Health technologies: a thriving and innovative sector

A fledgling industry searching for personalised, digital solutions

Luxembourg's healthcare sector is a fledgling yet thriving industry with around 150 companies dedicated to the development of digital healthcare products, services and tools. Benefiting from the country's expertise and cutting-edge information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, Luxembourg's HealthTech players are focusing their attention on innovation in the fields of e-health, applications, mobile technologies and health data management systems. Their goal is to foster global growth in the personalised medicine sector and to promote a heightened level of prevention as well as more effective diagnosis and treatment.

Launch your start-up in a collaborative environment at the heart of Europe

Infrastructures and initiatives, such as the House of BioHealth incubator, offer start-ups the chance to establish themselves in the Grand Duchy in a dynamic and creative environment that brings together public and private research institutes, a host of companies and local hospitals.

The Fit 4 Start accelerator programme, managed by Luxinnovation, supports leading HealthTech start-ups by providing coaching, financial support, office space and networking opportunities. Since its launch in 2015, the programme has played a pivotal role in the development of numerous international talents and innovative projects, such as Molecular Plasma Group, Wavy Meet, Dynaccurate, Posture AI and VoiceMed. 

3 questions for Arianna Arienzo, CEO of VoiceMed

VoiceMed, a start-up founded during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, has developed an innovative technology for measuring health based on artificial intelligence and voice biomarkers. In 2022, the start-up was selected for Luxinnovation's Fit 4 Start accelerator programme.

1. Why did you choose Luxembourg as the base for your company? In your opinion, what specific challenges and opportunities do healthcare technology start-ups like VoiceMed face in the country?

VoiceMed was founded by an international team - an Italian, a Frenchman and a Brazilian. All the founders came from different countries and lived in various locations, including Luxembourg. From a bureaucratic perspective, we found it relatively easy to register the company in Luxembourg, even if two of the three founders couldn't physically travel to Luxembourg when VoiceMed was launched in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

When we were working on our first data set to create our initial vocal biomarker for health screening, VoiceMed was able to establish a partnership with the National Health Laboratory (LNS). This was made possible thanks to Luxembourg's small ecosystem. It has also enabled seamless integration with the electronic health record. This significantly boosted our data collection in a cost-efficient manner. Subsequently, VoiceMed was selected for a grant, which gave us the initial visibility we needed.

2. In 2022, you took part in Luxinnovation's Fit 4 Start programme. How has this initiative helped you to develop as a young company?

Since 2022, VoiceMed has developed its major asset: the biobank of human sounds, which has allowed us to develop different algorithms and create three biomarkers to date. The Fit 4 Start initiative has indeed helped us, and now VoiceMed has launched the first product on the market, allowing every person to conduct a quick health check using their smartphone. Our commercial strategy aims to integrate our technology into other health apps to enhance the integration process for health insurance members or healthcare providers, enabling our clients to create personalised programmes.

3. Do you have any key advice for young entrepreneurs who want to launch their projects in Luxembourg, in particular in the HealthTech sector?

Leverage the network as much as possible. It's relatively easy in Luxembourg to acquaint oneself with the ecosystem and the relevant individuals in order to develop a pilot project. Furthermore, being proficient in multiple languages will enable your team to expand into nearby markets. As I often tell my students at the medical faculty at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan, Italy), my advice for launching a company in HealthTech is as follows:

• Be passionate about solving the problem you face. The journey is long and only worthwhile if you genuinely believe in the solution you're providing.
• Recruit the right people for your project and align expectations from the beginning. During the journey, unexpected events may occur, so it's crucial to be prepared.
• Try to find the simplest way to validate your idea. While validation in the HealthTech sector can be challenging, there are usually less costly approaches available. Be creative!