When it comes to lifescience and innovation, Italy has a lot to say. It has it in many ways: it is a very important industrial sector for the country’s economy, so much so that pharmaceuticals is the number one export item, and it is one of the sectors that investors consider strategic. Of course, investors who have decided to engage in this type of investment require in-depth knowledge and a lot of patience and time. Startups and scaleup lifescience are therefore the protagonists of innovation made in Italy, we need only recall that the first Italian technology company to be listed on the Nasdaq was precisely a scaleup lifescience, Genenta, which debuted in November 2021. In addition, it should be noted that the latest investments in start-ups in Italy relating to 2024 show that, by value, it is precisely the lifescience start-ups that have attracted the most capital: around EUR 300 million out of a total of EUR 1.5 billion (details here).
It is also a very important sector from a European perspective, and here we are helped by the fact that the company on the old continent with the largest capitalisation is a lifescience company, the Danish Novo Nordisk. These are just the peaks of an iceberg that is anything but hidden and that every day shows its strength both in terms of innovative capacity and in terms of its ability to attract funding, create jobs, transform research into innovation and thus into value for everyone: for the market, for investors, but above all for all those who benefit from these innovations. Lifescience is certainly biotechnology, research into new drugs, and it is also diagnostics, which is just as important as cures, because early diagnosis makes it possible to treat diseases better, cure them more quickly, ensure that patients live better and suffer less, and, last but not least, significantly reduce healthcare costs. Then there is well-being in the broadest sense: physical, mental, the growth of awareness of a healthier life, a better diet, sporting activity.
“Italy is experiencing a season of great ferment in the healthcare sector, and this is also thanks to the role of innovative start-ups, which are transforming medicine and the life sciences with cutting-edge technological solutions,’ says Chiara Maiorino, ecosystem lead for Italy at EIT Health. ‘When supported by a collaborative and multidisciplinary ecosystem, these realities represent a concrete example of how education, technology transfer and public-private partnerships can drive progress.
What are the Italian start-ups operating in lifescience and how do they innovate? Let us start with four that already revolve around the initiatives of EIT Health, which is the organisation operating under the umbrella of the European Institute of Technology actively supported by the European Commission. In particular, Paperbox has developed Dino, a B2B digital platform that supports specialists in the pre-diagnosis of possible diseases related to neurodevelopmental disorders. The system provides a series of tests that help diagnose possible problems at an early stage and is a tool that fully exploits the potential of digital technologies, thus replacing paper-based tests. Paperbox participated in the EIT Health InnoStars Awards 2024 programme, qualifying in second place and winning the €15,000 prize, and the start-up also received an additional €3,000 in the form of vouchers for the mentor and coach network (MCN) programme. Robota, which came third at the InnoStars Awards 2024, winning €10,000, instead specialises in the creation of robotic systems that automate the management and sterilisation of surgical instruments; the startup’s skills are also active in the development of robotic platforms that also operate in sectors other than healthcare. Then there is NIB Biotec, which works at the molecular level on the urine of patients in order to detect, again as early as possible, the possible onset of prostate tumours. The method developed by the start-up proves to be much more effective and reliable than the procedures adopted until now, and this company has obtained a contribution of 1.5 million euros from the Wild Card 2022 programme, participated in the Health longevity catalyst award and won second place at InnoStars Connect 2024, which earned it an award worth 25,000 euros. Then there is Restorative Neurotechnologies, which develops medical devices for cognitive rehabilitation by leveraging expertise ranging from neuroscience to biomedical research and digital tools that ensure high effectiveness and thus benefits patients by facilitating the work of healthcare professionals. Restorative was awarded EUR 50,000 through the Headstart programme in 2019 and a further EUR 75,000 through RIS Innovation Cal 2020.
“EIT Health InnoStars has a decisive role in harmonising and supporting this ecosystem: its partnership is in fact vast, distributed throughout Italy, and represents a network of excellence operating in healthcare that includes, for example, the University of Naples Federico II, the University of Turin, Synlab Italia, Synlab SDN, ART-ER, Chiesi Group, Hub Innovazione Trentino, Cluster Scienze della Vita – FVG, Value Services, Bio Industry Park Fumero. In addition, EIT Health InnoStars is a European body involving more than 150 partners, a platform connecting the most important European players in the healthcare sector, operating both in the public and private sectors,’ Maiorino continues. ‘To have a real impact on the market and society, start-ups in the healthcare sector need to be supported throughout their growth path, not only with funding or investment, but with the support of professionals from various fields: academic, industrial, regulatory and healthcare. EIT Health InnoStars universities, research centres, regional clusters and healthcare professionals collaborate with start-ups and SMEs through an integrated approach, which allows them to develop solutions in line with real market needs, promoting a transfer of knowledge and technology that fosters the adoption of these innovations”.
If we take a broader look at the panorama of Italian start-ups engaged in the lifescience and healthcare sectors, the list grows considerably. Some examples of those that have already found space in Startupbusiness columns include BetaGlue, which recently raised an €8 million round to develop its technology that uses radiotherapy to treat solid tumours, and Resalis Therapeutics, which is working on an RNA-based compound for the treatment of obesity; this company also recently received a new €10 million Series A financing. The Wise scaleup that has developed medical devices for neuromonitoring and treatment of chronic pain over the yearsWise recently received financial support worth EUR 25 million in which the European Investment Bank also participated, MicThera is a more early-stage start-up engaged in the treatment of oncological diseases and it too is developing thanks to an initial investment of one million euro that allows it to evolve its research, in the early stage also Sense4Med working on a device for early diagnosis of cystic fibrosisalready more mature and strong with funding in excess of EUR 60 million is AAVantgarde working on large gene transfer systems, a solution that can have various applications to treat different diseasesscaleup is initially focusing on eye and vision disorders, including Repron Therapeutics, which was established as a spin-off of the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan and the National Research Centre has already attracted the attention of investors and is working on an innovative epigenetic platform that aims to prevent recurrences in certain types of cancer, Tensive, biotech scaleup developing innovative solutions for female breast cancer survivors which recently closed a Series A funding of EUR 14 million. Another innovative solution is that of Ematik, which has developed a resorbable plaster designed to alleviate serious injuries such as sores, burns and ulcers by using a combination of the patient’s own blood and biopolymers that, thanks to 3D printers, can take on different shapes and adapt perfectly to the part to be treated. The use of additive manufacturing techniques, i.e. 3D printers, is becoming increasingly widespread in the lifescience sector, both to work on innovative solutions such as Ematik’s, which has been awarded a EUR 1,500 MCN voucher in 2020, or those supporting trauma treatment and orthopaedics, and to develop components to make medical devices more efficient and easier to manufacture. This trend is evident in universities, which are increasingly incorporating 3D printing and rapid prototyping courses into their medical school curricula.
Lifescience is not only research into new medicines or therapies but also preventive medicine such as that which Holifya that is highly customised because it is based on DNA testing or high-tech solutions such as those of Biovitae that eliminate viruses and bacteria with the use of light, thus bringing sanitisation wherever it is needed or as Sestre developing supplements designed to meet women’s health needs especially in relation to fertility and hormonal dysfunctions or even Balanced, an early-stage start-up from venture builder Mamazen that has developed a programme that enables anyone to lose weight and improve the quality of their nutrition daily. Broadening the field further, one can also consider start-ups that exploit digital tools to make the relationship between doctor and patient easier and to improve access to care, as DoctorApp does for example, or those working to improve agriculture and animal husbandry, i.e. the production processes of the things we eat that are one of the foundations for better health, and in this area there are the scaleup XFarm that recently raised a €36 million Series C investment round, PlantBit that has developed a sensor to monitor plant health, and Cynomys that develops solutions for precision animal husbandry.
“The factor common to all the start-ups presented here is their ability to have been able to combine technical/scientific knowledge and innovation to create a business, the so-called deeptech venture. It is not always the case that a disruptive solution, characterised by a degree of radical innovation, manages to be launched on the market and thus generate profit and impact for society. When this happens, it is thanks to the synergy between the various stakeholders in the market in which one operates. Thanks to EIT Health InnoStars’ education programmes, acceleration platforms, and technology transfer projects supported by ad hoc funding, Italian start-ups and SMEs are able to access new training tools to accelerate their business on the one hand, and the Italian and European markets on the other, through collaborations with potential suppliers, distributors, and customers, and finally the network of investors, who not only provide financial resources, but also ongoing support and strategic advice,’ Maiorino concludes. Italian healthcare and lifescience start-ups represent excellence combining technological innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration and strong social impact. With the support of a solid ecosystem, such as the one promoted by EIT Health InnoStars, these realities have the potential to transform the future of healthcare, improving quality of life and addressing global challenges with innovative solutions”. (photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash)
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