Soft Landing Boston 2018: Bpifrance, French Tech Hub and Medicen unveil the 8 selected startups

Paris, France, April 16, 2018 – Soft Landing Boston is a program for medtech and e-health companies (medical devices, connected devices, monitoring or diagnostics products). Created by French Tech Hub, Medicen Paris Region, Bpifrance and Mednest, this program aims to help innovative companies develop their products in the US market. The eight selected companies of this third edition were announced today on the occasion of the preparatory bootcamp. They will attend an intensive week during the World Medical Innovation Forum in Boston in April.

Last March, 12 companies were shortlisted among 20 startups and SME candidates. These 12 companies had the opportunity to pitch their project to a Franco-American panel, composed of health experts, investors and organizations specializing in innovation: Jean-Luc Boulnois, Quadrature’s CEO and business angel, Bpifrance, and French Tech Hub and Mednest partners. At the end of this second round, eight companies were selected based on their innovative solutions, team expertise and business potential for the US market.

To prepare for this total immersion in the heart of the North American health ecosystem, companies benefitted from a day of coaching on business practices in the United States, organized by Bpifrance, allowing them to be fully operational upon arrival in Boston:

They previously participated in two webinars led by the French Tech Hub and its experts to perfect their training.

The winners will attend an intensive five-day program in Boston April 23-27, starting with participation in the World Medical Innovation Forum, a global gathering of more than 1,000 senior health care leaders. The conference is organized by Partners Healthcare, the largest conglomerate of hospitals in Boston. It will focus this year on the advancements and opportunities offered by artificial intelligence in healthcare.

The winners will also attend a series of workshops focusing on reimbursement, healthcare economics and fundraising strategy. They will connect with local experts through qualified mentoring sessions and will have the opportunity to pitch at two dedicated medtech events. Thanks to this program, the selected companies will be able to increase their visibility in the US market.

The eight winners cover a wide range of technologies, from medical devices to health monitoring and diagnostics:

“We are delighted to see that interest from our companies in this program is still strong after three editions. This proves the relevance of the project for SMEs and Medicen’s ability to mobilize year after year a large group of innovative companies,” said Christian Lajoux, president of Medicen Paris Region.

“This year, the eight selected companies again show great potential. We now look forward to welcoming them in Boston and helping them with their US projects,” said Marie Buhot Launay, general manager, US market entry at French Tech Hub.

“French know-how in medtech is internationally recognized and France benefits from a pool of innovative companies whose projects are relevant and who have the ability to grow internationally. Bpifrance emphasizes the strategic importance of support, particularly to help these companies to become global. As such, we are pleased to promote the development of these eight French companies in the United States,” said Evelyne Scuto Gaillard, director of development and innovation support at Bpifrance.

 

About Medicen Paris Region
Medicen Paris Region is a competitiveness cluster for innovative health technologies, with national and international scope. With more than 400 companies, research centers, universities, hospitals and local authorities as members, it aims to position the Paris region as Europe’s leading healthcare cluster. It focuses on five strategic areas: biological diagnostics, diagnostic and interventional imaging, regenerative medicine and biomaterials, digital health and translational medicine. In close collaboration with local, regional and national healthcare innovation players, Medicen Paris Region aims to:

Since the creation of the cluster in 2005, 68 innovative products have been launched in the imaging, medical devices and biological tools sectors. The cluster has certified 302 projects. They received funding from the French government (French Inter-Ministry Fund FUI, Structuring Projects fund), the public investment bank Bpifrance, the National Research Agency, the European Regional Development Fund, the Investments for the Future program and/or local authorities, and the Paris region. Total investment is close to €1.9 billion ($2.3bn) and €533 million ($635M) of public aid.
www.medicen.org

About French Tech Hub
With offices in Boston and San Francisco, French Tech Hub’s mission is to accelerate the growth of French innovative companies in the US.
French Tech Hub – the American subsidiary of Paris Region Entreprises – was launched in February 2012 by top French government officials, with a unique public-private business model. French Tech Hub sells services to French innovative companies while carrying a general interest mission of creating jobs in France.
Leveraging the experience developed by working with over 200 companies, French Tech Hub has developed a range of services that comprehensively cover the needs of entrepreneurs at all stages of development in the US: market discovery, product-market fit, sales and marketing, subsidiary set-up and funding support.
www.frenchtechhub.com

About Mednest
MedNest activates the business of innovative medical technology and e-health companies in the US markets, when clinical, regulatory, pricing and commercial decisions need to be optimized and implemented.
MedNest’s business model and highly experienced teams empower early stage companies to enter the US markets faster than alternative solutions.
Since 2007, MedNest has coached and operated 49 international ventures from 12 different countries
www.mednest.com

 

About Bpifrance
Bpifrance, a subsidiary of Caisse des Dépôts and the French State, is a trusted partner of entrepreneurs which provides companies with credit, collateral and equity financing support from start up through to stock exchange listing. Bpifrance also provides guidance services and enhanced support for innovation, external growth and export, in partnership with Business France and Coface.
Bpifrance offers companies a continuum of financing for each key stage in their development and an offer adapted to specific regional features. With 47 regional offices (90% of decisions are made regionally), Bpifrance offers entrepreneurs a tool for economic competitiveness. Bpifrance works in support of the public policies pursued nationally and regionally by the French government, to meet three objectives:

With Bpifrance, companies have a strong and effective local contact to meet all their financial, innovation and investment needs. www.bpifrance.fr  @bpifrance

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