The European EIT Health program selected HeartGenetics as one of its most successful startups.

This Success Story has now been published on the EIT Health webpage https://www.eithealth.eu/-/heartgenetics.

Ana Teresa Freitas, Researcher at INESC-ID and CEO of Heartgenetics, explains why this merit award is so important for the startup:

“For Heartgenetics, being selected to participate in EIT Health GoEurope 2016, meant that we were awarded with a €50k grant that allowed us to fund a market study for evaluating the cardiovascular genetics market in Europe, which in turn enabled us to realign our strategy for European markets. The programme also gave us access to a greater network of Portuguese start-ups and entrepreneurs and access to EIT Health partners across Europe”.

And also states: “The programme enabled us to participate in a one-week immersion programme in the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Through EIT Health GoGlobal, we also had the opportunity to pitch at TRACTION which is the Health 2.0 conference start-up championship. We were the only European company to do so that year. The information and evidence gathered through these experiences guided HeartGenetics to the decision to focus on developing the new vertical of wellness genetics, on brand recognition and European expansion rather than entering the US market immediately. The EIT Health programme supported us in this path towards greater maturity and sustainability.”

 

EIT Health promotes healthy living, active ageing and improvements in healthcare by leveraging big data and new technologies, identifying and removing barriers to innovation, and building on education and talent creation.