IHI European HealthCare Incubator Network

¿De qué trata esta convocatoria?

The topic funds one pan-European network of public and industry incubators that mentors early-stage healthcare start-ups and awards them cascade grants of up to €2,000,000 each.

¿Qué financia esta convocatoria?

Scope

Europe has strong healthcare research but lags in commercialising it, and early-stage companies lack structured support in a fragmented landscape of public and private incubators. The topic funds a sustainable European HealthCare Incubator Network that links public incubators (academia, foundations) and industry incubators (pharma, medtech, biotech) to support early-stage healthcare companies at technology readiness level 3 to 5. It combines financial support to third parties with direct interaction with large pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, and is meant to complement other EU instruments such as the European Innovation Council.

Objectives

• Establish and govern a Europe-wide network, including a Network Coordination Forum with an even split between public and private partners and an Advisory Board that includes representatives of relevant EU executive agencies and independent experts.
• Attract, evaluate, fund and monitor a portfolio of high-potential start-ups through open, competitive and widely published calls that meet EU standards of transparency, equal treatment, conflict of interest and confidentiality.
• Provide industry-informed insight into whether a concept meets an unmet clinical need, specialised mentorship on pre-clinical development, regulation, market access and maturation, access to industrial facilities, connections with other innovators and stronger fundraising prospects.
• Sustain the network beyond IHI JU funding through a strategy for long-term viability and impact measurement.

Financial support to third parties

IHI JU estimates that at least 75% of its funding, together with the financial contribution of the industry consortium and contributing partners, should go to financial support for start-ups selected through dedicated calls, whose text must be approved by IHI JU before launch. Each start-up can receive a milestone-based initial grant of €100,000 to €1,000,000 and, if it shows exceptional potential, a potential follow-on grant of €100,000 to €1,000,000, flagged at the time of the initial application, for a maximum of €2,000,000. Applicants to these calls should operate at technology readiness level 3, 4 or 5, should not have received funding under this action before, and should not receive other EU funding for the proposed sub-project. Sub-projects are judged on scientific and technical excellence, innovation and regulatory strategy, and team capability and investment readiness.

Expected outcomes

A sustainable incubator network; a programme to de-risk and mentor start-ups; an agile cascade funding framework; access to high-quality services and infrastructure; collaboration with other programmes such as the European Innovation Council, EIT Health and national and regional schemes; an industry quality seal for validated start-ups; new strategic partnerships; and a portfolio of start-ups with improved business, market and technology readiness.

¿Qué se espera de las propuestas?

• Proposals should show how synergies with related EU programmes avoid duplication.

¿Cuándo termina el plazo?

8 de octubre de 2026

8 October 2026 for the first stage; the second stage deadline is 21 April 2027. This is a two-stage call.