EIC and EPO converge on cancer innovation and intellectual property

The European Innovation Council and the European Patent Office signalled a closer working relationship in early 2024 aimed at helping disruptive cancer innovations move from laboratory to clinic. The organisations emphasised two linked needs. First, better support for high risk and potentially transformative technologies in precision oncology. Second, clearer and earlier intellectual property strategies to protect those technologies and make them investable and transferable to healthcare systems.

The webinar: who spoke and what was shown

On 1 February 2024 the EPO organised a webinar titled Combatting cancer: how innovation actors are changing the landscape. Iordanis Arzimanoglou, then EIC Programme Manager for Health and Biotechnology, presented the EIC Accelerator challenge launched in 2023 called Novel biomarker-based assays to guide personalised cancer treatment. Jan-Willem Van de Loo, a senior expert at the European Commission's Directorate General for Research and Innovation who is involved with the European Mission on Cancer, was interviewed during the event. The EPO used the occasion to demonstrate a new Deep Tech Finder tool designed to identify cancer researchers and their research areas in Europe. The recording of the session is publicly available and the event attracted a large international audience. Official counts vary but the published EIC note says the event attracted over 2300 participants from 65 countries while other EIC materials reference larger viewing figures.

What the EIC Accelerator challenge targets

The 2023 EIC Accelerator challenge described by the EIC aims to accelerate the development of biomarker assays that can be used to guide personalised cancer treatment. The goal is to fund preclinical validation and early clinical work by small companies and scaleups that are developing predictive, prognostic, companion diagnostic or monitoring assays. The challenge explicitly includes liquid profiling approaches commonly known as liquid biopsies and broader biomarker strategies intended to improve treatment selection, early detection of progression, and side effect prediction.

EPO Deep Tech Finder: a discovery and mapping tool

The EPO presented Deep Tech Finder during the webinar as a way to surface relevant researchers and research themes across Europe. The tool combines patent data and other sources to map who is working on particular technologies. For innovation actors this can help with partner discovery, landscape assessment and identifying potential inventors whose work could be important for a specific clinical problem.

Why patents matter and why they are not a silver bullet

Both EIC and EPO speakers argued that patents are important to protect the ideas of researchers and to make technologies investable and licensable. Patents can be central to start-up business models because they create exclusivity that investors and corporate partners can value. At the same time patents are only one piece of the translation puzzle. Clinical validation, regulatory approval, reimbursement pathways and manufacturing scale-up are often the more time consuming and expensive parts of getting an assay into patient care. Intellectual property can help with commercialisation but it can also create complexity. Strategic IP management is required and early patenting without a clear regulatory and clinical strategy can be wasteful for small teams.

Context in the EU innovation ecosystem

The EIC operates within the broader Horizon Europe framework and aims to back high risk, high reward technologies. The EIC Accelerator offers blended finance options in some cases mixing grants and investment and is supported operationally by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency. Other actors mentioned in EIC materials include the EIC Fund, the European Investment Bank when acting as adviser for investment due diligence, national contact points and the Enterprise Europe Network which can help winners scale and find additional support. The EPO brings patent examination, IP services and data tools into that landscape.

Analytical view and caveats

Closer coordination between innovation funders and IP authorities is a sensible and logical step. It can reduce some of the information asymmetries that slow early stage life science projects. Tools that help locate researchers and map technological clusters are useful for matchmaking and for competitive intelligence. However the value of these initiatives will depend on follow through and resourcing. The EIC challenge funding can help projects advance proof of concept and early clinical work but many biomarker candidates fail in clinical validation. Patents can protect a promising method but they do not guarantee market uptake. Market access for diagnostics depends on evidence generation, clinical guidelines, reimbursement decisions and hospital procurement practices which are not addressed by patents alone.

For SMEs the costs and timing of patent prosecution, clinical studies and regulatory conformity are frequently the toughest bottlenecks. Public instruments such as EIC grants and the EIC Fund can mitigate some of these obstacles especially when combined with business coaching and investor matchmaking. That is why tools like EPO's Deep Tech Finder can be complementary, but they are not a substitute for funding, clinical partnerships and a clear regulatory strategy.

Takeaways and next steps for stakeholders

The webinar demonstrated rising alignment between public actors on two points. First, they want to accelerate biomarker-driven precision oncology. Second, they see IP strategy as an integral part of early-stage translational planning. For companies and researchers these signals mean it is sensible to consider patents early but not in isolation. Applicants to EIC calls should pair IP planning with regulatory roadmaps, realistic evidentiary timelines and engagement with clinical partners and payers. Policy makers should monitor whether the combination of grants, coaching, IP services and investment results in more validated assays reaching patients and not only more patent filings.

For those who want to watch the event recording the session is available through the EPO and EIC channels. The webinar drew thousands of viewers and participants from dozens of countries which underlines broad interest. Reported audience numbers vary across published summaries which suggests organisers or partner sites may use different metrics for live participants and recorded views.

Practical checklist for innovators considering EIC funding and IP work

1. Map IP early but link it to a clinical validation and regulatory pathway. 2. Use tools such as the EPO Deep Tech Finder to identify potential collaborators and to understand existing patents. 3. Factor IVDR requirements into timelines and budgets for diagnostics. 4. Consider EIC coaching and national contact points for complementary support. 5. Plan for financing rounds that cover patent prosecution, clinical trials and reimbursement studies. 6. Use Seal of Excellence or other labels strategically when approaching national and regional funders.

The EIC and EPO collaboration is a promising development for Europe’s precision oncology ecosystem. The real test will be whether better coordination and new tools translate into validated tests that improve patient outcomes while remaining affordable and scalable across European health systems.