Novel catheter wins EIT Health InnoStars Awards

In a showcase of healthcare innovations in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, over 30 promising early-stage start-ups took to the stage on 24 November for the EIT Health InnoStars Awards Grand Final. 

The jury selected Shuttle Catheters, a team from Greece to take 1st prize at one of Europe’s most competitive accelerator programmes with catheter innovation with multiple life-saving applications. DP Innovation from Hungary with a pocket-sized smart nebuliser for inhaled drug delivery came second, while Medicud from Italy took third place with a medical device for treating wounds with a negative pressure dressing. 

For the sixth edition of the Grand Final, EIT Health InnoStars presented a broader portfolio of start-ups, from RIS Innovation Call teams that are at the beginning of their journey, as well as from Attract to Invest teams that are fully operational with a portfolio of clients. The 32 teams that took the stage all had the chance to compete for a special Public Award, and Media Award. 

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) is a major chronic disease affecting millions worldwide and growing due to an ageing population. The winning team’s technology addresses an unmet need for minimally invasive PAD procedures in roughly 30% of all chronic, severe arterial stenosis cases. Shuttle Catheters is developing catheter technology to enable minimally invasive procedures for crossing through severe artery stenosis, plugging arterial ruptures, and preventing gastric reflux complications. According to founders, this could mean savings of €7.5 billion for the European healthcare system and reduced morbidity rates, thanks to averted open bypass surgeries for roughly 300,000 patients.

Shuttle Catheters was one of 108 companies that applied for the sixth edition of the EIT Health InnoStars Awards, a competition for early-stage start-ups with a prototype or Minimum Viable Product from Central, Eastern and Southern European countries. 

In June, the 20 best teams received €25,000 of smart money investment, personalised acceleration and mentoring, as well as access to two bootcamps, where they had the chance to develop their business plans further. EIT Health also organised validation interviews for participants with potential customers, investors, and partners.

After presenting their advanced business plans, the jury selected 10 finalists and invited them to pitch their projects at the InnoStars Awards Grand Final. The finalists represented various fields in biotechnology, medical technology, and life sciences, ranging from a real-time monitoring device aiming at the traceability of transfusion blood bags and digital iron deficiency screener, to an advanced antibacterial wound dressing and ultra-personalised nutritional advice platform.

At the Grand Final on 24 November, the top three teams received prizes worth €25,000, €15,000 and €10,000, respectively. EIT Health also provides winners with networking opportunities with EIT Health InnoStars Partners, healthcare providers and investors. Among the top 10 start-ups, Italy was represented by four teams, Greece by two, while one each came from Estonia, Hungary, Romania and Czechia.

Mihalis Boutaris, founder of Shuttle Catheters, said: “The grant and the high-class training provided by EIT Health InnoStars experts have helped us move forward with our solution to enter the market very soon. InnoStars Awards is the best place to kick off the MVP and get an extra bonus – access to the biggest community of innovators, investors, hospitals, and other key stakeholders who are relevant for our project’s success.”

Second place was awarded to DP Innovation, a Hungarian start-up. According to the team the large surface area of the human lung, combined with its abundant blood supply, makes inhaled drug delivery one of the best routes for treating an array of disorders. The problem is that current inhaled delivery devices deliver less than a quarter of the active ingredient. Because of this, current devices cannot be used to deliver expensive or high-precision agents, such as insulin, antibiotics, or gene therapy, or replace injectables. Sprin, the start-up team’s solution, is a pocket-sized smart nebuliser for inhaled drug delivery. The device aims to help to deliver precision medication in a safer, more effective, and pain-free way. The company was awarded a €15,000 in funding.

Third place went to Medicud, and Italian team developing a medical device for treating wounds with a negative pressure dressing. The device aims to be used both to prevent post-operative infections as well as chronic wounds. The device is portable, wearable, and easy to use. The company was awarded €10,000 funding.

Tamás Békási, responsible for the InnoStars Awards programme, said: “InnoStars Awards is one of EIT Health’s programmes for early-stage start-ups. During the past six years, almost 70% of accelerated solutions in the programme have already been launched on the market. This underlines how valuable it is to invest in innovative biotech, medtech and digital health spin-offs and start-up teams discovered in the Central, Eastern and Southern European region. We provide teams with mentoring, validation, and networking opportunities to help turn their ideas into viable products and services that contribute to better healthcare and enable European citizens to live longer, healthier, and happier lives.”

This year, a special Public Award, and Media Award are also given to two high-quality start-ups. The winner of the Public Award is ApniWave, from Greece working on a smart screening device combining a sensor, an on-board computer and an AI-enabled software suite to detect obstructive sleep apnoea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) at home. The start-up team is awarded an exclusive media training course and communications masterclass. The team participates in the RIS Innovation Call, which is a programme supporting the development of local innovative healthcare projects located in moderately-progressing European regions.

The winner of the Media Award is Home Diagnostics from Spain with their home testing products, called Ailin. Their tests aim to help people have a scientific, rigorous, and personalised understanding of the state of their health. Based on test results experts provide recommendations and a clear roadmap to achieve an optimal state of health. The Media Awards winning team will join the EU-Start-ups Summit 2023 and receive special exposure at EU-Startups.com, the leading online magazine about start-ups in Europe. The team participates in Attract to Invest programme coordinated by EIT Health InnoStars that prepares companies from CEE and Southern Europe for successful investment rounds.