EIT Health welcomes eight new partners

EIT Health welcomes eight new Associate Partners from across Europe into our community. These new additions to the membership will enrich the EIT Health network by collectively bringing expertise, resources and opportunities in education, mental health, connected medical solutions, and diabetes management.

Jean-Marc Bourez, EIT Health CEO, said: “It’s a pleasure to introduce eight remarkable new Partners to the growing EIT Health network, residing from Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, and Spain.

Each new member brings unique expertise and innovative potential, strengthening our collective ability to deliver life-changing solutions across the healthcare spectrum. Their contributions will be invaluable as we continue to push the boundaries of health innovation and improve patient outcomes.”

On behalf of our Supervisory Board and everyone at EIT Health, we extend a warm welcome to:

• Decide Clinical Software (Austria), known for their cutting-edge clinical decision support systems to optimize Heart Failure management with voice-based technolog
• Fizimed (France), pioneers in digital health solutions and committed to women’s health
• HEKA VR (Denmark), building the future of mental health care thanks to virtual reality technology for medical training and rehabilitation
• IChF Institute of Physical Chemistry (Poland), renowned for their advanced research in chemical and physical sciences
• IDIVAL Valdecilla (Spain), dedicated to translational biomedical research
• Noah Labs (Germany), innovators in artificial intelligence and digital therapeutics
• The NIU Hungarian Innovation Agency (Hungary), champions of national innovation and technology development
• Obuda University (Hungary), a hub of academic excellence and research in engineering and health technologies

They join EIT Health’s collective of Europe’s leading healthcare actors including recent newcomers in March: BioRN (Germany), BioSaxony (Germany), Chiesi Group (Italy), Ontario Brain Institute (Canada), Terumo (Japan), Taijin Ltd (Japan), UniHA (France) and Paris Cité University (France).

About the Partners

Our Partners’ contributions play a vital role in advancing our mission to revolutionise healthcare in Europe and beyond:

decide Clinical Software:

Founded in April 2016 as a spin-off of the Medical University of Graz, Austria and JOANNEUM RESEARCH, a research and technology organisation located in Graz, decide Clinical Software specialises in solutions that support clinical decisions and processes. Their first product, GlucoTab, was developed into a market-ready product and successfully clinically tested before being taken to market. The GlucoTab system helps support nurses and doctors in the drug therapy management of patients with diabetes mellitus (Type II by improving blood sugar management workflows and automatically suggesting the correct insulin doses.

Dr. Peter Beck, CTO and Co-Founder, decide Clinical Software GmbH, said: “After a long period of extensive R&D, we are delighted to join EIT Health to explore new market opportunities and widen our network with healthcare providers across Europe.”

Fizimed:

Fizimed, based in Strasbourg, France, specialises in the development of innovative connected medical solutions. After initially setting out to develop a connected prosthetic knee, they discovered, after consultation with health care professionals, that with 3 million incontinent women in France alone, home-based pelvic floor exercises was a demand that had no solution. The result was the ‘Emy’ Kegel trainer, the first connected medical device to help women to strengthen and improve their pelvic floor muscle tone by providing contraction and relaxation exercises.

Emeline Hahn, CEO of Fizimed, said: “Thanks to EIT Health, we can deploy our projects in France and Germany at the same time, enabling us to grow on a European scale.”

Heka VR:

Beginning life as The Challenge Project, a research endeavour in collaboration with Region Hovedstaden, Region Syddanmark and Region Nord in Denmark, and funded by Innovation Fund Denmark and BioInnovation Institute, HekaVR is now at the forefront of ground-breaking mental health research and development, particularly for those diagnosed with treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Their focus lies in providing evidence-based therapies for patients suffering from auditory hallucinations, and through the application of cutting-edge virtual reality technology and real-time voice modulation, offer a novel and immersive approach to psychological treatment.

“We are excited to partner with EIT Health, in a collaboration that marks a crucial step in our mission to address the significant social, health, and economic challenges faced by patients with schizophrenia experiencing auditory hallucinations,” said HekaVR CEO, Simon Max Bloch Lajboschitz. He continued: “This condition represents a profound unmet need, and our initiative is poised to make a substantial impact. Our application to the Start-Up Driven Innovation Call is motivated by our commitment to advance Virtual Reality-based Avatar Therapy from its research and development stages to become a regular practice in mental health care services across the EU.

“This therapy offers a promising solution to a pressing healthcare gap, and with EIT Health’s extensive network and resources, we anticipate an accelerated expansion of our reach and impact. We are eager to leverage this partnership to maximize the positive outcomes for those most in need, ensuring our innovative solution becomes accessible to as many people as possible.”

Institute of Physical Chemistry (IChF):

Founded in 1955, the Institute of Physical Chemistry acts under the umbrella of the Polish Academy of Science and is the leading research institution dealing with various aspects of chemistry. It’s a hub for scientific excellence in educating the new generation of scientists, and hosts multiple interdisciplinary groups that work at the border of chemistry, physics and biology, that provide a vibrant environment in which new ideas from basic science to applications ae being developed.

Adam Kubas, Director of ICHF PAN, said: “For the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences (IChF), joining to EIT Health was a strategic decision. Several of our research teams work on fundamental research and technology applications in medicine. Being an active part of EIT Health network allows us to make real impact on improving our diagnostics capabilities and develop new therapies. For us, EIT Health is a platform that bridges basic science with market needs.”

Jan Guzowski, Group Leader at ICHF PAN, added: “As a research group developing new technologies for translational preclinical research, joining EIT Health opens new perspectives of close collaboration with market-experienced partners including pharmaceutical companies and leading medtech/biotech start-ups.”

IDIVAL:

Founded in 2014 by the Ministry of Health of the Government of Cantabria and the University of Cantabria, IDIVAL aims to develop applied biomedical research and innovation of excellence oriented to the transfer of knowledge, improving the quality of life of citizens by addressing the health problems of the population through prevention, diagnosis and personalised treatment of patients. Together with the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, where they are head-quartered, they are working to become one of the benchmarks in research, transfer and co-generation of wealth in Cantabria.

Dr Galo Peralta, Managing Director at IDIVAL, the Cantabrian Biomedical Research Institute, linked to the University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, said: “IDIVAL is very proud to be part of the EIT Health network as an Associate Partner. This membership represents a crucial step forward in our strategy of internationalisation and collaboration with companies. EIT Health gives us the opportunity to establish new connections with leading partners in the European healthcare sector, which will allow us to participate in large-scale innovation projects with a global scope.

We are confident that IDIVAL’s experience and knowledge, together with the support and opportunities offered by EIT Health, will allow us to generate new innovative projects in the health sector. These projects will focus on relevant areas such as immunology, oncology, and cardiology, with the aim of improving the quality of life of patients and contributing to the advancement of scientific knowledge.

Joining EIT Health has also allowed us to significantly expand our network of contacts with researchers, professionals, and companies in the healthcare sector. This network is a fundamental asset for identifying new opportunities for collaboration and for sharing knowledge and experiences. At IDIVAL we are convinced that international collaboration and innovation are key to tackling the healthcare challenges of the future. Therefore, for us, joining EIT Health is a firm step forward in our commitment to research excellence and knowledge transfer to the health sector.”

Noah Labs:

Founded in Berlin in 2021 by Oliver Weiss and Marcus Hott, Noah Labs is transforming remote patient monitoring into connected care. This collaboration between cardiology professors, healthcare system experts and experts in data science and machine learning has enabled Noah Labs to combine guideline-defining research with ground-breaking technology to create an environment where patients’ health can be captured, analysed and continuously fostered regardless of their location.

Oliver Weiss, Co-Founder & CEO, Noah Labs said: “At Noah Labs, we believe in the power of technological ingenuity to transform cardiac care. Our innovative approach, using voice-based ML software, allows us to detect heart failure symptoms earlier than ever before, ultimately saving lives and healthcare costs. Becoming part of the EIT Health community enables us to leverage a dynamic network of health innovators, accelerating our mission to build a better future in healthcare.”

NIU Hungarian Innovation Agency:

NIU’s goal is to make Hungary the birthplace of innovation, new inventions, start-ups and successful businesses by adapting to the changing needs of the innovation ecosystem. To do this they are cultivating a strong pool of pioneering entrepreneurs and researchers, simplifying access to international markets for SMEs and start-ups, and nurturing and environment driven by innovation what at the same time elevating the global visibility of Hungary’s ecosystem.

“For Hungarian innovative companies, it is of key importance to have extensive partnerships in European markets, as these can help them to successfully enter foreign markets, thus expanding the export capacity of the Hungarian economy. This is where EIT Health InnoStars can help, and this is why NIÜ decided to join the network,” said László Bódis, CEO of the National Innovation Agency. He added: “Our strategic goal is to help as many innovative Hungarian companies as possible to participate successfully in direct EU funding. EIT Health’s programmes, services and expertise offer a great opportunity not only to strengthen and share our innovation support capacities and open new perspectives for our partners, but also to strengthen Hungarian participation in EU programmes.”

Obuda University:

Obuda University is the second largest but highest ranked Technical University in Hungary with a reputation for the best quality research. It had seven faculties and three doctoral schools, one excellence centre, and eight research labs, and is involved with many international organisations and bilateral and international programmes. The fundamental mission of the University is to serve the interest of society, the economy and industrial partners through the transfer and constant development of high level knowledge and skills and innovation, and this is underpinned by fundamental values that include nurturing entrepreneurship, openness, tolerance, dialogue and diversity.

“One of our most important goals is to increase the international recognition of Óbuda University. By joining the EIT Health, we aim to expand our network of contacts through collaborative projects, seeking partnerships with universities and businesses within the EIT Health community.” explains Dr Gyula P Szigeti, associate professor at the Institute of Biomatics and Applied Artificial Intelligence at Óbuda University.

This article was first published on 19 September by EIT Health.