EIC ePitching spotlights six cardiovascular and respiratory health innovators, with AdjuCor and Aortyx singled out

Brussels, February 28th 2024

Summary

›The European Innovation Council organised an ePitching on cardiovascular and respiratory diseases that featured six EIC-backed companies and more than 30 investors.
›AdjuCor and Aortyx were judged best pitches and are actively seeking follow-on financing, with AdjuCor seeking a €35 million round partially mirrored by the EIC Fund.
›Presenting technologies ranged from a non blood-contact circulatory support device to bioabsorbable endovascular patches and non-invasive stent monitoring tools.
›Investors praised the clinical clarity and quality of the pitches but urged companies to clearly articulate differentiation, competitive landscape and market evolution.
›The event was delivered under the EIC Ecosystem Partnerships and Co-Investment Support programme to accelerate co-investment and matchmaking.

EIC ePitching on cardiovascular and respiratory diseases: what happened and why it matters

On 15 February 2024 the European Innovation Council hosted an online ePitching session focused on cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. The session brought together a curated group of six EIC-funded companies and a jury of over 30 investors from venture capital firms, corporate venture arms and specialised life science funds. The event formed part of the EIC Ecosystem Partnerships and Co-Investment Support programme, a Business Acceleration Service designed to prepare EIC beneficiaries to interface with investors and catalyse co-investment alongside the EIC Fund.

Participants, format and outcomes

Six companies pitched short presentations to the investor panel and online audience, followed by Q and A and the option for post-event one-on-one meetings. More than 30 investors attended. AdjuCor, based in Munich, and Aortyx, headquartered in Barcelona, were selected as the best pitches. Both companies reported a high investor to company ratio during the event and said they expected the session to accelerate fundraising conversations.

Company	Headquarters	Core technology or product	Development stage noted at event	Funding sought or status
AdjuCor	Munich, Germany	reBEAT epicardial, pulsatile circulatory support device that avoids blood contact	First-in-human started June 2023, seven patients treated for feasibility, safety and performance	Seeking €35 million; €20 million by new investor and €15 million to be mirrored by EIC Fund or EIB
AMT Medical	Not specified in announcement	Cardiovascular device for minimally invasive coronary bypass surgery	Preclinical and device development, prior neurosurgery device experience referenced	Not disclosed
Aortyx	Barcelona, Spain	Endovascular bioresorbable and biocompatible patch to treat aortic diseases and dissections	Device development and early clinical pathway; company formation 2018 and team growth to 20	Series A targeted at €17 million
Healium Medical	Not specified in announcement	Dual-Mode Ultrasound Technology for non-contact continuous ablation using miniaturised transcatheter ultrasound	Technology development and preclinical validation implied	Not disclosed
Nimble Diagnostics	Not specified in announcement	Non-invasive rapid monitoring system for patients with implanted stents, independent of stent type or location	Prototype and validation stage implied	Not disclosed
Xeltis	Not specified in announcement	Polymeric implants enabling endogenous tissue restoration to form living vessels and valves	Clinical development programmes for hemodialysis access and cardiovascular replacements ongoing	Not disclosed

What the leading pitches proposed

AdjuCor reBEAT:AdjuCor has developed reBEAT, an epicardial device that applies synchronised pulsatile force to the heart from its outer surface. The company positions the device as mechanical circulatory support that does not contact blood. The rationale is to provide haemodynamic assistance while avoiding complications associated with blood contact such as thrombosis and bleeding. The company reported a world first first-in-human implantation in June 2023 and had treated seven patients for feasibility, safety and performance with what its CEO called 100 percent success so far. AdjuCor is seeking a Series B round of €35 million, with plans for co-investment by the EIC Fund or the European Investment Bank for a portion of the round.

Clinical and regulatory perspective on reBEAT:Epicardial, non blood-contact mechanical support is a distinct technical approach from intravascular pumps and extracorporeal devices. If durable and effective it could reduce the need for long term anticoagulation and the complications that come with blood-contacting devices. However the clinical evidence presented to investors was early and small scale. Investors will expect robust, statistically powered clinical data, clear regulatory pathways to CE marking and FDA engagement, and strong health economic evidence to support reimbursement in national systems. The transition from successful feasibility cases to broader commercial adoption is typically resource intensive and requires larger randomised or comparative studies.

Aortyx bioresorbable endovascular patch:Aortyx presented a small, catheter-delivered bioresorbable patch intended to repair holes or tears in the aorta such as those found in aortic dissection. The design claims to mimic the mechanical biomechanical environment of the aorta to support tissue regeneration, reduce reinterventions and lower mortality compared to existing devices. The company was founded in 2018, has grown its team from four to twenty people and is targeting a €17 million Series A. Aortyx was one of the two companies awarded best pitch at the session.

Why a bioresorbable aortic patch could be relevant:Conventional treatments for aortic dissection include open surgery and thoracic endovascular aortic repair. Both routes have limitations for certain anatomies and patient risk profiles. A small, biomechanically compatible, resorbable patch could expand the proportion of patients eligible for less invasive repair and potentially avoid the long term complications associated with permanent implants. The key questions are durability of repair, control of remodeling, delivery accuracy, and comparative outcomes against endografts or surgical repair.

Other technologies pitched and their clinical rationales

AMT Medical described a cardiovascular device designed to enable minimally invasive coronary bypass surgery. The firm points to prior success with a similar neurosurgical device that reached market in the US and Europe. Healium Medical pitched a miniaturised ultrasound-guided therapeutic platform for continuous, non-contact ablation. Ablation is a central therapy for many arrhythmias and new energy sources and guidance systems are an active area of innovation. Nimble Diagnostics offered a non-invasive method to monitor patients with implanted stents in under five seconds, a claim that, if validated, would be disruptive because current surveillance commonly uses CT angiography, catheter angiography or duplex ultrasound which can be resource intensive and expose patients to radiation or invasive procedures. Xeltis presented its endogenous tissue restoration implants designed to enable the body to form living vessels and valves while a polymer scaffold is gradually absorbed. Xeltis has been one of the better known European medtech teams working on bioabsorbable implant platforms.

Who was listening from the investor community

The investor jury included partners and representatives from a wide range of European and international life science and deep tech investors. Names listed included Amadeus Capital Partners, Apollo Health Venture, BioGeneration Ventures, Bionova Capital, Böhringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Bullnet Capital, Capricorn Partners, Eleven Ventures, Hadean Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Indaco Venture Partners, Invivo Capital, Karista Ventures, Kurma Partners, MIG AG, Novo Holdings, Panakès Partners, Pathena Investments, Peppermint Venture Partners, Supernova Invest, Turenne Capital, V-Bio Ventures, Vesalius Biocapital, Ventura Biomed, Xange and Ysios Capital among others. The presence of such a broad set of specialised investors aims to facilitate co-investment opportunities and syndication for follow-on rounds.

Investor category	Examples from jury list	Typical role at this stage
Early-stage life science VC	High-Tech Gründerfonds, Kurma Partners, Ysios Capital	Lead seed and Series A rounds, provide operational support and industry contacts
Specialised or corporate life science investor	Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Novo Holdings, Apollo Health Venture	Provide strategic endorsement, potential corporate partnership routes and late stage capital
Generalist and deep tech VCs	Amadeus Capital Partners, Supernova Invest	Support scaling, platform technologies and connections to non-health verticals
Regionally focused investors	Panakès Partners, Indaco Venture Partners, Bullnet Capital	Bring local market expertise and access to regional health systems and corporates

Investor reactions and practical advice

Investors who spoke after the event called the selection of companies high quality and diverse in their clinical targets. Barbara Castellano, Partner at Panakès Partners, said the session presented a coherent set of clinical needs across cardiovascular indications and that the pitches were timely and mostly well structured. Guillem Laporta, Partner at Ysios Capital, also praised the organisation and quality of companies and noted that Aortyx benefited from an immediate one-on-one investor introduction after the pitch.

Common investor feedback:Investors emphasised the importance of clear differentiation from competitors, a rigorous mapping of the competitive landscape including upcoming pipeline threats, and explicit articulation of next technical and regulatory milestones. Founders were also advised to present precise use of proceeds and to demonstrate how future market dynamics might evolve over the next decade. Strong, multidisciplinary teams and realistic milestone-based financing plans were highlighted as critical success factors.

Funding signals and what to watch

AdjuCor disclosed an active fundraising target of €35 million with plans for the EIC Fund or the European Investment Bank to mirror €15 million of the round. Aortyx is targeting a €17 million Series A. For both companies the investor encounter is a step towards larger rounds that will be needed to move from feasibility to pivotal clinical trials, regulatory approvals and reimbursement discussions. Early positive feasibility data as cited by AdjuCor are encouraging but not definitive proof of long term clinical benefit or commercial viability.

Context for investors and policymakers

Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Europe. The EIC has been positioning itself to bridge early public funding and private capital through the EIC Fund and associated co-investment activities. The Ecosystem Partnerships and Co-Investment Support programme is an attempt to professionalise matchmaking between EIC beneficiaries and targeted investors, and to increase the chances of blended finance outcomes. This event is one in a series intended to focus investor attention on a specific clinical vertical and to create concentrated matchmaking flows.

How EIC co-investment works in practice:The EIC Fund can co-invest alongside private investors in eligible companies that received EIC grants or other selection. Co-investment from the EIC Fund is typically conditional on private lead investor participation and alignment on valuation, governance and milestones. Public co-investment can reduce perceived investor risk and help attract syndicates. However co-investment does not replace the need for strong technical and commercial evidence, nor the requirement for clear exit pathways for private investors.

Risks, caveats and realistic timelines

A healthy dose of scepticism is necessary when evaluating early clinical claims. Small first-in-human cohorts are designed to assess feasibility and safety but rarely capture meaningful efficacy signals or long term complications. Medical devices face rigorous regulatory scrutiny in Europe and in the United States. Clinical scaling is capital intensive and payers will require robust health economic evidence before reimbursement. For devices that change standard surgical workflows, adoption barriers include training, hospital procurement cycles and competing technologies from established medical device incumbents.

Practical next steps and contacts

The selected EIC Fund companies were introduced to investors in the session and the organisers facilitated follow-up one-on-one meetings. The EIC programme manager indicated the next pitching event under the Ecosystem Partnerships and Co-Investment Support programme will focus on Sustainability and Deep Tech. For enquiries about the event or the co-investment programme contact investments@eicfund.eu.

Organiser disclaimer and editorial note

The information presented at the EIC ePitching session and in company pitches is provided by the presenting companies. Statements about results and future plans are their claims and should be verified independently. Early clinical results and fundraising targets are inherently subject to change. This article seeks to present the companies, investor responses and ecosystem context while noting the limitations of early stage data and the uncertainties that remain.