The fourth edition of the annual EIT Health Summit was a massive event held on December 2nd and 3rd 2019 in Paris focused on healthcare innovation.
The event brought together over 1000 participants across the healthcare ecosystem including industry leaders, investors, venture capitalists, and academia to discuss creating innovation that meets both current societal needs yet is future-proofed through several panel discussions, activities, projects exhibitions and startups competitions.
This year, the Accelerator of EIT Health presented its supported startups during the Startup Village and rewarded top startup projects in competitions such as the European Health Catapult and the Investor Network.
And now let us look back together at the best moments of the programme designed for the Accelerator:
The Startup Village: +80 European startups showcased their project
As part of the EIT Health Summit, early to late-stage health startups were handpicked by accelerator programme managers to address the audience at the StartUp Village.
Over two days of the Startup Village, representatives from more than 80 European startups took questions from participants including potential investors! Have a look to the full list of participants in their Startup Booklet here.
The EHC competition: the final stage of one of the best European competitions for startups
As part of its activities, the Accelerator organises a programme which provides startups with major investor visibility and access to financing. The European Health Catapult was developed for startups and SMEs looking for Series A funding to equip them with advanced tools and networks for financing and market expansion.
Every year at the EIT Health Summit, the European Health Catapult reaches its climax at the European Health Catapult Grand Finale, where 21 finalist startups compete for the top 3 spots among the digital health, bio-tech, and med-tech categories.
This year, the top nine European startups were awarded over €100K of prize money combined!
The 3 first places went to:
- SparingVision: A French bio-tech company that has developed SPVN06, a breakthrough treatment of Retinitis Pigmentosa, an orphan, blinding inherited retinal disease.
- PK Vitality (MedTech): K’Watch, the world’s first diabetes smartwatch that measures glucose level in continuous mode.
- Epihunter (Digital Health): A Belgian startup that creates digital solutions that decrease the impact of epilepsy on daily life.
The Investors Network: the first pan-European network of investors specialised in healthcare
The Investor Network is yet another programme organised by EIT Health in partnership with Angels Santé, a network of healthcare business angels and investors. The Investor Network programme addresses the issue of early-to-late development stage fundraising across Europe to conquer health markets faster and more efficiently.
This year, EIT Health and Angels Santé showcased 10 startups from the Investor Network programme to participate in a special pitch competition during the summit.
The competition was sponsored by La Fondation de L’Avenir, a French non-profit in medical research and its partner Matmut, a major French insurance. Among 10 candidates, this year’s jury panel awarded the Avenir Matmut Award to the startup Limnopharma, which develops therapies for retinal diseases.
The Investor Network programme is open for application so contact them if you’re a startup looking for funding +€500K!
Join the EIT Health Accelerator!
The goal of the EIT Health Accelerator is to support healthcare entrepreneurs at every business stage. Many of the Accelerator programs open their applications early 2020 including bootcamps in Europe, Headstart Funding programme, or the next European Health Catapult. So whether you’re an early-stage startup looking to network and support from mentors, or a late-stage startup hoping to gain access to European markets or find investors, visit their website for further information about the application process! Also make sure to follow them on Twitter & Linkedin.