April 18, 2024 – Healthcare startups in Croatia face various obstacles, but high barriers remain one of the most problematic burdens.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Josipa Ban writes, join the Forward to Health Innovation program for Croatian healthcare startups developing innovative solutions. Applications for the third generation are now open and anyone who wants to gain and improve their entrepreneurial skills in a field where technological solutions are always in demand can apply for this application until May 8, 2024. You can apply for the program.
“This program is aimed at teams and individuals in the early stages of development, as well as those with experience in the healthcare field. It includes people who want to provide solutions,” explained Filip Stipančić, founder and partner of Sumion, with the support of the University of Zagreb and EIT. The health community is implementing this program.
An unknown number of startups
During that six-month period, the selected teams will go through a clinical validation and market validation process, a process that determines the problem and the demand for its solution, Stipancic said. In addition, a very strict regulatory framework is passed in the medical field. “In this part, through prototyping and testing, Croatian healthcare startups will be able to see the value proposition of their future solutions,” Stipančić explained.
The fact that 14 of the 26 teams that implemented the program, more than half, entered the market shows that it continues to achieve certain results. However, Croatian healthcare startups operating in this globally highly developed and niche industry are fighting for their place in a highly demanding market.
“The development of the Croatian healthcare startup scene is slow, especially compared to developed markets. In such markets, the share of startups in the healthcare sector is almost 20%. This is a very popular sector. , there are many problems that need to be solved,” stressed the Sumion founder.
The exact number of healthcare startups and more specifically health technology startups in Croatia is actually unknown, as the total number of startups across the country is also unknown.
remote lab
The role of Croatian healthcare startups and similar innovations is becoming increasingly important, as solutions combined with technology provide numerous answers in all areas of healthcare. This applies to all cases, from prevention to diagnosis and treatment. That said, the Croatian healthcare system, although very good, is slow and susceptible to political decisions, making it difficult for startups to access final decision-makers and therefore reducing the possibility of implementing their solutions. will also be lower.
“If there aren’t enough success stories, individuals won’t be motivated to try something because the barrier to entry into the scene seems too high,” Stipancic warned. .
With the “Forward to Health Innovation” program, the team from Sumion and the University of Zagreb aims to remove some of the barriers and enable the larger and faster development of this niche industry.
Croatia is not without its highly successful solutions. Meddox, a medical document management application, already exists in Croatia. There is also the remarkable Ronna, a robotic system for stereotactic navigation in neurosurgery developed in the School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Naval Architecture. We also have AI4Health.Cro and the European Digital Innovation Center (EDIC), which brings together economic, medical and government institutions.
The “Forward to Health Innovation” program works to empower people with ideas on how to advance and improve the Croatian healthcare system through startups and innovation. Ultimately, everyone should be able to benefit from it.
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