Philipp Harnischfeger

I just came back from HLTH Europe, the best #HealthTech event in Europe. This second edition was fantastic: the whole ecosystem (including providers, payors, policy makers....) was there to discuss the key innovation topics that will shape the future of healthcare in Europe. Besides my 4 highlights, I also had the chance to moderate a panel on the topic: "Data Opt-in-imism: Why trust is key to the success of EHDS" .... with 3 fantastic panelists: Jaanika Merilo, Head of Digital Health and Care, Ministry of Social Affairs (Estonia), Estonia Malene Fischer, Deputy Chief Executive, Research Director, Rigshospitalet, Denmark Maria Bäcklund-Hassel, Senior Advisor, the Swedish e-health agency, Sweden Here are the key insights of the panel: Earlier this year, the European Health Data Space (EHDS) was approved, paving the way for cross-border health data exchange. The #EHDS may not be as flashy as AI, but it’s the backbone of healthcare innovation in Europe. ✅ 𝐎𝐩𝐭-𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭. After heated negotiations, Europe chose an "opt-in by default" model. Citizens are automatically included unless they actively opt out. 🤝 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡. And it’s earned through radical transparency, as seen in Sweden. If trust is lost (due to data leaks, data commercialisation, misuse... ) opt-outs could spike. However, experts expect fewer than 10% to opt out, and as low as 1–2% in high-trust countries like Sweden or Denmark. ⚔️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐱: 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 The EHDS is designed to build trust. But critics are already saying that it is too "heavy". Without adoption, EHDS risks becoming an empty shell. EHDS is Europe’s opportunity to lead in digital health : 🏆 𝐖𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡: The proportion of clinical trials being carried out in the European Economic Area dropped to 12% of world studies in 2023 from 22% in 2013. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬: Projects like Rigshospitalet’s improve care through simulation. EHDS data are needed to train the model 🎯 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞: Scalable data is key for personalized treatments 📖 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞: can the EHDS be the building block to an Open Source ecosystem in Europe? And the hidden weapon to win the AI in #healthcare race against the US and China? ------ I also really enjoyed hosting an event with Healthy.Capital and my dear friend Douwe. Let's do it again next year! Special thanks to Katy, Lina and Henry for this fantastic conference! Follow HGM Advisory for daily reposts of the most important HealthTech news. PS: We might need to update my caricature ;)

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Stop designing ecosystems for exits. Build startups not only to make investors rich. Build them to compound society’s wealth. Germany is world-class in science. But we are weak at turning that power into economic value. We all agree: we must improve. Massively. Too often I read: “An ideal ecosystem supports start-ups from idea to exit.” Why EXIT? If exit is the one success metric, we optimize to sell our technology. That concentrates wealth in a few hands.. and, too often, hands outside Europe. What creates durable wealth for all of us? Companies that stay, grow profitably, pay taxes, and create jobs for decades. My proof point (with our bootstrapped NanoTemper): • €44.8M taxes paid • €364M lifetime revenue • 200+ jobs across continents A better ideal for us: Build global champions, not just attractive assets. Aim for hidden champions: quiet, profitable, responsible. 𝗟𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 "𝗠𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱". How to measure success (beyond exits): Local ecosystems strengthened. Customer impact (like health). Jobs created & taxes paid. P.S. Exits are fine. Sometimes right, sometimes not. The real question: How do we build more European champions that stay and lead? Your turn: What is one change (policy, metric, or founder habit) that would move Europe from “exit-first” to “champion-first” entrepreneurship?

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🚀 European Healthtech: Thriving in a Tough VC Climate 🚀 While overall VC dealmaking in Europe is still suffering declines, the continent’s #healthtech market is attracting more capital according to recent pitchbook data. In H1 2025, investors poured €4B across 453 deals - at the current run-rate on track for the third-highest deal value of the decade and 55% above 2024’s total. Deal count is also trending higher than last year. 💰 Selected rounds include: - Verdiva Bio – $410M Series A for a weekly oral obesity treatment (led by Forbion & General Atlantic) - Neko Health – $260M Series B for AI-powered body scanning (led by Lightspeed) - Windward Bio – $200M Series A for cutting-edge drug development 💊 Pharma & biotech dominate funding, thanks to their capital- and time-intensive nature and strong payoff potential 🤖 AI remains a core investment thesis, powering faster drug discovery, sharper diagnostics, and predictive healthcare. Examples include UK’s Cera, which raised $150M to use AI modeling for predicting illnesses and injuries. 🌍 With 21.6% of Europe’s population over 65 and healthcare costs rising, VCs are betting on innovation that cuts costs and boosts efficiency. #healthtech #venturecapital #pavapartners

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The Project A Defence Tech Continuum 2.0 is here! Defence investing is no longer a niche topic — it’s one of the most discussed areas in venture capital today. But for many investors, especially in Germany and Europe, the same questions keep coming up: How should VCs navigate this space? What’s possible within existing regulations? Where do we draw the line between dual-use and purely military applications? To bring more clarity, we’re releasing the updated Project A Defence Tech Continuum. This second version dives deeper into the regulatory landscape across different categories, helping investors understand what’s feasible—and where the real opportunities lie. Excited to share this and keen to hear your thoughts! Florian Seibel, Sven Kruck, Marc A. Wietfeld, Sven Weizenegger, Frank Thieser, Jack Wang, Michael Vetter, Frank LEIDENBERGER, Susanne Wiegand, Paola Compés Tatay

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I am a big fan of frameworks/mental models - things that work for me and allow me to make better decisions. For my investments, I use the classic 𝐑𝐎𝐄 - 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 - 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 framework: back financially healthy companies, that are building for the future of healthcare at reasonable valuations! A colleague asked me the other day, wouldn't these mental models add biases to your investing decisions. And I think yes, all of us have biases (this was a complete chapter in CFA curriculum). Hence I don't use these models in isolation; add soft signals on top of data - and the investing thesis might change completely. Sunil introduced me to his mental model of backing founders, on top of company selection: 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 - 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞. → Vision: Can the founder see big transformative shifts and shape the future of healthcare?  → Execution: Can they build, launch, iterate, pivot? This can be a moat. → Discipline: Can they do this daily, weekly, consistently? Seems straightforward, but is inherently fundamental. #investing #healthcare #VC HealthQuad

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