EIT Health and Biogen join forces to advance promising technologies in neuroscience

EIT Health and Biogen launch ‘neurotechprize’. Photo: EIT Health website.

• EIT Health and Biogen launch ‘neurotechprize’ to advance promising technology solutions addressing Alzheimer’s Disease from around the globe
• Teams selected for the programme will receive mentoring and acceleration support from leading industry experts and will pitch for €100,000 and €50,000 prizes 

EIT Health (part of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology) and Biogen today announced the launch of the ‘neurotechprize’, a programme to rapidly identify technological solutions to the growing challenge of Alzheimer’s Disease. Teams and researchers can apply now to be considered for one of the slots, which will see them working with experts to receive mentoring and funding to bring their ideas to patients and their families in the form of new products and services.  

Dementia, of which Alzheimer’s is the most common form, has become one of the most pressing health concerns of the 21st century and is now regarded as a public health crisis.1 In line with our ageing population, incidence of AD is growing – over 55 million people live with dementia worldwide, and forecasts project that this figure will rise to 78 million by 2030.2 While there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s Disease, early diagnosis and treatment can help to slow disease progression and manage symptoms. However, stigma remains a key barrier to diagnosis. Public health bodies and organisations across the world are working to improve diagnosis, and such improvements will require innovative solutions for the subsequent management of newly diagnosed patients.

“Alzheimer’s, alongside cancer, is our next big challenge following COVID-19. The pandemic has shown us clearly what can be achieved when science is put in the driving seat, and collaboration and focus are the words of the day. We must now use those lessons and the momentum to solve the devastating diseases that have been affecting us for a long time but will affect us much more acutely in the near future. Our experience tells us that while there are many great healthcare ideas waiting to be unlocked, the real difficulty is finding the right people and environments to deliver them to the market quickly and effectively. Direct collaboration between EIT Health and Biogen will give us all of the ingredients to foster, grow and test ideas, and rapidly commercialise those that can have impact,” said Jan-Philipp Beck, CEO of EIT Health.

Over a period of 10 weeks, teams will undergo an intense mentoring and validation process facilitated by EIT Health and Biogen experts. Following the work, teams will pitch their idea to an independent panel of experts, consisting of leading neurologists, patient representatives and payors who will award €100,000 and €50,000 prizes to the two best solutions.

“Through targeted start-up-collaborations, Biogen’s ambition is to combine the best in neuroscience and technology in one state of the art open innovation platform – Neurotech Labs. We are thrilled to join forces with EIT Health and, together, create value for patients which exceeds the sum of our parts,” said Dr. Wolfram Schmidt, Senior Vice President, General Manager of Biogen Germany.

To find out more about ‘neurotechprize’ and apply by 19th December 2021, please visit eithealth.eu/project/neurotech-prize.

This article was first published on 15 November by EIT Health.