13 EIC-backed biotech firms head to Boston for EIC Immersive Programme as preparations intensify
- ›Thirteen EIC-backed life science and health start-ups will take part in an EIC Soft-landing Immersive Programme in Boston from 9 to 13 June 2025.
- ›The programme pairs tailored market briefings, warm introductions to Boston stakeholders and structured innovation coaching from MIT linQ.
- ›Selected companies received pre-departure onboarding and six targeted workshops covering pitching, leadership, legal and US market entry issues.
- ›The mission is timed ahead of BIO International Convention 2025 where additional EIC-backed companies will exhibit at the EIC Pavilion.
- ›Soft-landing programmes help open doors but do not substitute for the long, resource intensive process of regulatory approval, clinical validation and business development in the US market.
EIC Immersive Programme to Boston: what is happening and why it matters
From 9 to 13 June 2025 a delegation of 13 companies supported by the European Innovation Council (EIC) will travel to Boston for a targeted Soft-landing Immersive Programme for healthcare and life sciences. Organised under the EIC Business Acceleration Services, the mission is designed to help European innovators test market fit in a major US life sciences cluster, meet investors and corporate partners, and sharpen strategic decisions ahead of potential US expansion.
What the programme offers
The week in Boston combines market insights, curated matchmaking and structured innovation coaching. The EIC is partnering with MIT linQ to provide a medical innovation methodology and additional mentoring. The stated aims for participating companies are to identify unmet clinical needs, refine strategic choices and form connections with investors, corporates and clinical partners in the Boston ecosystem.
The delegation: 13 EIC-backed companies
The mission includes a mix of medtech, diagnostics and therapeutic developers. Descriptions below are drawn from the companies' own announcements and the EIC selection summary.
| Company | Country | Focus / brief description |
| ADmit Therapeutics | Spain | Blood test (MAP-AD) for early prognosis of progression to Alzheimer's dementia, aiming at personalised and precision medicine. |
| AkknaTek | Germany | Device (Lens Reviewer) for accurate assessment of intraocular lens tilt and decentration to improve refractive outcomes after cataract surgery. |
| BestHealth4U (BH4U) | Portugal | Bio2Skin medical adhesives intended to provide strong, reliable adhesion while being gentle on skin. |
| FineHeart | France | Cardiac implant technology (FLOWMAKER) for supporting patients with advanced mechanical heart failure; company describes itself as clinical-stage. |
| Hemispherian | Norway | Small molecule oncology developer. Lead asset GLIX1 targets glioblastoma and the company is preparing clinical development. |
| moveUP | Belgium | Digital health platform focused on patient experience, care coordination and efficiency gains for healthcare providers. |
| MYSPHERA | Spain | Automation and real-time location system to increase surgical throughput by coordinating staff and reducing downtime. |
| NETRIS Pharma | France | Developing NP137, an anti‑Netrin‑1 antibody aimed at overcoming resistance mechanisms in oncology; clinical programs underway. |
| Neogap Therapeutics | Sweden | Personalised cell therapy (pTTL) targeting neoantigens using proprietary PIOR and EpiTCer technologies; company presents itself as clinical-stage. |
| O11 biomedical | Germany | RESPILIQ, an ingestible approach claimed to lower CO2 levels in COPD patients by oral administration. |
| Surgify Medical | Finland | HaloSense-based tissue-specific bone removal system intended to improve precision and safety in bone surgery. |
| TILT Biotherapeutics | Finland | Clinical-stage oncolytic viral immunotherapy platform (TILT) designed to convert cold tumors to hot and enable T-cell responses. |
| Time is Brain | Spain | Automated brain monitoring solution intended to speed and equalise diagnosis and treatment for stroke patients. |
Preparation activities and coaching before the mission
EIC organised a virtual onboarding meeting on 14 April with the selected teams, EIC staff and coaching experts. In the run up to the immersion week the cohort received further coaching across six targeted workshops plus matchmaking activities to boost readiness for meetings in Boston.
| Workshop / activity | Provider / speaker | Purpose |
| Pitch training | EIC coaches / external pitch trainers | Improve clarity of value proposition and investor messaging |
| Partner networking strategies in Boston | Local market experts | How to approach stakeholder meetings and warm introductions in the Boston ecosystem |
| Leadership workshop | CEO of Spentys | Team leadership and growth management |
| Testimony: chronic disease therapeutics | MelliCell representative | Real world lessons from a therapy developer navigating clinical and commercial pathways |
| Innovation overview | Adrian Trömel, Rice Venture Fund | Investor perspective on technology translation and fundraising |
| Legal and financing considerations for US expansion | Legal/finance advisors | Practical guidance on US regulatory touchpoints, entity set up, and financing expectations |
Context: timing with BIO International Convention 2025
The immersion week in Boston is scheduled one week before the BIO International Convention 2025, which runs 16 to 19 June. The EIC is also running an EIC Pavilion at BIO where 15 EIC-backed companies will exhibit under the EIC International Trade Fairs Programme. Combining a targeted soft-landing mission with attendance at BIO is a common strategy to maximise meetings with investors and global partners.
What this programme can realistically deliver and what it cannot
Accelerator-style soft-landing and immersion programmes can open doors and compress early market discovery. They are particularly useful for refining pitch narratives, getting rapid feedback from local experts and arranging initial conversations with potential partners. However, they do not replace the longer work required to enter the US market. Clinical validation, payer reimbursement strategies, local regulatory approvals, manufacturing scale up and deep relationships with key opinion leaders remain necessary and often take years and substantial capital.
Practical guidance for EIC-backed teams heading to Boston
Based on the structure of the mission and common pitfalls for international expansion, teams should prioritise three actions before travel. First, define 2 to 3 concrete asks for each meeting and prepare a one page leave-behind summarising evidence and contacts. Second, map regulatory and reimbursement milestones relevant to their product in the United States and identify any gaps in evidence that US partners will ask about. Third, plan follow-up resources and responsibilities so that promising conversations in Boston can be converted into pilots, partnerships or funded studies.
How to follow the mission and contact EIC
EIC will publish updates on the EIC Community Platform and through the EIC Business Acceleration Services newsletter. Questions about the programme can be sent via the EIC Community Helpdesk by selecting the appropriate event category 'EVENT – EIC ITF Programme – Soft-landing Boston 2025'. The EIC also invites readers to subscribe to the EIC BAS Newsletter for future calls and services.