International MedTech innovations

Review of the MedTech Pitch Day 2026

MedTech Pitch Day 2026 Freiburg

On 17 March 2026, ten international medical technology start-ups came together in Freiburg im Breisgau to present technological developments for healthcare. The MedTech Pitch Day 2026 brought these innovative MedTech and HealthTech start-ups together with leading investors:inside and Corporate decision-makers:inside together.

Ten teams were selected from one hundred applications from 14 countries, whose innovations cover the entire spectrum from infancy to old age. The event was organised by HTGF, the B. Braun Innovation Hub, the B. Braun Foundation and Dräger. ADVANT Beiten and BadenCampus supported the event as local partners.

  • Smart sensors & diagnosticsStart-ups such as Sencilia (Netherlands) and BIOS Medical (Switzerland) showed how sensors can increase infusion safety or monitor the healing process of implants.

  • Advanced materials: With the use of self-disinfecting high-tech materials Puray (Germany), how germs on surfaces can be efficiently reduced.

  • Precision in surgery: Solutions such as the navigation system from ARON Surgical (Germany) or the brain-computer interface from CorTec (Germany) are aimed at safer interventions.

  • Care in the home environment: Ciromed (Germany) presented ways in which treatments such as light therapy for macular degeneration could take place at home in the future.

  • Specialised neonatology: The innovative inhalation technology from InhalPlus (Germany) for premature babies to optimise drug delivery and reduce long-term damage.

In an accompanying panel discussion, experts discussed the need for open ecosystems and greater standardisation in clinics. Under the moderation of Jörg Traub (Principal, High-Tech Gründerfonds), Dr Michael Lauk (Chief Digital Officer B. Braun), Dr Lennart Jahnke (Chief Digital Officer of Freiburg University Hospital), Michael Wilkening (Vice President Strategy and Business Development Medical Division at Dräger) and Philipp Wolf, who contributed the start-up perspective with sqior medical, took part in the discussion.

 

The following key points were emphasised:

  • Standardisation as the foundationThe strategic decision in favour of consistent standard compatibility of all products was identified as a decisive factor for market success.
  • Open ecosystemsThe focus is on cross-manufacturer networking and simple data exchange in order to generate the greatest possible benefit for patients and clinics
  • Cloud connection and SaaSModern hospital infrastructures are increasingly focussing on software-as-a-service solutions and an open approach to cloud technologies.

"Today we have seen great ideas and great discussions in a wonderful location. The start-ups have shown us how diverse MedTech can be, how different the challenges are - and that we can be optimistic that these challenges can be solved."

Dr Lena-Sophie Schütter, Investment Manager
High-Tech Gründerfonds GmbH

"It's not just the start-ups that benefit from MedTech Pitch Day. A leading global medical technology company like B. Braun can also react even faster to new developments and tap into new potential by cooperating with innovative start-ups."

Alexander Katzung, Vice President Acceleration & Innovation
B. Braun Innovation Hub

"With the MedTech Pitch Day, we offer innovative start-ups a platform to network and present their solutions. Early and direct access to investors and industry partners often makes the difference between an idea and market success."

Dr Achim Plum, Managing Director
High-Tech Gründerfonds GmbH