The European Institute of Innovation and Technology in Health, EIT Health, announced a few days ago the startups that have been selected in the second call for Bridgehead. This program aims to help entrepreneurs who develop innovative health solutions to expand their business in other international markets and to get in touch with incubators or accelerators that are part of the EIT Health network.
In the second annual call, 24 projects have been selected, of which four come from Spanish startups: ABANZA Tecnomed, Bitbrain, BV Medical Technologies and HumanITcare. EIT Health will put them in contact with various organizations or clusters, known as “catalysts”, which will help them land in new markets quickly and decisively. In addition, the catalysts make their local networks of partners and customers available, as well as their infrastructure and knowledge of the new regulatory systems, so that the entry into the new markets takes place.
The four Spanish startups have been selected when considering them emerging companies that offer innovative and transformative products or services in biotechnology, medical technology or digital health, having demonstrated ingenuity in their solution, business model, as well as traction already achieved in the Spanish market.
The program is divided into two categories: Bridgehead Europe and Bridgehead Global. The first aims to promote the expansion of startups in new European markets through partners of the EIT Health network that have local knowledge. On the other hand, Bridgehead Global is intended to help entrepreneurs enter new global markets, such as the United States, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, among others.
Cristina Bescós, general director of EIT Health Spain, comments that “andIt is important for start-ups to think about international expansion from the start. The Bridgehead program is designed for startups that already have business capacity in their local market but have a clear international ambition. The extensive network of EIT Health partners allows landing in a new market in the hands of experts in the field who open the doors of health centers, clusters, companies, and foreign investors ”.
The success of Spanish startups
The Spanish companies and solutions that are part of the second call of the Bridgehead program are:
Bridgehead Europe
- Bitbrain (Zaragoza): Bitbrain is a brain technology company that combines neuroscience, artificial intelligence and hardware to develop high-tech EEG brain detection devices and other human monitoring technologies, along with software solutions for real-world applications and research.
- BV Medical Technologies (Barcelona): BV Medical Technologies is a company focused on the development of medical products and innovative methods that provide comprehensive multi-technology engineering solutions to the ideas of healthcare professionals.
Bridgehead Global
- HumanITcare (Barcelona / Valencia): HumanITcare is a remote monitoring platform that allows the doctor to follow different biomarkers and vital signs of the patient, including heart rate, blood pressure, weight, oxygen saturation, sleep quality, temperature and glucose levels.
- Abanza Tecnomed (Navarra): Abanza is a company specialized in soft tissue repair through the development of new surgical techniques, medical devices and instruments.
In the last three years, the presence of Spanish startups in the Bridgehead program has been continuous. Since 2019, 35 Spanish companies have received support from incubators and accelerators of the EIT Health network to land and realize their ambitions in other international markets.
