Celebrating innovation: UCB’s 2024 Startup Program Pitch Day

As UCB’s Digital Care Transformation (DCTx) team marks the end of another year of groundbreaking digital health innovation, its Startup Program celebrated the culmination of its third year with the annual Pitch Day. Held on December 11th, Pitch Day provided the opportunity to showcase the progress that this year’s startup cohort has made and celebrate their achievements.

This year’s Pitch Day was an international event occurring simultaneously in Brussels and Atlanta with a virtual global audience. With approximately 200 in attendance, the event alternated between live pitches across the two locations, enabling attendees to engage in real time with startups from across the globe. Two awards were presented on the day: the Jury Award and the Audience Award. The Jury Award was decided by a panel of UCB executives, industry experts and patient representatives, and the Audience Award was voted on by participants.

Pitch Day has become a cornerstone of UCB’s Startup Program, embodying DCTx’s mission to foster innovation that improves patient care. By showcasing the progress and potential of each startup, Pitch Day highlighted UCB’s dedication to empowering early-stage companies, helping them overcome market challenges and ultimately enhance healthcare by supporting innovation. This setup not only raised the profile of each presenting company but also fostered an engaging environment where innovative ideas are shared and refined.

This year’s Pitch Day shone a spotlight on four visionary startups – ALLOS AI, SkinCheck, Proton Health, and Dermus – who have spent the past few months engaging with UCB’s team of mentors and industry experts. This program offered tailored guidance to each company, helping them refine their solutions, enhance clinical relevance, and prepare for real-world application.

Each startup presented its work, showcasing not only technical progress but also the human impact of their solutions. Through a series of pitches and interactive sessions, these companies demonstrated how DCTx’s mentorship program has accelerated their journey, equipping them to bring life-changing solutions to patients.

Miklos, Founder of the startup Dermus, reflects on the program: “This mentorship program has been a real eye-opener for us. It allowed us to discover how pharma works, its needs, and aspirations. The open discussions with stakeholders and doctors have helped us understand the pain points of patients and physicians dealing with hidradenitis suppurativa.”

Marie-Noel Achkar, Startup Program Lead, shares: “At UCB, we’re driven to find transformative solutions that will improve the lives of people living with severe diseases. Pitch Day is an opportunity to learn more about startups who share our passion for patient impact, giving us all the chance to explore new technologies that could redefine how we diagnose and treat complex conditions.”

The Startup Program and Pitch Day aren’t just transformative for participating startups; they’re also essential to UCB’s innovation strategy. By supporting digital health startups, UCB gains early exposure to pioneering healthcare solutions, fostering a network of future-ready partnerships that could lead to groundbreaking advances in patient care. This collaborative approach strengthens UCB’s commitment to innovation, reinforcing its role as a leader in healthcare transformation.

Pitch Day offers startups valuable visibility within UCB, as well as the potential for future collaborations. In past years, some companies have gone on to form research partnerships or continue developing their solutions with UCB teams. This year’s event could also act as a springboard for new connections, providing each startup with opportunities to network with investors, healthcare professionals, and other key players in the digital health space.

By empowering startups to transform their ideas into impactful healthcare solutions, UCB’s DCTx team is driving meaningful change across the healthcare ecosystem. As the year closes, Pitch Day serves as both a celebration of progress and an invitation to the wider digital health community to join UCB’s vision of transforming patient care through innovation.

For more information about the 2024 cohort, visit the Startup Program.

Jury Award: SkinCheck

Audience Award: Dermus

Congratulations to our two outstanding 2024 winners, and a heartfelt commendation to the entire Startup Program cohort for their exceptional dedication and innovation. At UCB, we’re excited to follow your journeys and see how your groundbreaking digital health initiatives will shape the future of healthcare.