Celebrating collaboration to advance healthcare on Europe Day

Europe Day is celebrated each year on May 9^th to mark Europe’s achievements and unity, commemorating the signing of the Schuman Declaration on 9 May 1950 to secure long-term peace in post-war Europe.

The European Union stands together to tackle the most important issues of our time and build a better future for all Europeans. EIT Health works across borders to connect the three worlds of business, research and education to accelerate the development of life-changing healthcare products and services for patients in Europe. To mark Europe Day we at EIT Health Ireland-UK examine the importance of collaboration across Europe to advance the development of future innovative solutions.

Access to new markets, knowledge and insights

Ireland supports a vibrant health innovation community and has solidified its impressive position as the third biggest exporter of medical device technology in Europe. Ireland also plays host to burgeoning educational programmes that produce successful health tech entrepreneurs.

However, a unique idea and a qualified team isn’t enough to ensure success. Those at the forefront of health innovation can find their local market to be relatively small for testing and validation. In these cases, entrepreneurs need only look to European neighbours for collaboration opportunities to organise clinical trials in larger markets and draw on a wider pool of resources.

This approach allows for the adoption of tried and tested methods from abroad, introducing what worked successfully to the local market. Through collaboration with European researchers, academics, and healthcare professionals, a wealth of diverse knowledge on markets, stakeholders, and funding can be accessed.

Which future healthcare technologies are attracting investment in Europe?

The pandemic hit the accelerator on ground-breaking innovation. In 2021 $44 billion was raised globally in health innovation. This represents a 20-fold increase in 10 years, and is double the 2020 amount. How will these major investments affect healthcare for the average European citizen? Patient experience is set to be prioritised and optimised. The data-driven technologies being developed will:

1. Bring care home

Technologies that bring interactions away from reality and into the virtual world mean improved efficiencies in healthcare settings and enable greater attention to be paid to patients that require face-to-face care.

2. Use AI to improve patient care

Several technologies in development can scan electronic health records and proactively suggest to GPs and clinicians which treatments are required, empowering them to make data driven decisions.

3. Move from treatment to prevention

Predictive analytics can provide models for early diagnosis, thereby avoiding preventable diseases or delaying their onset.

EIT Health, Europe’s largest health innovation network

Within the EIT Health community, a framework from which co-creation can take place across borders exists. A diverse network of 130+ health innovation partners bridges knowledge gaps, builds consortia and develops these latest health technologies to attract European funding.

In Ireland EIT Health has enabled over 100 entrepreneurs, start-ups, and SMEs developing the above-mentioned technologies to scale into Europe. These medtech, biotech, and digital health start-ups have secured almost €200M in funding with more than €75.3M of that occurring in 2022.

If you’d like to find out about more about joining the EIT Health partner network, contact our team today.

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