The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Health has sent out a call for single entity small and medium healthtech enterprises to apply for its Transformative Health Instrument 2025 (THI) funding call, which will fund 70 per cent of project costs up to a maximum of €500,000.

The programme is open to digital health as well as biotech, medtech and biomarker/diagnostics solution start-ups that have reached a minimum total investment of €4 million within a 12-month period.

The funding per project intended to support start-ups moving beyond proof-of-concept, helping them conduct further testing, validation, and development to accelerate their market readiness.

As well as funding, successful applicants will also have access to EIT Health’s network of industry experts, mentors, and collaborators, who will be on hand to provide support and advice on refining products, meeting regulatory requirements, and crafting go-to-market strategies.

Project work must be completed by 31 December 2025.

The instrument’s rules include that the applying entity must be a privately held company that has not issued any publicly traded securities or initiated any public offering process.

The applicant must have successfully closed an equity funding round in 2023 or 2024 that reached a minimum total investment of €4 million within a 12-month period, with at least one new professional investor in Europe, investing from a fund regulated under either the alternative investment fund managers directive (AIFMD), the European venture capital funds (EuVECA) regulation or similar regulatory framework, or at least one corporate venture capital firm.

The grant that can be requested from EIT Health must be at least €400,000 but no more than €500,000 for the total duration of the 2025 project. The company is requested to co-fund at least 30 per cent of the 2025 project.

Dependent on the successful implementation of the 2025 project and contingent on EIT funding, EIT Health may consider deploying additional grant funding towards a future project proposed by the SME, that is aligned with the objectives of the 2025 project.

The deadline for applications to the programme is 7 January 2025.