Improving healthcare for all
Awards

9 healthcare startups win at the Scale Up Excellence awards

These startups and non-profits from the French health ecosystem received awards in April 2023 for their innovations.

Young business team receiving award at best business project competition event. Business and entrepreneurship award ceremony theme. Focus on unrecognizable people in audience.
28 Jun 2023

Eight paramedical professionals honored by the AP-HP for their publications

Over the course of a day devoted to the future of healthcare research, on April 3, 2023, eight paramedical professionals from the AP-HP were awarded a prize for “best research publications” for work published over the past few years.

Six trophies were awarded to:

Daisy Daigne-Mehay for her article published in the Journal of Tissue Viability in 2022 (Feasibility of a repositioning schedule on pressure ulcer prevention in an intensive care unit: A pre and post-intervention pilot study).

Camille Lefebvre-Durel and Sébastien Kerever for their article published in the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing in 2021 (Benzodiazepine and Z drug cessation in elderly patients: A qualitative study on the perception of healthcare providers and the place of advanced practice nurses).

Fabienne Delestre for her article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2022 (Hypnosis reduces food impulsivity in patients with obesity and high levels of disinhibition: HYPNODIET randomized controlled clinical trial).

– Alexandra Roren-Adam for two articles published in the Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine in 2023 and 2020 and another article published in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology in 2020 (Physical activity and low back pain: a critical narrative review; Arm elevation involves cervical spine 3-D rotations).

Charline Grossard for her article published in Molecular Autism in 2020 (Assessing Smoothness of Arm Movements With Jerk: A Comparison of Laterality, Contraction Mode and Plane of Elevation. A Pilot Study).

Théo Maulet and Céline Bonnyaud for their article published in the Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine in 2021 (Self-rehabilitation combined with botulinum toxin to improve arm function in people with chronic stroke. A randomized controlled trial).

Snitem’s 8th startup day rewards Eppur and Avatar Medical

The 2023 edition of Snitem’s day for innovative startups, attended by the Minister for Health and Prevention, François Braun, and the Minister Delegate for Industry, Roland Lescure, gathered together almost 1,500 medtech operators on April 4, 2023. Via nine  workshops, five round tables, and numerous debates and speeches, these operators were able to exchange ideas on a range of themes that deal with current issues and challenges in the sector, such as the transformation of the health system, the creation of products to change healthcare professionals’ day-to-day lives and the digitization of medical systems.

Exceptionally, this year two businesses tied for first place and received the People’s Choice award, Eppur and Avatar Medical; Eppur also won the Jury Award.

Eppur designed the first braking system for manual wheelchairs, using a pair of wheels that apply the brakes without causing injury.

Avatar Medical instantaneously generates “avatars”, 3D virtual reality representations of patients that help surgeons to prepare and carry out an operation.

MSD France and the AP-HP allocate a grant of €50,000 to a project designed to improve quality of life for laryngectomized patients

At the start of April, the fourth paramedical “Oncology Care Pathway” research grant, designed by the AP-HP with the support of the Foundation of the AP-HP for Research and endowed with €50,000 donated by MSD France, was awarded to Angèle Germon, nurse coordinator at the Bichat Claude Bernard Hospital – AP-HP, for her project “Workshops and Discussion Groups for Laryngectomees”.

Laryngectomy is a surgical procedure that consists of removing the larynx, usually when it has been affected by cancer. The research project by Angèle Germon, nurse coordinator in the ENT and cervico-facial surgery department of the Bichat Claude-Bernard AP-HP Hospital, involves offering laryngectomized patients workshops and discussion groups to encourage conversations around intervention and to maintain social links, which are often weakened as a result of the operation.

9 healthcare startups among the 48 Scale Up Excellence award winners

Selected based on criteria that offer proof of their strong growth, 48 startups have joined the 2023 edition of Scale Up Excellence, a La French Tech program designed to boost companies’ visibility and propel them onto the national scene. Their names were released on April 4. The following are but some of the award-winning companies in the healthcare sector, based in all corners of France:

Eastern France:

– Core Biogenesis: produces cytokine molecules via plants to speed up the treatment of diseases.

– Hypno VR: a leader in digital treatment therapies for pain, stress and anxiety management. Its medical systems combine therapeutic virtual reality and medical hypnosis to treat acute pain, chronic pain and stress without drugs.

– RDS (Rhythm Diagnostic Systems): a “high fidelity” telemonitoring solution for the main vital parameters (cardiac and respiratory) for acute phases of patients’ pathway (in particular after surgery).

Côte d’Azur:

– ExactCure: an innovative software solution for improved drug use. Their digital copy simulates the efficacy and the interactions of drugs in the body.

– Livmeds: rapid home delivery of drugs.

Mediterranean:

– CilCare: new treatments for hearing problems.

– Sonup: A simple, fast and reliable hearing scan solution.

Saint-Etienne/Lyon:

– Dessintey: robotic devices to speed up the recovery of paralyzed members post-stroke using mirror therapy.

– Y-Brush: efficient teeth brushing in 10 seconds thanks to a Y-shaped toothbrush.

In the east of France, the Healthcare Trophies recognize 5 cardiology and cancerology operators

The second edition of the Healthcare Trophies took place on April 13, based on an idea from the newspapers L’Est Républicain, Le Républicain Lorrain and Vosges Matin.

Cancerology Category

Nancy CHRU (Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire)

Nancy CHRU is one of the pioneers of Car-T-Cell-based gene therapy for the treatment of certain cancers. This revolutionary approach was designed and implemented within the Nancy hospital structure in order to treat certain lymphomas or acute leukemias, with a recovery rate of 40% to 50%. Around twenty patients every year are treated using this treatment at Nancy Regional University Hospital (CHRU).

Prostperia

Established in 2011, Prostperia has used algorithms to design two scanning tests for prostate cancer. These tests target, among other things, the most aggressive cancers using a specific questionnaire. This will allow tests to be customized through biological (PSA) and clinical analysis (rectal examination). The test is in the clinical trial phase at Nancy University Hospital in collaboration with the urology department. An R&D project on an ovarian cancer scanning test is being carried out at the same time.

Cardiology Category

Epsidy

Created in 2022, Epsidy is located within the IRIS, the Institut de Recherche et d’Innovation Santé at Nancy Regional University Hospital (CHRU). This connected wearable device improves the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases by providing a more reliable, higher density cardiac recording, and by allowing a novel analysis of these data. The aim is to combine the measurement of the heart’s electricity with the MRI’s functional data.

Cellprothera

Based in Mulhouse, Alsace, CellProthera has set itself the target of regenerating damaged organs post-heart attack by using the patients’ stem cells. After being harvested, these stem cells are reproduced in large quantities using a manufacturing process developed by the company. Cells from the resulting graft are injected directly into the patient’s heart.

– Jury’s Choice: RTIV

The RTIV care unit (Vectorized Internal Radiotherapy) was inaugurated at the Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire (Nancy Regional University Hospital or CHRU) in March 2022. This care unit provides patients with access to novel treatments. The platform consists of a 14-bed care unit, including seven leaded rooms and a technical platform to produce radiopharmaceutical drugs.

The 3rd edition of the Check Up Healthcare Grands Prix has awarded seven prizes to innovative startups

The ceremony was broadcast on BFM Business on April 19 on TV, radio and on digital media and was presented by journalist Stéphane Pedrazzi and Fabien Guez, a cardiologist and presenter of the Check Up Santé TV show. The jury consisted of healthcare experts and professionals, economists, researchers and business executives.

The award winners:

– “E-Health Project of the Year” Award: Visible Patient

Created in 2013, Visible Patient is the first online laboratory for 3D modeling of medical images. Based in Strasbourg, it is the result of 15 years of research at IRCAD (or the Digestive Cancer Research Institute). The CT scan or MRI image is sent via a secure web portal to the Visible Patient teams. Healthcare professionals (qualified radiological technicians) are then tasked with analyzing the images using software developed by Visible Patient. The 3D digital copy of the organ in question is sent to the physician.

– “Medical Device of the Year” Award: Music Care

Music Care is the first digital therapy to decrease pain and anxiety by up to 50%. This solution was validated by over 150 scientific publications. Its clinically designed musical composition algorithms can now be prescribed by general practitioners to their patients. In October 2021, the startup entered into a partnership with Sanofi.

– “Silver Economy of the Year” Award: Axelife

This medtech designs and develops medical devices. Its flagship product “pOpmètre®” is a diagnostic device for arterial stiffness, arteriosclerosis and accelerated arterial aging. pOpmètre® measures pulse-wave velocity (PWV) and can thus be used to determine the patient’s arterial age.

– “Therapeutic Progress of  the Year” Award: Collective Thinking

Collective Thinking provides healthcare stakeholders with artificial intelligence dedicated to medical data analysis. The company has developed Intelligence For Health, a platform featuring some 10 artificial intelligence systems capable of analyzing all patient data in just a few hundred milliseconds to improve clinical research, automatically identify pathologies and enhance the quality of care.

– “Startup of the Year” Award: NETRI

NETRI’s neuro-organs-on-chip reproduce the neuronal circuits involved in neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. These biological predictive models use identically reprogrammed human pluripotent stem cells from healthy patients to anticipate the effect of a drug candidate on a targeted neurological pathology.

– “Healthcare Personality of the Year” Award: Charlotte Berthaut, anesthesiologist and CEO of Dépist&vous

Launched in 2020, Dépist&vous is an online platform that offers people customized support to prevent, and provide early scanning for, cancers. Charlotte Berthaut has been rewarded for her selfless dedication and her willingness to break boundaries around the central issue of prevention.

– “Best Healthcare Initiative of the Year” Award: Rose Up Association

The Rose Up Association supports, informs and defends the rights of women with cancer, from the moment the disease is diagnosed through to treatment and beyond. This non-profit was established in 2011 by two friends, Céline Lis Raoux (journalist) and Céline Dupré (communicator). Both have had their own experience of cancer – one as a patient, the other as the relative of a patient – and have had to face the problem of finding information during and after the illness. They therefore decided to design and publish a magazine for women with cancer.

Servier awards its Golden Ticket 2023 to the startup Hovana

The Golden Ticket winner was announced on April 24 at the LabCentral, a well-known incubator for life sciences startups in Cambridge (USA).

Hovana uncovers precision medicine innovations to correct translation of known oncogenic pathways in hard-to-treat cancers. Its approach provides an opportunity to identify potent small-molecule modulators of tRNA-Regulating Proteins (transfer RNA), which are key molecular drivers of oncogenic translation. The aim? To develop a pipeline of precision drugs with the potential to modify the disease and offer long-term efficacy.

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