Innovation Competition as a Tool for Supporting Clinical Innovation in ScanBalt BioRegion: Concrete Business Development Cases in the BSHR HealthPort Project
Several products have been launched or will be launched in the very near future. Also several companies have been successful in acquiring or are in the process of negotiating investments or other type of research and innovation funding for developing the product further.
On the Picture: Suvi Tuiskunen from Culminatum Innovation, Helsinki
This report summarizes the winning business cases in two innovation competitions organized in 2011 and 2012 within the BSHR HealtPort project part-financed by the Baltic Sea Region programme 2007 – 2014. The goal of the competitions was to boost the commercialization of clinical inventions by early idea evaluation and expert support in business development as well as by supporting early access to capital. The concept has proven to be efficient and the prize complements well the other available innovation funding instruments.
The four winners of the first stage competition were Oxygen Soother, MODZ® (previously Dr. Modz), ErgoFinger® and GoodLife. The cases were evaluated based on four criteria; business potential, market size, entrepreneurial attitude of the team and superiority of the innovation. The aim of the competition was to support winners to achieve a proof-of-concept, help them with the business plan preparation and to clarify market opportunitis and to develop the idea towards a more mature business case.
The theme of the second stage competition was “Getting ready for the investment” indicating that it was addressed to more mature cases that were already ready for finding venture capital financing. The competition prize was divided between two companies; TBD-Biodiscovery and Relaxbirth, which both act t on a niche market and have prospects of generating reasonable sales in the close future. In both competitions the prize – the coaching – was tailored according to specific needs of the companies
The innovation competition prize in the form of tailored support action was considered very practical and useful by the winners from both competitions. The goals were well achieved as several products have been launched or will be launched in the very near future. Another aim was to attract funding for the business cases and already several companies have been successful in acquiring or are in the process of negotiating investments or other type of research and innovation funding for developing the product further.
