Assessing the status of healthcare disruptors in Poland and CEE

Polish medical start-ups are showing great dynamism and innovation, addressing the key needs of today’s medical sector.

The AI in Health Coalition, the Polish Hospital Federation and the expert team wZdrowiu have published the latest edition of the Top Disruptors in Healthcare Report, which for the past five years has been an integral part of the medical innovation landscape in Poland and the CEE region, showcasing the latest start-ups and inspiring solutions that are changing the face of healthcare. PZU Health is a partner of this year’s Report.

“Over the years, the report has not only documented progress, but also played an active role in the development of these companies, fostering valuable partnerships and creating an ecosystem conducive to innovation,” says says Karolina Kornowska, lead author of the report and project manager of the AI in Health Coalition and the Polish Hospital Federation.

“This year’s edition features as many as 170 great Polish medical start-ups, and 24 start-ups from the CEE region. The aim of the report is not only to showcase innovation, but also to provide valuable data to support informed decision-making in the health sector. I see our report as a source of inspiration and a tool for active support for innovative medical start-ups,” 

The role of technology

In the technology sector, AI and machine learning play a key role, chosen by 64 per cent of healthcare start-ups (108 respondents). The rapid increase in interest in these technologies, from 30 per cent in the first edition of the report, reflects their growing importance in the digitisation of healthcare.

The biggest challenge for Polish medical start-ups is finding an investor or obtaining financing, as indicated by 50 per cent of respondents.

Expanding abroad and promoting and selling solutions are also significant barriers, indicated by 40 per cent and 37 per cent of start-ups, respectively. Collaboration with the public remains a challenge for 31 per cent of start-ups, highlighting the need for better integration of innovations into the public healthcare system. Less of a problem are issues related to acquiring competent employees and creating business models, indicated by seven per cent of start-ups.

The most common target users are doctors and other medical professionals (66 per cent) and healthcare providers (65 per cent). Patients make up 59 per cent of target users, highlighting the importance of direct health solutions available to patients.

Medical entities are also the most important ultimate paying customer for medical start-ups (62 per cent), suggesting that medical facilities remain a reliable source of revenue for innovative companies. The share of patients as paying customers, although declining, is still an important group of ultimate customers (40 per cent).

Partnerships

The data shows that medical start-ups most often establish partnerships with medical institutions (73 per cent). The increase in collaboration in the fifth edition (it was just 62 per cent in the fourth edition) underscores the growing importance of direct involvement of clinics and hospitals in the development of innovative solutions. Such close collaboration is indispensable for testing, implementing and scaling new technologies in medicine.

As the review, ‘AI is not Sci-Fi’, published by the Polish Hospital Federation in collaboration with the AI in Health Coalition and the expert team wZdrowiu points out, medical innovations, including solutions developed by start-ups, are already being implemented in some hospitals and benefiting practice.

The current increase in collaboration suggests that more and more medical facilities are seeing the positives of using innovation in the health sector. However, very unfavorable is the significant decrease in cooperation with investors (down from 52 per cent in the second edition to 20 per cent in the fifth).

When it comes to the development stage of Polish start-ups, 14 per cent are at the proof of concept (PoC) stage, the lowest percentage in the five-year history of the market survey. This decline suggests that more companies have already moved to more advanced stages.

The minimum viable product (MVP) stage was selected by 25 per cent, and the commercialisation stage is at 31 per cent , an increase from previous editions, indicating a maturing market and greater readiness to generate revenue. Stability at the growth stage has remained at 30 per cent in the last two editions, showing that many start-ups are focusing on scaling operations and expanding into new markets.

Female empowerment needed

Most medical start-ups (51 per cent) were founded by mixed teams, reflecting diversity and openness to different perspectives. However, only four per cent of start-ups were founded exclusively by women, while 44 per cent were founded exclusively by men. This shows that there are still some gender inequalities, which can be reduced by supporting and promoting female entrepreneurship.

Pointing to the financing of Polish medical start-ups, it is worth noting that the share of the founder’s own funds remains high, as it is the most frequently chosen answer by start-ups (58 per cent). The second most popular source of funding is private investors (36 per cent).

A clear decrease can be observed in the case of funding from domestic VCs (fourth edition 34 per cent, fifth edition 24 per cent), which may indicate difficulties in accessing domestic funds. On the other hand, if we indicate the current level of funding, the majority of start-ups declare it at the level of less than 200,000 euros (37 per cent).

There is also a high percentage of startups planning to expand internationally, which indicates growth ambitions and a desire to increase business scale and revenue by reaching new customers outside the country—more than half of Polish start-ups (59 per cent) do not yet have a presence in foreign markets, but plan to enter these markets in the future.

“Polish medical start-ups show great dynamism and innovation, addressing the key needs of today’s medical sector. Despite numerous challenges, they have great potential to continue growing and bringing to market breakthrough solutions that can significantly improve the quality of healthcare,” Kornowska adds.

The full Top Disruptors in Healthcare report is available here.

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