1st Healthcare – Life Sciences meetup: BSE brings together the Ecosystem of Healthcare and Life Sciences services

1st Healthcare – Life Sciences meetup: BSE brings together the Ecosystem of Healthcare and Life Sciences services

A new dynamic initiative that aims to strengthen the Greek innovation ecosystem in sectors that are developing rapidly at an international level and at the same time Greece has a competitive advantage, has been launched by the BSE Innovation Committee. The first choice is the Greek ecosystem of health and life sciences services, for which the BSE Committee recognizes that it has significant scope for development, while it has the appropriate resources to emerge on the world stage.

The effort to develop the ecosystem of health and life sciences services began with the creation of a special organizing committee with important experts in the field. Mr. Lambros Kourtis, Managing Director, the Sanguine Lab, Ms. Harietta Eleftherochorinou, Innovation Ventures & Strategic Partnerships, IQVIA, Mr. Achilleas Gravanis, Professor of Pharmacology, University of Crete Medical School, IMBB-ITE Researcher, Mr. Aristos Doxiadis, Partner, Big Pi Ventures and Ms. Eleni Pentafraga, Board Member, Head of Legal & Corporate Affairs, ELPEN, are the members of the Health and Life Sciences Organizational Committee, who, in collaboration with the BSE Innovation Committee, plan and will then implement an action plan, based on the needs and problems faced by start-ups and researchers in the field.

It was preceded by the mapping of the needs of the ecosystem, through a survey carried out by SEV and in which 45 start-up companies of the sector participated. The survey findings confirm that collaborations with large companies abroad and raising capital are at the top of the priorities of health and life sciences start-ups (over 80%). Also, more than 70% of the participants consider it necessary to facilitate the conduct of clinical research and access to state funding programs such as the NSRF, specially designed to cover part of the business risk.

At the same time, however, the Organizing Committee considered that a necessary factor for a full understanding of the needs and the growth of the ecosystem is the systematic communication and exchange of views between startups, researchers, the pharmaceutical industry and other entities that contribute to the development of the sector. This is also the goal of the meetings (meetups) that are instituted every two months.

At the “1st Healthcare & Life Sciences meetup” held on Thursday, 14/7/2022, at the BSE Offices, for the first time representatives from 51 start ups in the sector passed through the door of Xenophontos, got to know each other and exchanged thoughts and opinions with the Organizing Committee for the development prospects in the Greek and international market but also for the obstacles they face.

Welcoming the new researchers and entrepreneurs to SEV, Mrs. Maggie Athanasiadis, Director of the Innovation Sector, referred to the objectives of the initiative: “We seek to contribute to strengthening the research produced by Universities and Research centers, especially in areas of investment interest, so that more clinical studies are carried out in Greece – a an area in which we lag significantly behind. Also, our goals are to develop the startups of the sector faster, but also to cultivate the collaborations between startups, researchers, the pharmaceutical industry, public and private hospitals both in Greece and abroad.”

In a statement, Mr. Markos Veremis, President of the Innovation Committee of the BSE, emphasized: “Greece has a unique comparative advantage in the field of health services and life sciences, which emerged even during the pandemic period. We believe that we can claim a significant share of growth with multiple benefits if we join forces with startups, areas of scientific knowledge and entrepreneurship”.

The next Healthcare & Life Sciences meetup is scheduled for October 11, 2022.

Source: Capital