7th edition of CRAASH Barcelona kicks off

The CRAASH Barcelona acceleration program promoted by Biocat in collaboration with CIMIT (Boston) kicked off its 7th edition this September with a meeting at Tech Barcelona (Pier 01), where the six teams did specialized training and met their mentors.

On September 17, 18 and 19 they had sessions on market access, communication, artificial intelligence applied to healthcare and securing public funding, among other sector specific topics. Some of the conferences were led by Xavier Cos of the Catalan Health Institute, Jorge Huerta from Doctomatic, Marc Peripiñán from Upbizor and Katharine D’Amico from The Swala Institute.

Elena Canetti, co-managing partner of the Inveniam Group; Uri Fligil, Enterprise Diagnostic and Imaging Go-To-Market and Solution at Philips; Carmen Rios, co-founder of Doctomatic; and Markus Wilhelms, CEO and co-founder of MOWOOT, are the mentors for this edition. The experts also took advantage to share some tips about the program.

Below is a summary of the companies and projects selected to participate this year:

Airway Shield: easier, faster, safer intubation

Airway Shield is the first medical device in the world to make endotracheal intubation easier while protecting the patient and the clinician. Unlike other intubation guides, Airway Shield enables guided intubation while protecting the patient’s mouth, increasing procedure success, speeding up the process and minimizing patient injuries.

Banting Labs: first integrated sensor for continuous monitoring of blood sugar levels

There is a lag in the sensors people with type 1 diabetes use to check their blood glucose levels, which means the reading isn’t totally reliable. This group is developing the first sensor to continuously check blood glucose levels so that patients stay within the healthy range more than 70% of the time, preventing complications like ulcers, blindness and diabetic foot. It is the only medical device on the market that does away with the lag for therapeutic decision making.

NeuRNAx Diagnostic: non-invasive precision diagnostics to catch neurodegenerative diseases early

For people at risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington’s, who need reliable biomarkers to detect changes in the preliminary stages, the Precise exosomal neurodiagnostic solution provides an innovative solution. Using extracellular vesicles (EVs) and advanced genomic techniques guarantees greater specificity and applicability to various neurodegenerative conditions, giving those affected hope and better results.

ONAkids: predicting the risk of language delay in newborns

Language delays affect up to 19% of children aged two to seven, with a negative effect on their performance at school and, in some cases, causing depression and anxiety. The signs of language delay can’t be detected until the child should start speaking, around 18 months, when the most important years of development have already passed. ONAkids offers a non-invasive test to predict language delay from birth so that babies at risk can get preventive help.

REGEMED: skin regeneration solution

For patients with chronic wounds or burns who need effective healing solutions, REGEMED is a medical device that provides highly personalized, autologous treatments. Unlike conventional synthetic bandages, REGEMED quickly processes the patient’s own tissue to create gels, creams and ointments, significantly boosting healing, reducing the risk of infection and improving tissue quality. This versatile, easy to use solution is designed for clinical settings, providing a unique, efficient approach to wound treatment.

BrainFocus Labs: more effective epilepsy treatment

For neurologists who treat patients with drug resistant epilepsy, BrainFocus-iEEG is an essential care tool. With more than 90% precision, BrainFocus-iEEG automatically locates where the seizures start, revolutionizing care and optimizing treatment results. It provides a full, detailed assessment that allows professionals to prioritize patient care and get a deeper analysis of the data for more precise diagnosis.

Three phases to accelerate the projects

During the gathering, Biocat and CIMIT explained how the training works and introduced the ecosystem in Catalonia, as well as presenting the goals for accelerating the projects at each phase of the program.

Phase 1 – Validation (September 2024): Establishing the value proposition and validating the problem-solution and solution-market fits, specifically for the healthcare technology market.

Phase 2 – European Immersion (October/November 2024): Participants do a deep dive in the Catalan, Spanish and German life sciences and healthcare ecosystems. They learn to communicate and perfect their pitch to investors, as well as making contacts at other leading European companies in the sector through collaborations with the Life Science Accelerator Baden-Württemberg and Next Mannheim. Hosting Barcelona Week.

Phase 3 – US Investors and ecosystem (December 2024): Networking and market validation opportunities with experts and institutions from Boston, the most important life sciences and healthcare ecosystem in the world, where participants can forge connections online and pitch their projects to experienced investors.
 

New this year

Some of the most significant changes this year include the specialized consultancy services the six groups will get from the Health Innovation Technology Transfer (HiTT) Foundation and the feedback from several benchmark innovation departments, including the ones at Hospital Clinic, Bellvitge University Hospital and Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital. Plus, there will be a closing event during Barcelona Health Innovation Week 2025, which will be from February 17 to 21, 2025.

This program is organized by Biocat and CIMIT with collaboration from ACCIÓ.