Three d·HEALTH Barcelona projects present innovative solutions to other European biodesign programs

Mowoot, My-qup Medical and Hydrop, three start-ups created out of the d·HEALTH Barcelona program (a Biocat initiative), met on 24 April at Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) with former fellows from Bioinnovate Ireland (University of Galway) and Clinical Innovation Fellowships (Karolinska Institute) to share the projects they’re working on and the process they’ve followed after participating in their respective biodesign programs.

This event, with nearly 30 people from 13 different projects, was part of the EIT Health Innovation Fellowships. With this initiative, three biodesign and entrepreneurship programs –d·HEALTH Barcelona, Bioinnovate Ireland and Clinical Innovation Fellowships– aim to promote mobility and exchange among fellows through joint activities.

Of the projects presented, the first start-up from the d·HEALTH Barcelona program, Mowoot, was one of the fastest to reach the market. The company has developed a non-invasive, non-pharmacological solution to chronic constipation that imitates professional therapeutic massage, which it launched just over two years after finishing the program in late 2016. My-Qup Medical has developed a medical device to prevent fecal incontinence and Hydrop is working on hydration for hemodialysis patients.

Bioinnovate shared five projects (Proverum, Selio, Loci Therapeutics, Kyte Medical and Ostoform) and Clinical Innovation Fellowships, five more (Tada, Lara, Ortrund, Bowfinger and Amma).

The event started with a pitch session, in which each group explained their project. This was followed by a session in which the fellows shared their experiences with the biodesign process, identifying and defining needs, IP issues, developing and prototyping a product, clinical trials and funding.

They also spoke about collaboration activities within EIT and the opportunities EIT offers in terms of access to acceleration programs and financial aid. Additionally, at the end of the event, the EIT Health Alumni initiative was presented. This network will connect all participants in educational activities through the EIT Health consortium. 

This meeting of alumni from the three European biodesign programs was held under the framework of the MedTech Strategist Innovation Summit, a conference on innovation in technology and medical devices organized by David Cassak and held in Dublin from 25 to 27 April. The former fellows also had the chance to attend talks, take on new knowledge and scout for business or investment opportunities.

What is biodesign?

The d·HEALTH Barcelona, Bioinnovate Ireland and Clinical Innovation Fellowships biodesign programs put together multidisciplinary teams of fellows with previous studies in life sciences, engineering, business or design. These groups experience a whole innovation cycle, from identifying unmet clinical needs in hospitals to designing and prototyping viable solutions and, finally, searching for funding to create their own start-ups and get the skills they need for innovation and intrapreneurship activities in the life sciences.    

Applications for d·HEALTH Barcelona 2018 are being accepted through the end of June.