|
  |
|
Product Highlight
|
Latest Work Objectives: In the European economy, SMEs in biomedical sectors such as healthcare, biotechnology and medical technology are important contributors to competitiveness and growth. Despite the incredible potential of these SMEs to provide solutions for the cure of debilitating diseases and to improve citizens’ quality of life, public and private funding for biomedical research and design is declining - a trend that could jeopardize efforts to develop improved treatments against life-threatening illnesses. Although public funding by the European Union Framework Programmess accounts only for 4-5% of the total investment in R&D, the FP projects bring together the critical mass of stakeholders with the aim to improve the health of European citizens and to boost European economy. In almost all cases, additional capital from other public sources, private investors or public-private partnerships is needed to bring biomedical discoveries towards the market.  The Kappa-Health project will evaluate what makes an SME successful in terms of its participation in an FP6/FP7 EU co-funded research project and how this joint research can lead to successful applications. Through survey and in depth interview of biomedical SMEs participating in FP6 “Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health” and FP7 “Health” theme, the KAPPA-Health project participants will identify the major performance factors by considering quantitative elements such as the number of out-licensing/new products on the market and taking into account longer term qualitative impacts in terms of sustainable growth of companies and establishment of winning business strategies. A special focus will be put on the correlation between FP6/7 collaborations and attracting complementary funding investments e.g. financial services, venture capital and/or additional governmental funds. When performing the in-depth interviews, financial training/coaching will also be provided on how additional innovation capital can be acquired. The overall purpose of KAPPA-Health is to improve the performance of biomedical SMEs and allow the evaluation of the FP6/ FP7 outcomes against Lisbon-objectives relevant criteria. The identified success factors will be used as criteria to develop a methodology for the assessment and valorisation of project outcomes for SMEs. It will facilitate the evaluation of projects with more chance for success and help policy makers to define objectives and intermediate performance targets. The KAPPA key success factors aim at becoming a “check-list” to take into account to better exploit the research resulting from EU Health research projects in the near future. The check-list will be the core of a practical guide to be published in the coming months. Contact : Dr Jacques Viseur
|
|
|
More here... 
