Innovation: Bridging the gap between medicine and business

Medicine is one of the most important sectors of a country's economy, directly affecting the quality of life and productivity of its workforce. The economy serves as the engine that drives resources and efficiency. Collaboration between these two sectors creates a platform for making medical services more accessible and of higher quality, while also generating opportunities for economic development.

The creators of innovative ideas—start-ups, scientists, young researchers, and engineers—act as a bridge between these two sectors. However, in today’s dynamic and ever-changing environment, a bridge alone is not enough; we need a runway for faster and more powerful interactions. Start-ups and the EIT Health Hub at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) in Latvia are sharing their experiences of successfully bringing these sectors together and fostering their synergies.

Medical technology innovations grow in rocky soil

Innovation in the medical sector emerges through a variety of routes, most recently through start-ups. It is a challenging field, and sometimes even very good ideas do not reach the end user and the patient because they do not "take root" in the ecosystem. While medical innovation is one of the fastest growing and most dynamic sectors, it faces several significant challenges, including technological development, regulation, funding, and human resources.

First, developing medical technology is an expensive and time-consuming process. From prototype development to market launch, it can take years of hard work and significant financial investment. Clinical trials are costly, and entering international markets requires further investment in production capacity, certification, and marketing. Moreover, smaller countries like Latvia frequently lack the public or private funding needed to support ambitious medical technology projects.

Second, the introduction of medical technology is tightly regulated to ensure patient safety. Certification requirements, such as obtaining the CE mark in Europe or FDA approval in the U.S., are complex and time-consuming, posing significant challenges—especially for start-ups with limited resources.

Third, access to large, high-quality datasets on patients and treatments is essential for innovation. However, this is often hindered by data gaps and access restrictions, caused by insufficient digitalisation and centralisation of health data, as well as legal and ethical constraints on patient data protection and the complexities of international data exchange.

Fourth, there is a shortage of highly skilled professionals in both medical research and technology development. The best talent often opts to work abroad, where salaries and research opportunities are more competitive. Additionally, insufficient support for medical technology education and internship programmes further exacerbates the issue.

However, in this challenging ecosystem, innovative solutions not only emerge but also thrive. Latvia certainly has the capacity to compete on the global stage in the field of medical technology. This is evidenced by the international recognition Latvian scientists have received for their innovations in smart medical technologies and pharmaceuticals, as well as several successful examples, including medical start-ups, that demonstrate the potential of the synergy between medicine and business.

PrintyMed: Artificial spider silk

PrintyMed is developing technology to produce artificial spider silk for medical applications, ranging from wound dressings to artificial organs. The company is currently focused on developing artificial heart valves and organ-on-a-chip membranes made from this innovative material.

‘Doctors care for patients, while entrepreneurs develop businesses—each a specialist in their own field.

It would be strange if a doctor focused on how to profit from a treatment, instead of treating a patient. This is why it is crucial for medicine and business to collaborate.

We all know about penicillin, but Alexander Fleming's discovery might have remained unknown had enterprising individuals not figured out how to turn it into a viable product. The result is well-known to all,’ says Jekaterina Romanova, CEO of PrintyMed.

The entrepreneur emphasises that compliance with regulations, certifications, and other requirements is crucial for medical innovation. This compliance demands more resources than in many other sectors. Moreover, the certification process—essential for marketing medical devices—is both expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, support and funding from business partners at the earliest stages of innovation are vital.

Lightspace Technologies: A new generation 3D solution

Lightspace Technologies produces a unique, next-generation augmented reality head-mounted display that allows a 3D digital image to be rendered in a way that is friendly to the human eye and optically fused with real-world information — providing a digital visual supplement that can be tailored to a wide range of needs. The technology is unique in its ability to refocus the human eye on the 3D image, eliminating the uncomfortable sensations often experienced when using traditional augmented and virtual reality head-mounted displays. This makes the technology particularly suitable for professional use, including medical applications.

‘Innovation in the medical sector can come through a variety of routes — recently it has often been through start-ups.

In this process, a triangle is formed—comprising the medical sector, represented by both institutions and end-users, medical professionals, business representatives, and innovators, who may be start-ups, or scientists, young researchers and engineers yet to embark on this path. Everyone must work together to create something that is both useful and profitable,’ says Roberts Zabels, analyst at Lightspace Technologies. He explains that both financial support and feedback from end-users are crucial for successful product development, enabling faster and more effective creation. Therefore, the role of institutional entities and end-users in the product development and commercialisation chain cannot be underestimated.

Cellbox Labs: Artificial organs to study the effects of medicines

Cellbox Labs develops industrial organs-on-a-chip technology to make the process of medicine research more efficient and reduce the use of animals in research. The company’s mass-produced organs-on-a-chip and automated culturing system are used in disease and medicine research, as well as in the food and cosmetics industries, to test the effects of various compounds on tissues and cells.

‘Medical technology start-ups in Latvia and beyond often face limited access to funding and committed investors until a market-ready product is developed. This challenge is particularly evident when the technology integrates multiple fields, such as engineering, biology, medicine, and physics. Such solutions require significantly more time and iteration to develop prototypes and bring them to market for early users. As a result, these projects need considerably more funding and time in their early stages,’ says Cellbox co-founder Artūrs Ābols.

The expert points out that the interaction between medicine and business in Latvia, as in other parts of the world, can always be improved. However, there is a positive trend: the number of medical technology start-ups is growing, and medical technology is developing and becoming more accessible.

EIT Health: An opportunity for start-ups with potential

Latvian medical technology start-ups can achieve their goals through the RSU EIT Health RIS Hub in Latvia - the EIT Health, or the European Institute of Innovation and Technology's Health Knowledge and Innovation Community, which acts as an intermediary between the large EIT Health network and Latvian healthcare innovators, operating under the auspices of RSU since 2019. Its main function is to inform Latvian start-ups, students and researchers about opportunities to develop their ideas in the EIT Health network and beyond, as well as to bring them together with training programmes and competitions - where to start, find mentors and get funding.

‘PrintyMed has participated in the EIT Health Women Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, Jumpstarter, and Post-Jumpstarter, which

helped develop a potential business model and attracted international mentors who provided invaluable advice and shared the experience of large corporations,’

said Jekaterina Romanova. She also highlighted that EIT Health's programmes are specifically tailored to the development of medical start-ups and benefit from a broad network of partners and investors, enabling access to international mentors with extensive experience in top global companies within the sector.

In its turn, Lightspace Technologies emphasises that EIT Health played a key role in the preparation and coordination phase of the project, which also contributed to winning the tender. ‘Our project has only just started, and it is too early to determine the long-term results, but we hope that working with EIT Health will help us find the best way to develop and position our product in the medical market,’ says Roberts Zabels from Lightspace Technologies.

‘The EIT Health Innostars programme was the first funding we raised for Cellbox Labs.

In addition to the funding, the lectures and mentoring sessions were also crucial in building our understanding of the venture capital financing model and intellectual property,’ says Artūrs Ābols, co-founder of Cellbox Labs, reflecting on the support from EIT Health. He highlights three reasons why the EIT Health programmes would be beneficial for other start-ups: the highly qualified mentors, the funding opportunities, and the collaboration with other start-ups.

‘The interaction between medicine and business has a significant impact on a country's development, ensuring both public health and economic growth. It provides opportunities for innovation, increases export potential, and improves access to healthcare. Medicine provides the knowledge and expertise needed to develop effective solutions, while business supplies funding, technology, and market access. Start-ups, with their bold ideas in medical technology, serve as a bridge connecting these two sectors. Latvia has great potential to become a hub for medical technology innovation: we have no shortage of bright minds, and healthcare organisations and the business community offer real support—mentoring, testing environments. However, to fully unlock this potential,

it is crucial to accelerate the interaction between the medical, business, and innovation sectors, transforming the bridge into a runway from which promising start-ups can emerge,’

says Līga Žūka, Director of the RSU Innovation Centre and Head of the RSU EIT Health Hub Latvia.