Digital health accelerator StartUp Health launched its first regional affiliate program last November, a collaboration with Finpro, Finland’s Trade and Investment Promotion Agency. Now the program, StartUp Health Finland, has announced its first five startups.
"One of the philosophical beliefs we have at StartUp Health is that there’s really a great opportunity to start cross-pollinating different hubs around the world. As we start to look at where the great digital health companies are being built, [it's not just in places like New York and Silicon Valley,] it’s all over," StartUp Health Cofounder and President Unity Stoakes told MobiHealthNews in an interview. "So we’re looking to connect these different regions into one great innovation community."
Startups in the Finland hub and other future regional affiliate programs will have access to all the same perks as any other member of the StartUp Health network: regular coaching sessions across the lifetime of the business, access to the StartUp investor network and company network, and the opportunity for an investment of up to $500,000, once a company reaches certain milestones. In addition, the local partner, in this case FinPro, has the option to make an additional investment in the startups on a case-by-case basis.
Read on for the first five startups enrolled in StartUp Health Finland.
Brainshake, founded by Teemu Suna, is a Helsinki-based blood testing company. Brainshake’s blood tests are aimed at precision medicine use cases and include 200 biomarkers, in addition to routine lipids.
“By providing extensive biological data, Brainshake’s blood analysis introduces a new era of preventive medicine,” the company writes on its website. “With a single blood test, our technology brings over 220 metabolic biomarkers for chronic diseases – 50x more data than current clinical lipid test. This extensive data is the key to predict and prevent individual disease risk affordably in routine healthcare.”
Buddy Healthcare, a care coordination and patient engagement company also based in Helsinki, was founded by Jussi Maatta. Buddy Healthcare’s platform is designed for children’s hospitals, to help automate and monitor patients’ preparation for and recovery from surgery. They aim to help hospitals improve communication, adherence, and quality of care.
GoodLife Technology, based in Kotka, Finland, is a patient engagement company founded by Henrik Jurgens. GoodLife has an app already in the app store called PT Momentum, which is designed to help physical therapy patients track their performance.
“Momentum is a universally comparable figure (0-100) that calculates how well you have followed your prescribed exercise instructions,” the company states on its website. “It is based on our unique algorithm which takes all of your programs and exercises into account. Momentum is the easiest way to find answers to the question: How am I doing?”
HLD Health Life Devices is a medical device company led by Kalle Palomaki. Helsinki-based HLD has created a device called PhysioTouch which is designed to reduce pain and swelling in surgery patients or patients with lymphedema. The company has been making the device, also sold as LymphaTouch, since 2009.
LSCancerDiag LTD is a Helsinki-based diagnostics company led by Tuomos Poskiparta. They’re focused on early diagnosis of Lynch syndrome, which causes many colorectal and endometrial cancers. They’ve developed an efficient noninvasive test for Lynch syndrome called DiagMMR.
Stoakes told MobiHealthNews that the next regional affiliate programs, which include both US-based and international regions, are already in development and will be launching soon.
