With each of our innovator stories, we get a chance to meet the people behind EU-funded ideas, which have the potential to change our future for the better.
With that in mind, we spoke with Dealflow.eu’s Health E-pitching participant and winner of the 2021 Category Winner of the Innovation Radar Prize Silvia Scaglione. She’s the co-founder and President of React4Life an Italian biotech company that develops organ-on-ship solutions for research and personalised medicine.
React4Life is listed on the Innovation Radar and was supported by the EU with €457k so far via different R&I projects, i.e., B2B and MOOD.
What’s your role within React4Life?
I’m currently the President and the leader of the R&D team. I’m also the founder of the company together with Maurizio Aiello, and I’m the major shareholder.
Can you tell us a bit about your company’s journey so far, and highlight its innovation?
React4life is a biotech Italian company that has developed technological solutions such as organ-on-chip for both basic research purposes and for accelerating personalised medicine and drug testing.
The company was funded six years ago. We immediately covered the IPR protection and focused our attention on the design and development of the first prototypes of this organ-on-chip and then proceeded to their scientific and technical validation. We collected important scientific papers for scientific validation, and we completed the industrialisation of the first product that was launched on the market in January 2021. I’m very proud to have currently more than 100 customers worldwide.
What approach do you go for in terms of innovation, and what challenges do you usually face?
Innovation is the key part of the company and during the React4Life journey, we have always used The Lean Startup Innovation method, meaning that the customers represent the beginning and the end of our processes. We typically start from the need of the customers, and the products are designed and developed according to these needs and then the products can cover these specific needs. In React4life we typically say that we think as biologists that represent our customers, feel like health researchers, and act like engineers.
In terms of challenges, since our organ-on-chip products are innovative and since our customers are scientists like us and they are also innovators and their adoption of novel technologies takes time, this represents a challenge because we must wait a long time before their adoption and before receiving their important feedbacks that may improve the development of new products.
Tell us about the advantages of working with Dealflow.eu, and explain how they played a part in supporting React4Life along the way.
Dealflow.eu was very important for React4life since it helped us during the phase of pitching preparation, networking with potential investors and continuous contact with potential partners.
What’s the biggest impact EU-funding has had on your company, and can you specify an outcome? (If possible, please mention how much EU-funding you have received until now.)
We have received two important EIC-based European grants. The first one was the B2B Pathfinder EU grant that I’m still coordinating (the end of that project was 31 December 2022) and it was a collaborative Pathfinder project to generate a spontaneous metastasis model in-vitro from breast to the bone by combining different breakthrough technologies like organ-on-chips, bioprinting, organoids. It was an amazing project. React4Life received about half a million euros from this Pathfinder project and in the same period, four years ago, we also received the SME Instrument phase 1 grant, 50K euro for the MIVO business model development. Thanks to these two EC grants we were able to complete the industrialisation of a new pumping system within the Pathfinder B2B project and consolidate new important scientific validations.
How impactful was the experience of participating and winning the Innovation Radar Prize in 2021?
We won the important Innovation Radar Prize two years ago. It was meaningful because it accelerated and highlighted the visibility of the company and our major organ-on-chip product (MIVO®). We also received higher public awareness thanks to this important award.
How do you determine your latest success in your fundraising journey, especially after Dealflow.eu’s support?
We have recently closed a crowdfunding campaign resulting in 0.6 million euros. Overall, we have received 1.7 million euros from EIC grants and private investors. I strongly believe that EU funding represent the best solutions for SMEs based on breakthrough technologies like React4life since the European Commission allows the risk to advance in the TRL and the new arising markets.
In our case, organ-on-chip represents a new arising market and venture capitalists typically need to invest in a well-known and understandable market with a consolidated business model and in opportunities that allow them to receive a return of interest in a short time, but this is not typically the case for breakthrough technologies. Therefore, I think that the European Commission is the best solution for SMEs like us.
How do you see the role of European funding in supporting Research and Development in the EU, and what external factors do you think will shake up the industry within the next five years?
I consider crucial the effort and the funding support coming from the EIC, meaning from the Pathfinder to the Accelerator via the Transition to Innovation instruments. After all, the EIC enables the advancement in TRL progression that derives from the prototype of these technological solutions to the market with a non-dilutive grant. Ultimately, that allows the consolidation of the technologies and the market validations without having the stress of reducing the time to market with inaccurately validated solutions. In the end, especially in the biotech market, it’s important to have strong scientific validation. Having external factors that might shake up the industry can also be valuable. We are experiencing a strong push from the regulatory agency in reducing animal testing and, therefore, adopting alternative solutions like organ-on-chips.
Article published by EurA AG.
About Innovator Spotlight Stories
The aim of innovator stories is to highlight and share with investors and relevant stakeholders in the industry, insights, and unique stories from some of the most innovative EU-funded project that Dealflow.eu is proud to support.
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