Scandinavian startups receiving in total up to 700 000 euros in funding

89 startups from across Europe of which 14 are based in Scandinavia are selected for support to accelerate the development of promising health solutions.

Headstart is set up to help startups getting closer to market, receive clinical verification, evaluate patient need and benefit of their product or service as well as attracting further private investment. Through EIT Health’s network, the companies will make valuable contacts within EIT Health’s innovation ecosystem and will receive financial support of up to €50 000 each.

This year the scope of Headstart was expanded to assist in the immediate need for solutions to combat COVID-19. 3 startups from Scandinavia were selected for the focused COVID-19 Headstart programme.  Corti ApS and Let Leg ApS from Denmark and Documental Ltd from Estonia are developing products and services helping to contain, treat and manage COVID-19.

The 14 startups are spread across EIT Health Scandinavia’s regions, 9 from Denmark, 3 from Sweden and 2 from Estonia. They develop products and services within Digital Health, Biotech and Medtech. The funding they receive will be used to address the development of solutions to improve the lives of European patients and citizens in areas of high unmet need. This year a record number of almost 90 Scandinavian startups applied.

“The Headstart program helps jump-start the most promising startups in the field of health in Europe. We are especially proud to also be able to incorporate an additional category this year to offer support for solutions for COVID-19 and we are thrilled by the many applications in this category” says Christos Vaitsis, Business Creation Manager at EIT Health Scandinavia.

A23 Lab from Sweden who participated in the Hedastart programme last year is now part of the large-scale COVID-19 testing authorised by the Public Health Authority in Sweden and have redirected testing from prostate cancer to COVID19 testing. Oncodia, another Headstart funded company from last year, has increased their customer base in molecular pathology in the Nordic and Baltic countries by acquiring the assets of ExScale Biospecimen Solutions AB.

“These startups have very innovative solutions and I am proud that we are able to support them and help them accelerate their development and time to market for their products and services. In the long term, we believe that they will be able to significantly improve the lives of patients and citizens.” says, Erik Forsberg, Managing Director, EIT Health Scandinavia.

The Selected startups are:

Selected startups with COVID-19 focus

Corti ApS (Denmark): provides AI-powered solutions for the COVID-19 pandemic, using an analysis of more than 100,000 patient interviews to create platforms for areas such as home assessment and monitoring, pandemic mapping and triage assistance.

Documental Ltd (Estonia): transforms current mental healthcare with remote services and decision support tools to be more responsive to population needs for better access to care and address special mental needs during the pandemic.

Let Leg ApS(Denmark): creates science-based activities that promote mental, physical, and social health among sedentary workers. Pleaz is a digital platform that helps companies implement fun and healthy active breaks during a workday – especially in meetings.

Selected startups

Hi Rasmus Aps (Denmark): democratising autism treatment for children, regardless of their location, with a digital platform that provides access to the leading treatment programmes and specialists wherever the child is.

Invivopower AB (Sweden): provides a transcutaneous energy link that can be created at the body surface without breaking the bacterial skin barrier, making it possible to transfer energy into the body with almost the same energy efficiency as a percutaneous cable, but without the cable´s risk of infection. It has applications for ventricular assistive devices and total artificial hearts.

Moligo Technologies AB(Sweden):Moligo Technologies, using its proprietary enzymes based approach, produces DNA strands with unprecedented purity, length and scale, essential to bring gene editing, DNA therapeutics and diagnostics to a clinical and industrial level.

NaviBlind IVS (Denmark): enables blind and visually disabled people to easily walk from A to B on their own without the aid of a sighted instructor. The service is delivered through a GPS accessory and a mobile app, which guides the user to their destination.

Nursebeam OÜ (Estonia): offers a phone-based medical chatbot that provides travellers with instant access to healthcare anywhere.

Paragit Solutions (Denmark): offers a wearable companion diagnostic tool for Parkinson's disease. Paragit Sleeve can passively and non-invasively gather crucial data regarding the patient’s cardinal symptom in the comfort of their own home. It can produce an objective assessment that helps neurologists provide a holistic picture of the patient's everyday life.

PrOxi Biotech ApS(Denmark): develops next generation vaccines for multi-resistant bacteria. Their novel BACTOVAC platform technology aims to overcome the main barriers to traditional vaccine development technology, enabling market entrance of urgently needed vaccines targeting antimicrobial resistant bacteria.

Resitu AB (Sweden): offers a revolutionary approach to tumour biopsies by combining biopsy with tumour removal, without surgical intervention. The solution aims to save precious healthcare time and cost and allow for faster patient recovery.

SYNCSENSE ApS (Denmark): develops the next generation of virtual reality therapeutics. Exercises guided with virtual reality enable caregivers to deliver personalised treatment and empower patients to take control of their age- and inactivity-related diseases.

VulCur MedTech ApS (Denmark): develops an advanced laser technology for killing bacteria in chronic wounds to prevent amputations in elderly and diabetic patients.

WARD 247 (Denmark): develops 24/7 monitoring of hospitalised patients with advanced AI interpretation of vital signs, allowing medical professionals to intervene earlier, and prevent unexpected critical complications.

SOURCE: EIT Health Scandinavia