Preventive medicine is on the rise, and startups are no exception to this trend. This health approach, combined with a highly technological component, is the link between the six new Emprende inHealth projects. This entrepreneurship program led by Lilly Spain, in partnership with the Unlimited Foundation, is an accelerator of innovation in this sector, with positive impact, thanks to mentorship from company professionals, including members of the leadership team.
The eleventh edition of the program kicked off with the selection of six startups that are leveraging cutting-edge technology to advance prevention, early diagnosis, and monitoring of high-prevalence diseases, as well as to improve key processes in biomedical research. From reducing respiratory muscle atrophy in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) to early detection of chronic kidney disease (CKD) or the risk of falls in older adults, the projects address unmet needs of the health system and propose innovative solutions anchored to the real-world, everyday problems faced by patients and society.
The other three projects broaden the focus toward biomedical research and clinical decision-making. From the need to simulate real organ behavior to accelerate drug development, to improvements in detection of lesions that today go unnoticed during colonoscopy, or the difficulty of translating microbiota data into clinically useful recommendations, these projects tackle challenges equally relevant to advancing personalized and preventive medicine.
Teresa Millán, Director of Corporate Affairs at Lilly Spain, explains that “in a year as meaningful for Lilly as this one, in which we celebrate 150 years of history and recall our purpose, Emprende inHealth reflects the mission we share with entrepreneurs: turning innovation into solutions that meet the real needs of the health system and adopt available technologies to achieve real clinical utility. Our employees, committed to that purpose, contribute their knowledge to help entrepreneurs both integrate into the care pathway and overcome the barriers they encounter.”
Manuel Lencero, CEO of Unlimited, notes “Emprende inHealth very well reflects what we do at Unlimited: connect the knowledge of large companies with entrepreneurs capable of transforming complex sectors. When that connection happens in health, the result is innovation with real impact on patients, professionals, and families.”
Six Startups and One Purpose: Preventing Illness
The 11th edition of Emprende inHealth brought together six projects with complementary approaches:
- Heecap: Respiratory muscle atrophy affects 76% of ICU patients within the first 24 hours of mechanical ventilation and is estimated to add up to 2,500 euros per day per patient in costs. Therefore, this startup is developing a noninvasive transcutaneous electrical stimulation system that trains the diaphragm muscles during mechanical ventilation to prevent atrophy from the outset. So far, it has completed a clinical pilot with 18 patients at Vall d’Hebron and Parc Taulí hospitals.
- Ephion Health: Develops a digital biomarker that captures patient mobility by transforming data collected from wearable sensors into objective indicators, useful for measuring disease progression, real-world treatment responses, and preventing risk situations such as fall risk in older adults. This technology already has CE marking, and it is estimated that it could reduce up to 30% of in-person medical visits and shorten clinical trials, as well as reduce the required sample size by 36%.
- 60Nd: It is often overlooked that organs move; that is, the mechanical environment in which diseases occur. This directly affects not only disease progression but also how drugs are developed. In this context, this startup’s mechanobiology technology simulates in real time how organs behave in vitro and can be integrated with any laboratory technology. It is portable and aims to accelerate medical research and prevent disease progression.
- MiWEndo Solutions: Colonoscopy can miss between 22% and 26% of clinically relevant lesions linked to colorectal cancer. This can lead to late diagnoses and unnecessary interventions. Hence the startup aims to break the optical limits of colonoscopy by applying microwave technology to detect polyps in real time, expand the field of view, and differentiate tissues without altering current clinical practice. All of these aspects would improve the prevention of colorectal cancer.
- Debios Diagnostics: Their project centers on the first noninvasive urine diagnostic test to detect and monitor kidney fibrosis, facilitating the diagnosis and monitoring of CKD. In addition to the high prevalence of this disease, its progression and severity are linked to the development of cardiometabolic diseases, making prevention key. The biomarker has already been validated in more than 300 samples, and 88% of nephrologists surveyed expressed their intention to adopt it.
- Biotasmart: Transforms data into personalized nutritional recommendations that help health professionals understand patients’ microbiota. The platform generates reports by combining diagnostic tests, interpretation models, and artificial intelligence to support clinical decision-making. Its “data-to-dish” mission is expected to improve treatment adherence, drug permeability and toxicity, and promote a healthier lifestyle and disease prevention.
A decade of innovative health entrepreneurship
Over its ten editions, the program has offered mentorship across diverse fields such as manufacturing, supplier quality control, market access, communications, and finance, in addition to technical aspects and biomedical research. Its longevity has also allowed us to observe how the Spanish innovation ecosystem is changing. If in the early years artificial intelligence appeared as a minor category, today 50% of projects explicitly mention it in their proposals.
Since 2016, Emprende inHealth has supported 59 startups and benefited more than 2.6 million people—patients, healthcare professionals, and families—through innovations accelerated by the entrepreneurship program. In its ten editions, 329 professionals have participated as mentors and advisors, dedicating 4,358 hours of expert guidance.
Its distinctive component, professional volunteering, is based on tailored, one-on-one guidance designed after an initial assessment to overcome concrete and common barriers that entrepreneurs encounter. And the challenges they face mirror the early days of any large company, such as Lilly, which now has 150 years of history. With this accumulated experience, its professionals hold a strategic position to accelerate health innovation projects that aim to improve patients’ lives.
