EIC and Johnson & Johnson Investor Day in Paris

On 13 November 2024, the European Innovation Council, Johnson & Johnson Innovation and Bpifrance EuroQuity convened an Investor Day at the Janssen offices on Parisante Campus. The event showcased 20 EIC Accelerator-backed companies to an audience of more than 100 participants. The format combined jury selection, rehearsals, company pitches and networking designed to accelerate investor introductions for early stage health innovators across biotech, medtech and digital health.

Format, selection and who was on stage

Organisers received applications from hundreds of EIC awardees and invited 20 companies to present after a selection by a 26-member investor jury. The event included rehearsals, a live pitching session and an award ceremony attended by senior representatives from EISMEA, Bpifrance and Johnson & Johnson. The stated aim was to provide investor exposure, gather feedback and create potential commercial or financing relationships.

Who came to listen and judge

Organisers said more than 40 investors, corporates and business partners took part. The jury and attending investors included a broad cross section of European venture capital firms, corporate venture arms, public investors and sector specialists. The stated objective for attendees was to identify European, investor-ready opportunities across pre-seed to Series A stages.

What founders said they gained

Organisers and some company leaders emphasised benefits that go beyond immediate capital. Company representatives described better access to tailored services from the EIC, introductions to new investors and cross-border knowledge exchange. Several award winners and participants underlined that EIC support acted as an inflection point in their development.

Investor perspectives quoted at the event reinforced the message that curated deal flow and readiness screening are valuable. Rika Christanto of LifeX Ventures said the cohort represented companies that appeared venture ready in pre-seed to Series A stages. Sergio San Agustín of Clave Capital emphasised that capital alone is not enough and that access to a high quality pan-European network is a material advantage for portfolio companies.

Organisers, programmes and stated aims

The event was organised under the EIC Investor Readiness and Outreach Programme and operated with EuroQuity, Bpifrance’s matchmaking platform. Johnson & Johnson Innovation hosted the Investor Day at its offices. The EIC programme is part of the Business Acceleration Services rollout that aims to support EIC Accelerator awardees with mentoring, benchmarking, pitch coaching and investor matchmaking.

Critical context and limitations

Investor Days and curated pitch events are valuable to ecosystem building but they are often optimised for visibility and introductions rather than for immediate deal closure. The article published by organisers uses language such as 'resounding success' and highlights awards and winners, but provides no data on signed term sheets, amounts committed, or follow-on funding that directly resulted from the day.

For early stage healthcare companies, the path from investor introduction to closing an institutional round is long. Obstacles include clinical validation timelines, regulatory risk, manufacturing scale up, IP clarity and reimbursement strategy. Networking events address some of these gaps, but founders still need robust translational plans and a lead investor to coordinate rounds.

What founders should expect from these events

Founders should treat Investor Days as an efficient way to get curated feedback, test a pitch, expand their investor pipeline and secure follow up meetings. They should not expect immediate funding at the event. Success metrics to track after the event include number of serious follow up meetings arranged, NDAs or term sheets issued, pilot or pilot funding commitments, and introductions to later stage capital.

Practical takeaways and recommendations

1) Use EIC BAS and similar programmes strategically. Apply coaching and benchmarking feedback to sharpen regulatory and commercial narratives. 2) Convert warm introductions into concrete next steps within two to four weeks after the event. 3) Prepare data rooms that address regulatory pathway, IP position, key milestones and burn rate so that interested investors can move quickly. 4) Seek one or two lead investors rather than many small expressions of interest, because healthtech and biotech rounds require coordination and validation from a credible anchor.

Concluding assessment

The EIC and Johnson & Johnson Investor Day in Paris brought together a broad and relevant group of European health innovators and matched them with institutional and corporate investors. The event reaffirmed established strengths of the EU innovation ecosystem, namely public funding programmes, national matchmakers and global corporate partners working together to surface early stage opportunities. The organisers and participants highlighted the intangible value of coaching and networking. At the same time, the public reporting stopped short of demonstrating direct financing outcomes. Measuring the long term impact of such events will require transparent follow up metrics on deal flow, signed investments and pilot agreements attributable to the Investor Day.