Spanish startup Time is Brain wins European EIT Health Catapult competition

• Spanish start-up, founded by neurologists from Germans Trias Hospital in Badalona, has created BraiN20®, a portable device that improves the diagnosis and prognosis of patients who have suffered an acute ischemic stroke. 
• Time is Brain will receive a prize of 40,000 euros, along with training, support, and access to international experts and investors to continue their development. 
• The EIT Health Catapult 2023 awards recognise the best European start-ups in biotechnology, medical technology, and digital health. In its seventh edition, the competition has supported over 200 start-ups and has a community of more than 400 investors and 2,500 healthcare professionals. 

The Spanish biotechnological start-up Time is Brain has been awarded the top prize in the MedTech category of the EIT Health Catapult 2023 competition. The programme, whose aim is to boost European start-ups in the health sector, was created by EIT Health. 

Founded by neurologists from Germans Trias Hospital in Badalona (Barcelona), the start-up has designed BraiN20®, a device that monitors brain activity through the recording of electrical activity from the onset of an acute stroke throughout the entire care process. 

According to the CEO and co-founder, Alicia Martínez Piñeiro, “Thanks to BraiN20®, it is possible to make an early diagnosis for patients who will respond to mechanical thrombectomy and provide brain monitoring during and after treatment.” 

“The support of EIT Health has been crucial for our development, from initial funding to being recognised as semifinalists in the Catapult competition in the medical technology category in 2022, and assisting us in obtaining the EIC Accelerator. This funding will enable us to carry out the validation of BraiN20®, its industrialisation, obtaining the CE marking, and achieving product commercialisation,” adds Martínez Piñeiro. 

Time is Brain has won in the ‘Medical Technology’ category and will receive a prize of 40,000 euros, as well as training, support, and access to experts and healthcare professionals, international investors, and European visibility. 

The winners were announced in Munich during the Bits&Pretzels event, one of the largest HealthTech and biotechnology start-up events in Europe. 

According to Izabel Alfany, interim managing director of EIT Health Spain: “We are very proud that Time is Brain has been recognised among the best-emerging start-ups at the European level. Once again, the great potential for innovation and entrepreneurship in our country is being rewarded. At EIT Health Spain, we continue to strongly support Spanish start-ups in their mission to transform European healthcare.” 

Catapult: boosting Europe’s most innovative start-ups 

EIT Health Catapult, an initiative by EIT Health, aims to accelerate the growth of European health start-ups by providing them with access to experts and investors. 

The competition has already supported more than 200 start-ups, with a supportive community of more than 400 investors and 2,500 healthcare professionals backing the programme.  

Catapult is part of EIT Health’s extensive Acceleration portfolio, recognised as one of the top 5 public-private accelerators in the world, according to the 21-22 UBI Global global report. The initiative is dedicated to elevating a fresh generation of companies capable of delivering transformative solutions to health challenges faced by Europe’s citizens.