“It’s a dynamic sector,” says Nicolas Di Prata, investment officer at the European Investment Bank (EIB). He’s talking about health tech in Luxembourg.
Health tech covers a wide a range of products and services: there are digital health tools, medicine-sharing platforms, innovative medical equipment… even a company called VoiceMed whose technology is used to monitor respiratory health based on a person’s voice.
The kind of dynamism that Di Prata means relates to the flexibility and agility of the sector: the (at which Di Prata will speak on 17 January) was organised rapidly, yet features major public and private actors. He also points out that the grand duchy has taken an interest in the field and has created several initiatives in recent years, some examples being the , the House of Biotech and Luxinnovation’s dedicated health tech track in its annual Fit4Start program.
In all, Di Prata’s attitude about the future of health tech in Luxembourg is buoyant: “We truly, truly believe in it here [at the EIB],” he says.
Maturing ecosystem
In his role at the EIB, the investment officer is particularly interested in establishing links with young, local health tech startups. “There is a relative lack of respective awareness between the actors in the life science [sector] in Luxembourg and the EIB,” he says. “I’m not sure that all the participants are aware of the EIB’s innovative financial solutions--and to what extent they could benefit from [our] services.”
He explains that the field is still nascent in Luxembourg: “It’s going to be a long journey for the health tech industry.” As such, many young startups don’t yet qualify for the type of financing the EIB offers, which is (for instance) a venture debt product, i.e. a loan for an early-stage company offering liquidity during the time between equity funding rounds.
Startups’ perspective
On the other side of the (perhaps shrinking) gulf is Antonio Ken Iannillo, research scientist at the SnT and cofounder of WavyMeet, an innovative company that will soon incorporate in the grand duchy. In an interview via email, Iannillo confirms that Luxembourg is a good place for health tech companies: “[It’s] an attractive destination for startups seeking funding due to its strong venture capital industry and the government’s commitment to promoting innovation.”
When asked what could be changed or improved, he says: “Ideally, the government could provide additional support to health tech companies accelerating the inclusion of telemedicine services (such as the services that WavyMeet and other startups will enable) in the reimbursement system managed by the CNS.”
Arianna Arienzo, CEO of the startup VoiceMed, names two other changes to Luxembourg’s health tech ecosystem that she would like to see: “First, more seed funding to support the development of the startup before it reaches the market”--this would help them get clinical validations, for example, and tackle regulatory issues--“and second we would like the government to have a fast track for digital health apps, like DIGA in Germany.”
naturally takes time, but Luxembourg has done it before with, for example, the satellite and space industries. Listening to Di Prata, it seems that health tech is firmly on its way forward.
“If I have one mission tomorrow,” says Di Prata of his participation in the State of Healthtech conference, “it will be just to connect the dots… to be a bridge between the very dynamic ecosystem that I see now in Luxembourg… and our institution, which is very active [in this field].”