antivirals: G.ST Antivirals is a clinical-stage biotech company that applies an innovative host cell-based strategy to develop broad-spectrum antivirals against infections of the respiratory tract. The first product of G.ST Antiviral’s pipeline is a proprietary 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) containing nasal spray targeting upper respiratory tract infections (common cold). The product entered clinical testing in 2022 and is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 at the Vienna General Hospital, Austria. Two pre-clinical candidates are currently being evaluated in pre-clinical stage for prevention and treatment of virus-associated exacerbations in COPD patients and other highly vulnerable patient groups.
LifeTaq: LifeTaq leads the shift from animal testing to human 3D tissue models to test new drugs efficiently, ethically and quickly. With our automated tissue production unit called “Oli-MAT”, we provide a solution for the mass generation of uniform and physiologically relevant 3D models. Our customers from the pharma and cosmetic industry use them to mimic the human body early on during development to better predict potential efficacy and toxicity issues in humans.
THT Biomaterials: By reusing human placenta tissue, a so-called medical waste, THT Biomaterials offers an innovative platform technology with a goal to provide an affordable, sustainable, and personalized medicine. THT Biomaterials develops and commercializes human placenta-derived biomaterials for different applications such as 2D and 3D cell culture, organ-on-a-chips, and 3D bioprinting. Doing so, THT Biomaterials aims to enhance the translation of research into clinical applications and at the same time reduce and replace animal-derived materials in science (Directive 2010/63/EU).
Discover the Programme
EIT Health Catapult is a fast-tracking Europe’s best start-ups programme, introducing a unique competition and training programme that showcases life sciences and health tech start-ups to leading experts and investors across Europe. The programme awards the best business concepts, and fast-tracking start-ups to become part of the EIT Health Community of world-leading companies.
Throughout the programme, start-ups receive intensive training as they build their credibility and visibility through pan-European exposure. Finalists pitch at the Bits & Pretzels HealthTech event 2024 as they go head-to-head for cash and industry prizes.
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