Nine Israeli startups secure $142 million in funding from EU Horizon program
Israel ranks third in Europe in terms of the number of startups to win funding from the European Innovation Council’s accelerator program, following Germany and France
Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel.
Nine Israeli startups have been selected to receive €130 million ($142 million) in grants from the European Union’s Horizon accelerator program during a challenging period when many young founders and entrepreneurs are struggling to raise essential funds, as the ongoing war with the Hamas terror group has been raging for almost 10 months.
The European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator granted a total of €411 million to as many as 68 companies chosen from 969 applicants from 17 different countries. Israel ranked third in the number of grant recipients, following Germany and France with 13 companies each.
“The high Israeli participation in the EIC Accelerator program highlights the competitive advantage of Israeli startups,” said Shlomi Kofman, International Deputy CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority. “The program allows them to receive funding and mentoring, thereby helping them accelerate their growth and realize their economic and social potential.
The EIC Accelerator program offers mixed funding that includes a grant of up to €2.5 million and equity investment of up to €15 million, as well as mentoring and business development coaching to help speed up the growth of startups and transform them into players in the global market.
Among the nine Israeli recipients selected by the EIC is Israel’s MediWound Ltd., a maker of a pineapple-based gel to treat burn victims, that will be granted €16.25 million in blended funding.
MediWound’s FDA-approved NexoBrid for the treatment of severe burns was used in Israeli hospitals to help victims of the October 7 onslaught get on a path of recovery after Hamas terrorists set their homes on fire. The product enables trained medical staff to perform enzymatic surgery rather than standard surgery to remove eschar, or dead tissue within a wound, including a severe burn.
The startup said it will use the EU grant to propel the clinical development of EscharEx, its wound therapy for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, which awaits approval by US and European regulatory authorities.
With the EU funding, MediWound now expects to “expedite the market introduction of this innovative biologic and its future revenues by four years ahead of the original schedule,” the startup said in a statement.
“The EIC’s support recognizes EscharEx’s potential to profoundly impact patients, especially those living with the significant challenges of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs),” said MediWound CEO Ofer Gonen. “This funding will enable MediWound to develop EscharEx for DFU in parallel with our advanced program for treating venous leg ulcers (VLUs), substantially increasing the overall market.”
Netanya-based JaxBio Technologies, a medical diagnostics startup said it will receive a €2.5 million grant from the EIC Accelerator. The grant includes an option for future mixed financing, including an additional €9.1 million from the EU and a matching €9.1 million from other investors. The funding will be used to “expand clinical programs and develop JaxBio’s diagnostics platform to create a simple blood test for making lung cancer detection and management simpler, quicker, and highly accurate,” the startup said.
“In the current global climate, where investments in the biotechnology industry are scarce, especially in Israel, this grant significantly supports our ongoing journey towards product development,” said JaxBio founder and CEO Dr. Shahar Zirkin. “This grant, following a rigorous screening process, validates JaxBio’s technology and helps us advance our vision of developing a simple, sensitive blood test for early cancer diagnosis to save lives”.
Nurami Medical, a Haifa-based developer of soft tissue repair technology, said it secured mixed financing from the EIC accelerator, which includes a €2.5 million grant and additional equity investment. The biotech startup plans to use the EIC funding to advance the development of its second product, currently in pre-clinical trials, following the launch in the US of its inaugural product ArtiFascia, a biodegradable nanofiber patch for use in neurosurgery.
The remainder in the list of Israeli startups winning grants are LightSolver, a creator of a laser-based computer that performs complex tasks at the speed of light; Quantum Transistors Technology, a developer of a single chip quantum processor; RAAAM Memory Technologies Ltd., a developer of on-chip memory technology; Reophotonics, a developer of a digital dispensing system for electronics manufacturing; SpacePharma R&D Israel Ltd, a developer of miniaturized lab technologies for drug discovery and testing in space; and Impact Biotech Ltd, a developer of an immune photo-activated cancer therapy for the treatment of upper tract urothelial cancer.
The EIC Accelerator is a funding initiative, which is part of Horizon Europe, one of the biggest EU research and innovation programs. It supports small and medium-sized enterprises that have breakthrough innovation projects that need funding, but the risks involved are too high for private investors alone to invest. It aims to promote and fund discoveries and world-firsts by taking ideas from the lab to the market.
Since the start of the Horizon Europe program in 2021, a total of 32 Israeli companies have received grants and investment support under the EIC Accelerator program.
“This success places Israel among the top five participating countries in the program,” according to the Israel Innovation Authority.
