As part of the Plan National Santé-Environnement 4 designed to stimulate development in health and environmental research, the Green Data For Health (a platform referencing environmental data supported by the Ecolab of the General Commission on Sustainable Development (CGDD)) and the Health Data Hub (a platform hosting healthcare data) launched a joint call for projects in October 2022 in order to better mobilize environmental and health databases for research and innovation projects.

The four winners were announced on March 9. They will be supported “in both human and financial terms” for 18 months with funding of up to €135,000.

The four winning projects :

• “SOMNIBRUIT” (supported by Bruitparif, the ORS Ile de France and the Center for Sleep and Wakefulness at the Hôtel Dieu Hospital) aims to increase awareness and quantify the effects of environmental noise on sleep by carrying out an ecological study on 10 million inhabitants.
• “NOISES” (supported by the Bordeaux CIC 1401 in partnership with the Strasbourg CNRS, the register of ischemic cardiopathy of the Lower Rhine and the Bordeaux CHU) aims to map and describe the spatial distribution of indicators of cardio-neuro-vascular, socioeconomic and environmental diseases (atmospheric and noise pollution) for areas around Bordeaux and the EuroMetropolis of Strasbourg.
• “MRC-PE” (supported by the University of Lille) aims to study the link between regions’ environmental profiles and the incidence of chronic end-stage renal disease (IRCT) at a  national level.
• “BIS”, supported by Santé Publique France and Ineris aims to determine the link between proximity to major industrial areas and the health of the surrounding population. A study will also be carried out to determine any geographical correlations that may exist between municipalities’ characteristics and asthma in children.

The MedInTechs exhibition was organized on March 13 and 14 at the Parc Floral in Paris, with 140 stands, 8,000 visitors, 16 conferences and 25 workshops. MedInTechs and Digital Pharma Lab presented awards to individuals working in healthcare and Healthtech startups that made their mark on the sector in 2022 with, for the second time, the “Personalities and Startups Grand Prix”. The awards ceremony took place on March 13, hosted by Fabien Guez, creator and presenter of the TV show Check Up Santé.

The 9 awards :

• “Leader” award: Eric Carreel, president and founder of Withings (connected-health products), presented by Anne-Marie Armanteras, CEO of the Health&Tech Think Tank.
• “Hope” award: Adrien Bussard, PhD, innovation manager at the Brest CHU and the W.INN innovation center, presented by Nicolas Castoldi – director delegate to the general manager and executive director of the Hôtel-Dieu initiative of the AP-HP.
• “Woman of the Year” award: Armelle Dion, director of innovation at the Hospices Civils in Lyon, presented by Dr Lise Alter, general manager for the Health Innovation Agency.
• “Health Future Strategist” award: Prof. Eric Vibert, MD, PhD presented by David De Amorim, director of development at Cegedim Santé (medical management software solutions).
• “Panel’s Favorite” award: Charlotte Mahr, CEO & co-founder of myCharlotte (an exercise platform and app for chronic diseases), presented by Dr. Axelle Menu-Branthomme, medical expert at the Health Data Hub.
• “Innovation, New Technologies & #E-health” award: WhiteLab Genomics (a digital platform to speed up research into RNA and DNA drugs), represented by Timothé Cynober (Pharm D.), business development manager, presented by Pascal Becache, co-founder of Digital Pharma Lab.
• “Digital Therapy” award: Axomove (an e-health app for re-habilitation and musculoskeletal disorders), represented by Clément Morel, CEO, presented by Prof. Fabrice Denis, president of the Institut de la e-Santé – IneS.
• “Industrial Partnership – Startup” award: GutyCare, for its collaboration with Takeda, Norgine France, Vivalto Santé and the Brest CHU. Award presented by Florence Herry, vice-president of France Biotech in charge of digital health and CEO of libheros.
• “Public” award: Mila (a rehabilitation tool for learning disabilities), presented by Muriel Benitah, president of MedInTechs.

On March 13, during MedInTechs, the French Tech Grand Paris and the Digital Medical Hub at the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) unveiled the 23 winners from the first cohort of the “Health Innovation Intensive Training” (HIIT) support program. 62 candidates had applied. 23 of these candidates won over the panel, which was made up of Prof. Fabrice Denis, oncologist at the Jean-Bernard Cancer Institute in Le Mans and president of the Institut National de l’E-santé (Ines); Dr. Coralie Prebet, oncologist at the AP-HP; Franck Le Ouay, CEO of Lifen; Dr. Joris Galland, internal physician and immunologist at the Bourg-en-Bresse CH; Dr. Julien Schemoul, rheumatologist and co-founder of Medintechs; Samantha Jérusalmy, partner at the Elaia fund; Dr. Marc-Olivier Gauci, orthopedic surgeon and traumatologist; Mathieu Grajoszex, president and co-founder of the Digital Medical Hub at the AP-HP.

The 23 winners :

• Aalia.tech (a voice assistant designed to facilitate communication between a doctor and a patient speaking different languages)
• Admir (an infrared instrument system, equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate and improve biological analysis)
• Aimed2 (a platform designed to support patients throughout any surgical intervention)
• Akuity Care (vocal biomarkers and AI algorithms to detect and measure symptoms in patients’ voices)
• Alifert (solutions for fertility)
• Aloty (telemedicine for the early detection of medical anomalies)
• AviPsy (a mental health co-ordinated care pathway and remote monitoring)
• COZii (guidance software for inside healthcare establishments and geolocation of patients and medical equipment)
• DeepDocs (AI models to automate the anonymization, extraction and structuring of health data based on text documents)
• Depist&Vous (a platform for the prevention and early screening of cancers)
• DrugOptimal (the first automated software for the physico-chemical control of treatments)
• Efelya (a patient app to support pregnant women)
• H24Care (a tool designed to relieve pressure on emergency departments)
• Hospitalink (a smart medical alarm to improve the treatment of patients in hospital and working conditions for caregivers)
• Look HealSee (screening of the main visual pathologies using virtual reality headsets)
• Louise (an AI-based clinical decision support system as part of a medically-assisted reproduction pathway (MAR))
• Lumeen (a virtual reality medical device to improve well-being, reduce anxiety, pain, drug consumption and behavioral disorders in medical and social institutions and hospitals)
• Matricis.ai (an AI algorithm that helps radiologists diagnose endometriosis)
• PGU Medtec (technologies to improve personal mobility)
• ScreenMe (a tool to include patients in research projects)
• Simersive-xp (an active training digital tool, with virtual reality and AI to train current and future caregivers)
• Sorvoca Health (tools for well-being at work)
• Swappy (a tool to automate and optimize medical personnel schedules) – Twinical (software to provide assistance during liver surgery)

On March 23, the Hospices Civils in Lyon (HCL) and Lyonbiopôle Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes announced the winner of their Clinical Innovation call for projects. The aim of this call for projects is to strengthen the links between hospital and industrial operators in order to maximize and accelerate the implementation of technological and biomedical innovations improving patient care.

Having been selected, the Mexiron project will have access to personalized support in order to optimize the development of its technology and launch its marketing campaign. It will also benefit from financial support of €100,000.

The project is supported by Mexbrain, and Dr. Dargent, Dr. Heiblig and Prof. Allaouchiche of the HCLs. The MEXIRON study (MexBrain’s Iron Extraction) is intended for patients who receive regular transfusions due to their hematological pathology such as thalassemia, sickle cell disease or patients with bone marrow disorders (myelodysplastic syndromes). One of the major complications of these repeated transfusions is iron overload in the bloodstream. This “free” iron induces significant oxidative stress, which is itself the cause of cardiac, renal and/or hepatic damage, and consequent excess mortality. This device could become an essential new treatment for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes, especially in terms of post-transplant survival.

La French Tech Health20 program will support startups with significant potential which all share an aim to speed up innovation to better France’s technological, industrial and health sovereignty. This program will help them develop and ensure the large-scale deployment of their initiatives.

The list of 21 selected startups was made public on March 24. These businesses offer solutions in digital health, biotherapies and bioproduction, innovative medical devices and emerging infectious diseases. 

Seven regions are represented: Île-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand Est, Haut-de-France and Pays de Loire.

In 30% of cases, women are CEOs and are co-founders.

The 21 companies supported :

• Abys Medical (with Surgiverse, a holistic digital solution dedicated to surgeons, including a decision support platform and a holographic surgical assistance application in the same suite of tools)
• Aqemia (a scaled drug discovery platform based on a unique technology that combines theoretical physics and AI)
• Cardiawave (a new, unique non-invasive ultrasound therapy device using focused ultrasound technology that has a remote repairing effect on the aortic valve)
• echOpen Factory (an easy-to-use imaging solution using ultra-portable, ultra-affordable ultrasounds dedicated to the diagnostic orientation of patients)
• EpiLAB (portable tuberculosis diagnostic test)
• EverZom (novel production process that can be developed on an industrial scale for the high yield production of extracellular vesicles)
• Healshape (breast bioprosthesis for women who have undergone a mastectomy following breast cancer, with a natural matrix made from biosourced, bioresorbable and 3D printed materials)
• Incepto (the first European platform for artificial intelligence solutions applied to medical imaging)
• inHEART (cloud-based medical image processing software solutions to better plan and guide catheter ablation procedures for cardiac arrhythmias; a digital twin of the patient’s heart)
• LATTICE MEDICAL (the MATTISSE implant allows patients who have undergone a mastectomy to have a natural, simple and risk-free reconstruction, 3D printed to the patient’s morphology)
• Milvue (an artificial intelligence specialist in medical imaging and leading French business in osteoarticular radiography; facilitates and secures the diagnosis of several tens of thousands of X-rays per day)
• Nosopharm (a new antibacterial class of odilorhabdins to treat antibiotic-resistant infections)
• Osivax (an innovative new class of universal vaccines that anticipate mutations of respiratory viruses (pandemic or seasonal); oligoDOM® platform technology that allows the creation of pseudo-viral particles to trigger potent immune responses)
• Pherecydes (treatments for resistant bacterial infections based on the use of bacteriophages, natural bacteria-killing viruses, targeting S. aureus, E. coli and P. aeruginosa bacteria)
• Pixee Medical (computer-assisted surgery solutions using augmented reality to assist in surgical implant placement)
• Poietis (development and manufacturing of biological tissues by bioprinting; robotized and multimodal Next Generation Bioprinting (NGB) platform)
• Qubit Pharmaceuticals (drug candidates designed atom by atom to optimize their efficiency and specificity with a favorable safety profile at unprecedented speed)
• Smart Immune (a biotechnology company developing “ProTcell”, the first cell therapy platform based on T cell progenitors that make it possible to rearm the immune system against infections and cancers by using the patient’s thymus)
• StemInov (an innovative therapeutic drug based on stem cells taken from umbilical cords to treat inflammatory pathologies with, as the first indication, septic shock and acute respiratory syndrome disease)
• Tilak Healthcare (a disruptive technological platform for medical video games, prescribed by healthcare professionals, designed to support chronic diseases; Odysight targets ophthalmology, with chronic maculopathies)
• Whitelab Genomics (WLG) (uses data science, automatic learning and computational biology to accelerate the research and development of genomic therapies)

The 17th Techinnov, held at the Parc Floral in Paris on March 28, was based on the theme of the 10 objectives listed in the “France 2030” investment plan. The business convention presented awards to six startups in the categories of Energy and Decarbonization, Transportation of the Future, AgriTech and Foodtech, Healthtech, Digital Transformation and Tech 2030. Pelican Health stood out in the Healthtech category with its device that allows multiple sampling of the microbiome in-situ with a single capsule, in a reliable, precise, simple-to-administer and non-invasive manner.