Leipzig, April 7, 2025. Innovative MedTech solutions not only require brilliant ideas, but also professional support to reach market maturity and achieve market entry. Speed is crucial to ensure that startups do not run out of breath on this arduous journey. The MedTech accelerator medical:forge Leipzig ensures this with a special program.

Mrs. Berger sits in her armchair by the nursing home window, watching the birds in the garden. The 72-year-old feels unusually tired, her mind drifting. She isn’t feeling well, but she doesn’t want to be a burden to anyone, so she refrains from calling for a caregiver. Fortunately, however, a new and innovative device developed by the company Neteera has already detected her discomfort in real time. As a result, caregiver Ms. Semmar rushes to Mrs. Berger's room to check on her.

The problem of unnoticed or undetected changes

Ms. Berger and Ms. Semmar are fictional characters - but the problem described is very real and widespread: Whether in nursing care or in hospitals – changes in vital functions often go unnoticed or are not detected if patients are not connected to monitoring systems at all or only temporarily. The Israeli startup Neteera has tackled this problem and developed a contactless device for the continuous monitoring of vital parameters that detects changes at an early stage and enables a rapid response - without direct patient contact.

From the idea to market maturity: a path full of hurdles

However, an innovative idea alone is not enough. Medical technology innovations must prove their effectiveness and reliability in comprehensive tests, undergo official approvals and gain the trust of healthcare facilities to be used at all. This process is lengthy and cost-intensive, which is why many startups fail. If they lack the necessary perseverance, their innovation often gets stuck in the development phase and fails to enter the market.

medical:forge Leipzig sets the pace for medtech innovations

The fact that Neteera was able to overcome these hurdles and successfully launch its product on the German healthcare market is due in no small part to medical:forge Leipzig. The specialized MedTech accelerator from Saxony supports start-ups with targeted funding, expert knowledge and strong networks - and “picks up the pace”. After all, any delay in market entry in the medtech sector is associated with enormous costs - which can quickly put the brakes on innovation.

The accelerator therefore ensures that MedTech startups can access the right partnerships in the shortest possible time to accelerate market entry. For example, Neteera benefited from early collaborations with renowned clinics which can be potential sites in future studies. In addition, the startup received comprehensive advice in business development, support in founding a German subsidiary, help with personnel recruitment as well as in-depth market research and targeted marketing services. Neteera was also accompanied to important industry events and had the opportunity to present its innovation to investors, potential partners and medical professionals throughout Germany.

medical:forge Batch 4: Six new startups

Thanks to this comprehensive support, Neteera was able to successfully place its technology on the German market in a very short space of time. A success that medical:forge Leipzig would now like to repeat with a new generation of startups. To this end, the fourth edition (“Batch 4”) of medical:forge Leipzig just started on April 1, 2025 with a one-year term.

Six startups will participate. These include the Leipzig-based startup Meliodays, which is developing the first non-hormonal, local pain therapy for the treatment of menstrual pain. Healyan, originally from Barchfeld-Immelborn and soon to be based in Leipzig, is also working on neurological stimulation technology that is to be approved as a medical product for the treatment of Alzheimer's and other diseases. From Israel comes Sealantium, a company that develops innovative solutions in the field of surgical wound care and haemostasis for minimally invasive procedures. MedicubeX from Finland has designed the “eHealth Station”, a non-invasive solution for cardiovascular disease risk detection intended to improve preventive healthcare and to counteract the impending nursing shortage. VitroScan from the Netherlands uses ex vivo 3D micro tumor testing with AI driven image analysis, to predict the patient's sensitivity to treatments and thus supporting better informed and cost-efficient treatment decisions. Another startup will be announced shortly.

Welcome Week: exchange, knowledge transfer and networking

To kick off Batch 4, medical:forge Leipzig hosted a Welcome Week that offered participating startups valuable industry insights and networking opportunities. The event began with an introduction to the German healthcare system by wig2, an independent research institute from Leipzig that specializes in health economics and healthcare system research. Another highlight was the presentation by Sebastian Alexander, co-founder of the MedTech company VivoSensMedical, who spoke about the practical requirements of health insurance companies for innovative healthcare solutions. In addition, Nadine Leistner, an experienced specialist in clinical studies, gave an introduction to clinical validation, which is essential for the market access of medical devices. A World Café was also held to promote networking within the medical:forge Leipzig ecosystem. Here, the participating startups had the opportunity to get in touch with important partners of medical:forge Leipzig, including Leipzig University Hospital, St. Georg Leipzig Hospital, the City of Leipzig, the logistics company Cencora World Courier, the biotechnology provider Promega, the law firm Battke Grünberg, the Saxony Economic Development Corporation, the Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen (TGFS), the design agency WILD Design and the health economics institute wig2.

To celebrate the end of the Welcome Week, medical:forge Leipzig hosted a networking party. In a relaxed atmosphere, the participating startups were able to make valuable contacts, exchange ideas and network with established players in the medtech industry.

Shaping the future with medical:forge Leipzig

With Batch 4, medical:forge Leipzig is once again focusing on innovative startups with the potential to bring about lasting change in the healthcare industry. The next generation of MedTech pioneers is ready to follow the same path as Neteera, which has now reached further milestones: The company recently received CE marking for its innovative Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) device under Class IIa of the European Medical Device Regulation (MDR) - after the device was already approved by the US FDA in 2024. This certification confirms the safety and performance of Neteera's technology and paves the way for a broad market launch in Germany and other European countries. The system is now being evaluated for the first time in collaboration with the University Hospital Halle (Saale) - an important step for the introduction of contactless patient monitoring in care facilities and hospitals.

Contact:

Please use medicalforge@leap-up.com.

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Pictures of the event (Credits: Philipp Kirschner) can be found here.