Four LS@W Venture Challenge alumni among finalists for Innovation for Health 2025 Start-up Pitch Contest

The Global Investor Forum jury has announced the nine finalists for the 2025 Innovation for Health Start-up Pitch Contest, powered by Axon Lawyers and F.INSTITUTE. Among them are four alumni of the LifeSciences@Work Venture Challenge—highlighting the continued impact and visibility of LS@W ventures on the national stage.

The selected finalists are:

• Approxima – Michal Jaworek

• Ivy Medical – Melcher Frankema

• IMPLICAN B.V. – Ivo Kooijman

• OctoVascular – Mark Vrancken Peeters

• livingmed biotech – Perjan Pleunis

• SmadMinX – Sheila Krishnadath (Venture Challenge alumnus, previously known as CystmX)

• XS Innovations – Toon Stilma (Venture Challenge alumnus)

• Predica Diagnostics BV – Marco De Boer (Venture Challenge alumnus)

• Surgical Reality – Chris Hordijk (Venture Challenge alumnus)

The finalists represent a strong and diverse group of early-stage ventures across biotech, diagnostics, and surgical technologies. Their selection for this high-profile contest underlines the strength of the LS@W pipeline in preparing startups for national and international investor attention.

The contest’s final round will take place during Innovation for Health 2025, where one of these nine startups will be awarded the prestigious I4H Start-up Pitch Award. This year’s jury includes representatives from AXON Lawyers, F.INSTITUTE, BioGeneration Ventures, Invest NL, and DROIA Ventures.

LifeSciences@Work congratulates all finalists—especially its Venture Challenge alumni—on reaching this milestone and showcasing how Dutch life sciences entrepreneurship continues to thrive.

Source: Innovation4Health