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Last week was incredible in Amsterdam!
Amsterdam buzzed with excitement last week as HLTH Europe 2024 unfolded, drawing in over 3,500 visitors. On Tuesday I enjoyed a fantastic breakfast hosted by Calm/Storm, where I connected with fellow entrepreneurs and investors. On Thursday, I attended TNW, and wrapped up the week with AiSalon Amsterdam.
Now, I'm excited to share five key takeaways from HLTH Europe with you.
1. Accessing the Netherlands: A clogged market or too gouda to be true?
Douwe from Healthy Capital moderated this great panel, featuring Piet Hein Van Dam, founder and CEO of Clear.bio, Niels van Gorp from Digizo.nu, and Corien Staels from Staels.com.
The Netherlands presents unique challenges as a market. With citizens expecting health services to be covered by their health plans, initiatives relying on out-of-pocket payments often struggle to succeed.
Other challenges in the market include:
Worker Shortage: An expected shortfall of 600,000 workers by 2030.
High Healthcare Expenses: €103 billion spent in 2023.
Aging Population: 50% of the population is over 50 years old.
Rise in Chronic Diseases: 80% attributed to lifestyle and environment.
Large Inefficiencies: Long waiting lists for health care services.
2. Welcome aboard, Amsterdam!
Speaking of out-of-pocket initiatives, Aware.app just launched in Amsterdam last week, strategically coinciding with HLTH Europe week. They offer super convenient health checks covering over 70 key biomarkers for a yearly membership of €179. They're also in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, and Vienna. I love this idea and can't wait to see how it takes off in the Netherlands!
3. AI in the NHS - changing the game
It was an impressive panel where members of the NHS showcased various initiatives they're taking to adopt AI. The discussion highlighted an AI Copilot that helps doctors take notes more efficiently and quickly, and even helps reduce coding errors for health insurance companies. They also introduced a Clinical AI Fellowships program designed to train medical professionals in AI.
Hats off to the NHS for these forward-thinking initiatives!
4. Transforming Perspectives on Psychedelics: A Journey Beyond the Trip
The panel, moderated by Genevieve from The Jurvetson Foundation, featured Florian Brand, CEO of Atai Life Science, and Kabir Nath, CEO of Compass Pathways. They dived into how psychedelic research could revolutionize mental health treatment.
They talked about the massive global mental health crisis, with a billion people affected and traditional meds like SSRIs often falling short. The focus was on the promise of psychedelics, especially for patients who haven’t found relief with other treatments, and the need for top-notch data and solid clinical trials to tackle stigma and misconceptions.
Florian mentioned Spravato's success and Atai's plans to use similar in-clinic treatment models for their psychedelic drug candidates to make them more accessible and affordable.
The panel was a fantastic chance to highlight cutting-edge research in psychiatry and the importance of a team effort to advance mental health care. I'm passionate about this topic and truly believe that psychedelics have the potential to significantly enhance mental health treatment.
5. Calm/Storm HealthTech Breakfast - Event Recap
On Tuesday, I attended a HealthTech Breakfast hosted by Calm/Storm in collaboration with naturalX Health Ventures at The Hoxton in Amsterdam!
The event gathered over 100 HealthTech enthusiasts, including VCs, founders, and industry veterans, fostering lively discussions and valuable networking opportunities.
Lucanus Polagnoli, founder of Calm/Storm, presented their latest Digital Health Compass, offering fresh insights into the dynamic HealthTech market. During the event, Marvin Amberg introduced naturalX Health Ventures, emphasizing three key points:
It's a new venture capital fund dedicated to consumer health.
The fund is backed by Schwabe Group, a renowned German pharmaceutical company specializing in plant-based medicine.
They have launched a €100 million Series A/B fund aimed at becoming a leading European investor in the consumer health sector.
That's a wrap, folks! See you all next year at HLTH Europe!
+ Health-tech is good
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P.S. Photo by Catalina Fedorova on Unsplash