Uute Scientific took the 1st prize home on Terkko Health X Showcase. Their healthcare reshaping solution aims to tackle immune-mediated diseases.
Terkko Health X Showcase ended the Terkko Health Accelerator as well as the Helsinki Startup Week with grand festivities when the Terkko Health X teams got up on stage to pitch their healthcare reshaping ideas to the jury and audience at Terkko Health Hub.
The two-month accelerator for early-stage health and life science teams finalized to Terkko Health X Showcase last Friday. The 1st prize went to Uute Scientific – a team with a goal to create a world without immune-mediated diseases. Their product could potentially reduce the risk of having to deal with asthma, allergies, diabetes or similar when added to everyday products such as bed linen.
The jury consisted of tough content matter experts: Rasmus Klärck, Associate at Icebreaker; Raimo Sepponen, Professor emeritus of Aalto University; Katariina Rouvinen, coordinator at Findery and HUS Virtual Reality Laboratory and Jukka Joutsiniemi, Head of Sales and Coach, Co-Founder at Lifted.
The jury praised the concept of the winning team Uute Scientific.
“The team has displayed excellent competence with a thoroughly thought-out concept that is well-tested. They already have extensive partnerships and a business model that is on point.”
Accelerator teams creating healthcare reshaping solutions
Choosing the top 3 was a tough task for the jury. 2nd place went to SciAR with a solution that mitigates human errors in lab work. SciAR develops an augmented reality application for scientific laboratory environments with some help from machine learning and IoT. Their product removes manual documentation from lab work which can boost productivity and accuracy vastly.
Capsamedix took the 3rd place with an idea that aims to revolutionize oral drug delivery. Their concept is a tooth-attachable delivery device with an adjustable release rate and a multi-drug capability. The goal of the team is to create a new standard in drug delivery and therefore improve therapy efficacy.
The prizes of the top teams were almost as exciting as their solutions. The winning team Uute Scientific scored 4 Slush startup tickets, a grant of 2500€ from Helsinki Think Company Fund and hot desks at Terkko Health Hub co-working space. Second team SciAR got their hands on both 2 Slush startup tickets and working spots at Terkko Health Hub. Third team Capsamedix got the hot desks too.
Bringing together people from all spheres of health and life sciences
The Showcase was the finale for the first ever Terkko Health X, the accelerator for ideas reshaping healthcare. The accelerator program was co-organized by Terkko Health Hub and Helsinki Think Company, and enabled by University of Helsinki, Aalto University, HUS, HiLIFE and Sitra.The night brought together actors from all over the health and life science sphere: investors, startups, academia, businesses – you name it. The night was filled with fascinating solutions, buzzing energy, and celebration – not to mention two keynote speakers that took on the stage after the final pitches. Tommi Lehtonen, CEO and co-founder at Blueprint Genetics and Visa Sippola, CEO and co-founder at Surgify shared their insights on how to reshape healthcare.
Iiro Uotila, the Program Manager of the accelerator was amazed at the progress the teams have made during the two-month accelerator.
“I am extremely happy with Terkko Health X journey. The accelerator was a success and we have received positive feedback from the participants, mentors and stakeholders.”
For the teams, the Showcase marked the end of the intensive eight-week phase of the accelerator for ambitious early-stage teams. “Now we are going to have a brief summer break. We will reflect on the journey and plan the incubation phase program so that it supports our teams the best”, Iiro Uotila described.
As said, after the Showcase night the intensive learning journey leads to persistent work to take that knowledge into action in the next six-month incubation phase. We are looking forward to see what the future holds for the accelerator teams!
Text: Emmi Linnankivi, Terkko Health Hub & Venla Parkkila, Helsinki Think Company
Photos: Fida Kettunen, Helsinki Think Company