What is the approximate stakeholder breakdown of your ecosystem?
Medical Valley is one of Europe’s leading healthcare clusters, located in Northern Bavaria. It brings together a broad network of stakeholders from business, science, healthcare, and politics to foster innovation and accelerate the development of new solutions for the healthcare sector. The ecosystem enables collaboration across disciplines, supports start-ups and SMEs, and helps bring new technologies and services to market faster.
The ecosystem currently consists of around 250 members, including the following key stakeholder groups:
- Businesses – companies from the healthcare sector, ranging from established players to innovative SMEs.
- Start-ups & young enterprises – emerging innovators with disruptive ideas and technologies.
- Science & Research – universities, research institutes, and academic centers driving innovation and knowledge transfer.
- Healthcare Providers – hospitals, clinics, and care organizations that serve as application and development partners.
- Politics & Administration – public institutions at local, regional, and national levels providing strategic support and framework conditions.
- Networks & Partner Organizations – other clusters, associations, and innovation networks that strengthen and complement the ecosystem.
Further, we manage a pilot region for new digital health technologies that consists of more than 200 healthcare providers ranging from hospitals, practices to care homes, pharmacies, physiotherapists and other.
Who are the top 3 champions from your Ecosystem?
The top three champions of the Medical Valley ecosystem are:
- Siemens Healthineers – a global leader in medical technology that drives innovation in imaging, diagnostics, and digital health.
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) – one of Germany’s most research-intensive universities, fostering cutting-edge medical engineering and healthcare research.
- Universitätsklinikum Erlangen – a university hospital of excellence, providing clinical expertise, testbeds, and real-world validation for healthcare innovations.
All three are Premium Partners of Medical Valley and work in close cooperation with the cluster. They not only benefit from the ecosystem but also actively support and strengthen it – by engaging in joint projects, mentoring start-ups, and enabling faster translation of innovations into healthcare practice.
What EU funding/collaboration are you involved with, or you would like to be part of?
Medical Valley EMN has a long history of participating in a wide range of projects at the European, national, and regional levels, reflecting its central role in healthcare innovation. At the European level, programs such as EIT Health– Catapult and MedTech Bootcamp or EDIH DigiCare are among the many initiatives supporting startups and SMEs with mentoring, networking, and digital healthcare solutions.
Nationally, initiatives including de:hub Health contribute to strengthening Germany’s healthcare innovation ecosystem, while regional projects like the TI-Modellregion Franken support the implementation of telematics infrastructure and digital healthcare testbeds in Northern Bavaria.
Through this multi-level engagement, Medical Valley fosters collaboration, facilitates the translation of innovations into practice, and strengthens both regional and international healthcare networks.
What are the key priorities and themes for your ecosystem?
The key priorities of the Medical Valley ecosystem are medical technology, digital health, and robotics in healthcare, with a focus on supporting innovative solutions in diagnostics, treatment, and patient care. A central theme is participation in EU-funded and collaborative projects, where the cluster actively seeks to stimulate projects, join consortia and contribute its expertise.
The ecosystem also prioritizes supporting startups and SMEs, facilitating the translation of research into practice, and fostering collaboration across industry, academia, healthcare providers, and policymakers.
What is your primary strength as an ecosystem?
The primary strength of Medical Valley lies in its integrated, multi-level ecosystem that brings together companies, research institutions, healthcare providers, and policymakers. This combination of expertise, resources, and networks enables the cluster to facilitate partnerships, accelerate innovation adoption, and provide tailored support to startups and SMEs, making it highly effective in advancing healthcare solutions within the ecosystem.
Could you highlight some services, solutions or champions from your ecosystem that target the following areas either: women’s health, healthy ageing, mental health, or cancer?
Medical Valley supports a range of services and solutions across women’s health, healthy ageing, mental health, and cancer:
- Women’s Health & Cancer – Projects like digiOnko focus on breast cancer prevention, early detection, therapy, and personalized care.
- Healthy Ageing – Initiatives such as d.hip and smart ageing challenges promote digital health solutions that support independent living and quality of life.
- Mental Health – Initiatives like digiDEM focus on supporting people with cognitive impairments, such as dementia or MCI, and their caregivers. The project uses digital tools and research-based interventions to improve care, quality of life, and access to healthcare services, particularly in rural areas.
