By signing a memorandum of cooperation, the largest network of health innovators in Europe, EIT Health, and the national research and innovation platform, BioPhoT, agree to promote the commercialisation of research and early-stage innovations jointly, and to foster closer integration of Latvian researchers and startups into the European health innovation ecosystem.
The collaboration was formalised through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding during BioPhoT Industry Day in Riga, marking a shared commitment to foster research commercialisation, early-stage innovation, and closer integration of Latvian research teams into European health innovation ecosystems.
BioPhoT is a national initiative supported by the Latvian Ministry of Economics, with dedicated public funding to accelerate research commercialisation in priority areas relevant to health innovation, including biomedicine, medical technologies, pharmaceuticals, and photonics-enabled solutions. Through national investment and international collaboration, Latvia aims to support the development of export-ready innovations with sustainable economic and societal impact across Europe.
"BioPhoT is more than a project - it is a catalyst for transforming Latvia’s scientific excellence into innovations that make a real difference in people’s lives. By uniting researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry, we are building a bridge from ideas to impact, fostering solutions that can compete on a global scale and create lasting value," says Osvalds Pugovičs, BioPhoT Platform Manager.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding, BioPhoT and EIT Health will jointly explore opportunities to support Latvian innovators by facilitating connections, information exchange, and participation pathways within EIT Health activities and the wider European health innovation ecosystem.
"Signing this Memorandum marks a milestone in BioPhoT’s journey, formalising our commitment to connect Latvian innovators with European partners, accelerate the development of market-ready solutions, and ensure that scientific ideas translate into real-world impact," adds Pugovičs.
BioPhoT is open to collaboration with industry partners across Europe, enabling Latvian research teams to engage with real-world industry challenges in health and medical technologies and to develop solutions aligned with European market needs from an early stage.
"This collaboration creates mutual value: Latvian innovators gain access to industry and expertise, while EIT Health strengthens its connection to a dynamic and fast-growing ecosystem committed to delivering impactful health solutions for Europe," says Alina Dolmate, representative ofEIT Community Hub Latvia,hosted by Riga Technical University.
By combining national support through BioPhoT with European-level collaboration via EIT Community Hub Latvia, Latvia signals its ambition to position itself as a dynamic health innovation ecosystem, capable of translating strong research into high-impact, market-ready solutions addressing European and global challenges. The collaboration is supported by EIT Community Hub Latvia, hosted by Riga Technical University, ensuring alignment with the broader EIT Community presence in Latvia.
About the EIT
The EIT is the largest innovation network in Europe, operating since 2008. It is an independent body of the European Union and an integral part of Horizon Europe - the EU framework program for research and innovation.
The EIT Community offers a wide range of innovation and entrepreneurship activities across Europe, including entrepreneurship training courses, startup services, business acceleration programs, and research projects.
For more information - https://www.eit.europa.eu/
About EIT Health
EIT Health is a vast, vibrant community of health innovators which connects around 80 world-class member organisations with thousands of start-ups and entrepreneurs. It brings together all sides of the “knowledge triangle” – research, education and business – so that life-changing innovation can happen.
Supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, EIT Health collaborates across borders to deliver new solutions that can enable European citizens to live longer, healthier lives. The organisation’s work addresses urgent public health needs, strengthens health systems, and bolsters the continent’s competitiveness in the global economy.
As Europe faces rising chronic disease and multi-morbidity and seeks to realise the potential technology offers to transform treatment, prevention and healthy living, we need effective ways to bring innovative healthcare solutions to the market faster. EIT Health meets this need, driving healthcare innovation through mentorship, funding, and research facilitation. Since its inception in 2016 EIT Health has supported 3,000 start-ups and scale-ups, helping them to attract €2.2 billion in investment and launch 123 innovative products and services. EIT Health programmes have trained over 65,000 students and professionals to power the healthcare workforce of tomorrow. EIT Health: Together for healthy lives in Europe. For more information - www.eithealth.eu
