The CEE start-ups leading European healthcare innovation

A number of emerging Europe’s healthcare start-ups have been recognised at the Health InnoStars Awards, organised by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

The recognition places the start-ups – two each from Poland, Hungary and Latvia, and one each from the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Romania – at the forefront of European healthcare innovation.

“There is an impressive talent pool in this part of Europe, that has skills and knowledge to create and develop healthcare innovations,” said Monika Toth, EIT Health InnoStars programme manager.

Amongst the winners was BrachyDOSE, a Lithuanian team of experienced engineers and scientists offering a cancer treatment quality control tool that provides more effective and personalised treatment, while Femyo is a Romanian company created to cut the at-birth and infant mortality rate in Europe by half. The company seeks to achieve this by building the first digital health management organisation in Europe, to ensure that all subscribers give the best start in life to their children.

InoCURE, a bio-nanotechnology company from the Czech Republic, delivers solutions for life science and the pharmaceutical industry. Its product, DifMATRIX, is the first active 3D cell culture membrane that enables faster, reliable and ethical preclinical testing.

Hungary’s InSimu Patient is a medical case study educational app that provides learners with simulated patients, while Sineko, another Hungarian creation, is a platform that improves the efficiency and quality of medical documentation.

UVera is a Polish start-up which employs innovation and an interdisciplinary approach to provide skin protection against the whole spectrum of UV sun radiation, and Vigo, a Latvian start-up, develops a prescription rehabilitation guide that uses artificial intelligence to help people recover faster and more efficiently from a stroke by providing therapeutic guidance, practical assistance and tools based on cognitive behavioural therapy, in a smartphone interface.

“There are excellent science and talented teams being produced in Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean countries and Portugal,” said Nuno Viegas, business creation manager at EIT Health InnoStars. “InnoStars Awards provides start-ups from these countries with funds to further validate their health solutions, education on how to create a business plan and a chance to talk with investors and connect with expert mentors in other European regions that can share their network and experience.”