EIC ePitching on MedTech highlights eight European startups as Nimble Diagnostics wins best pitch

Brussels, July 2nd 2024

Summary

›Eight European medtech startups pitched at the EIC ePitching on MedTech on 18 June under the EIC Ecosystem Partnerships and Co-Investment Support programme.
›Nimble Diagnostics won best pitch for a non-invasive stent monitoring device and is mid-way through a fundraising round targeting €12 million.
›CurifyLabs placed second with a system for on-demand personalised medicine manufacturing in pharmacies and hospitals.
›The session drew a high-level jury of European life science investors and generated more than 30 one-on-one investor meetings for participants.
›Speakers and investors stressed the value of EIC backing as a quality signal while highlighting the need for clinical evidence, regulatory clarity and viable commercialization paths.

EIC ePitching on MedTech showcases breakthrough solutions and investor interest

On 18 June the European Innovation Council staged an ePitching session devoted to medical technology. The event was run under the EIC Ecosystem Partnerships and Co-Investment Support programme, which is part of the EIC’s Business Acceleration Services. Eight companies from across Europe presented technologies that their teams describe as breakthrough. The session gathered roughly 40 participants and produced more than 30 one-on-one meetings between innovators and investors drawn from leading European venture capital firms.

The line-up at a glance

Company	Country	Technology focus	Stage or notable claim
AVVie	Austria	Implant to correct mitral valve insufficiency	Plans first clinical trial next year
CurifyLabs	Finland	Automated on-demand personalised medicine manufacturing for pharmacies and hospitals	Patented combination of technologies branded the 'Pharma Kit'
GO-Pen	Denmark	Affordable reusable insulin pen with user-fillable reservoir	Aims to make pen technology available at syringe-equivalent cost
Nimble Diagnostics	Spain	Non-invasive stent monitoring device that works across stent types and locations in under five seconds	Named best pitch; pilot underway; raising capital
Newronika	Italy	Active implantable Deep Brain Stimulation system AlphaDBS with closed-loop sensing	Device adapts stimulation based on recorded brain signals
Plas-Free	Israel / Europe listed as participant	Plasma filtration solutions for massive bleeding and ammonia removal	Devices intended to improve acute bleeding management
Porous	Germany	3D ultrasound diagnostic for early and accurate assessment of bone health and osteoporosis risk	Claimed X-ray-free approach to fracture risk assessment
STENTiT	Netherlands	Tubular implant that gradually becomes functional new-grown arteries	Aiming to transform vascular reconstruction

Highlights and winners

Nimble Diagnostics was named best pitch of the day. CurifyLabs took the runner-up position. Nimble’s CEO said the ePitching offered visibility, feedback and investor access that are material to closing the current financing round. The company held eight follow-up one-on-one investor meetings immediately after pitching and is seeking a funding ticket of about €3 to €4 million to lead a larger €12 million raise. Their first pilot study with 120 patients is ongoing and they plan a broader clinical trial next year that will include US hospitals.

Deeper look at select pitches

Nimble Diagnostics — the problem they target:Nimble focuses on patients with implanted vascular stents. Stents are among the most widely implanted medical devices worldwide and are used to reopen blocked arteries. The company highlights that a significant share of patients with stents develop life threatening complications because reblockage or structural problems often remain asymptomatic. Nimble’s device is presented as a rapid, non-invasive test that detects stent issues within seconds and is claimed to be independent of stent type or implant location.

Origins and evidence:Nimble’s technology emerged from a multidisciplinary partnership between the University of Barcelona’s Physics Department, which provided theoretical foundations, and engineering teams at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia that built and tested prototypes. The company reports an ongoing pilot of 120 patients and is planning further trials next year, including sites in the United States.

Fundraising and commercial traction:CEO Oriol Iborra Egea said Nimble is in the middle of raising €12 million. The immediate goal is to secure a lead investor to provide roughly €3 to €4 million to close the round. The company used the ePitching session to meet investors and refine its commercial and pitching strategy based on feedback.

CurifyLabs — concept and technical approach:CurifyLabs proposes a system to automate on-demand manufacturing of personalised medicines at the point of care, for example in hospital pharmacies. Their offering includes a device dubbed the 'Pharma Kit' and printable pharmaceutical 'inks'. The company says it has a patented combination of four technologies intended to deliver customised dosing, patient safety and mass customisation at lower cost than manual compounding.

Context and regulatory complexity:Personalised drug manufacturing in clinical settings addresses real unmet needs such as pediatric dosing and therapies for patients with rare conditions. However this approach encounters regulatory and quality hurdles. In the EU and member states, pharmacy compounding and on-site manufacturing must meet stringent good manufacturing practice rules and national pharmacy regulations that vary across jurisdictions. CurifyLabs’ path to scale will depend on clinical validation, regulatory acceptance and integrations with hospital pharmacy workflows.

GO-Pen — what it promises:GO-Pen pitched a reusable insulin pen with a user-fillable reservoir designed to let people draw insulin from vials rather than rely on higher-cost prefilled cartridges. The company frames this as a way to extend pen technology to millions who still use syringes because of cost constraints and to reduce stigma and dosing imprecision associated with syringes.

Newronika and AlphaDBS:Newronika presented AlphaDBS, an active implantable system for Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. AlphaDBS is described as a closed-loop deep brain stimulation system that records local field potentials while stimulation is delivered and dynamically adjusts parameters in real time to match patient needs. Closed-loop neuromodulation aims to improve efficacy and reduce side effects by tailoring stimulation to measured brain signals.

Plas-Free and plasma filtration:Plas-Free showcased plasma filtration technologies intended to treat massive bleeding and to remove toxic metabolites such as ammonia in conditions like hepatic encephalopathy. Their devices act on plasma components to reduce fibrinolytic factors or ammonia and are positioned as acute care adjuncts. Clinical evidence, integration into transfusion pathways and reimbursement will determine uptake in emergency and intensive care settings.

Porous and bone diagnostics:Porous promoted a 3D ultrasound approach to assessing cortical bone microstructure as an X-ray-free method to predict fracture risk and detect osteoporosis earlier. If validated in large cohorts, ultrasound diagnostics can reduce radiation exposure and potentially lower costs but must demonstrate predictive power against established standards such as DXA scanning and FRAX algorithms.

STENTiT and vascular regeneration:STENTiT proposes a tubular implant designed to gradually transform into functional, newly grown arterial tissue. Tissue-regenerating implants are conceptually attractive because they aim to restore native vessel function. Success hinges on long term biocompatibility, controlled degradation profiles and complex regulatory pathways for combination products.

Investors on the jury and their assessment

The ePitching panel included investment professionals from Eleven Ventures, Hadean Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Inveready, Panakès Partners, Pathena Investments, Peppermint Venture Partners, Redalpine, MIG Capital AG, Sofinnova Partners, Turenne Capital, and Zubi Capital. Jury members praised the quality of EIC-backed companies as a consistent source of new, tech-driven opportunities.

Turenne Capital perspective:Claire Poulard, Investment Director at Turenne Capital, said the companies stand out because they are working on breakthrough technologies and often come with data showing technology feasibility. She described EIC backing as a quality stamp while noting that many companies are 'almost there' for institutional investment and that Turenne maintains a watchlist to follow progress over six to nine months.

Hadean Ventures perspective:Yun Yang, Investor Analyst at Hadean Ventures, emphasized factors that attract investment interest. These include domain expertise, strong teams, clinical data supported by substantial evidence to convince clinicians and decision makers, and networks with key stakeholders. Hadean manages around €230 million and invests across healthcare verticals and stages.

What the EIC programme offers and what it does not

The EIC Ecosystem Partnerships and Co-Investment Support Programme expands the EIC’s Business Acceleration Services by building a network of sector-specialised partners. The initiative aims to help EIC beneficiaries access tailored services, prepare them to interact with investors and catalyse co-investment alongside the EIC Fund through matchmaking and dedicated events. Organisers position these sessions as mechanisms to increase visibility and investor readiness for high-potential startups.

How to interpret the EIC 'quality stamp':EIC selection and support can de-risk early technology projects by providing funding, coaching and access to investors. However EIC backing is not a guarantee of commercial success. Startups still need rigorous clinical validation, regulatory approvals, manufacturing scale up, payer and hospital adoption, and follow-on private financing to achieve market impact. Investors look for evidence of these next steps when deciding to lead rounds.

Investor signals and commercialization challenges

VCs at the session pointed to the same checklist that typically matters in medtech. First, convincing clinical data is central. Second, an experienced team with regulatory, clinical and commercial skills is required to navigate approvals and hospital procurement. Third, a clear regulatory and reimbursement pathway increases the likelihood of successful adoption. For many device companies the transition from proof of concept to scalable manufacturing and hospital roll-out is the most capital intensive and time consuming phase.

Realistic hurdles for the companies pitched:These include demonstrating safety and efficacy in statistically meaningful clinical studies, securing regulatory clearances in target markets such as the EU and the US, establishing manufacturing capacity under medical device quality systems, and building priced and funded distribution agreements. Fundraising conditions in the broader market also affect valuation and the availability of lead investors.

Event metrics and practical outcomes

The ePitching session involved about 40 participants and generated more than 30 one-on-one investor meetings. For winners like Nimble Diagnostics the immediate practical outcome included investor follow-ups and momentum for their ongoing financing round. CurifyLabs reported useful feedback on its pitch deck and investor introductions that could help with future fundraising and partner engagement.

Implications for the European medtech ecosystem

Events like this are useful nodes in Europe’s innovation ecosystem. They provide visibility, investor access and an early market testing ground for claims. The EIC plays a role in surfacing technologically ambitious teams and offering early-stage support. Yet the long tail of commercialization risk remains the responsibility of founders and their private backers. Translating EIC-supported prototypes into widely adopted medical products will require patient, well funded execution and strong clinical partnerships across Europe and beyond.

Contact and follow up

The EIC programme emphasises co-investment and investor matchmaking. For questions about the Ecosystem Partnerships and Co-Investment Support Programme, the EIC listed an email contact in the original briefing: investments@eicfund.eu. Participating investors included Eleven Ventures, Hadean Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Inveready, Panakès Partners, Pathena Investments, Peppermint Venture Partners, Redalpine, MIG Capital AG, Sofinnova Partners, Turenne Capital, and Zubi Capital.

Takeaway

The EIC ePitching on MedTech event highlighted promising European medtech projects and generated investor interest. Nimble Diagnostics and CurifyLabs emerged as the most visible near-term fundraising stories. The session reinforced the perception that EIC-backed projects are a meaningful source of investable early stage innovation. At the same time investors and observers stressed that clinical evidence, regulatory clarity and concrete commercial strategies will determine which of these 'breakthrough' claims become real-world solutions.