The Baltic Sea Region Health Innovation Award (BSR HIA) is presented under the patronage of the Minister President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Manuela Schwesig, as part of the National Conference on Health Economy - a prize for start-ups and those who want to become one (private individuals, teams).
The aim of the prize is to sustainably support ideas and inventions from the health economy in the Baltic Sea region and the former partner countries of the National Conference on Health Economy and to further promote the region by expanding international networks. The projects submitted should enable the development of a product or service concept that benefits patients and attracts potential investors in and for the Baltic Sea region.
The award will be presented on June 11 at the 21st National Conference on Health Economy.
The award winners 2026
The winners of the 6th ‘Baltic Sea Region Health Innovation Award’ (BSR HIA) were presented with cash and non-cash benefits by the Minister Dr. Wolfgang Blank at the 21th National Conference on Health Economy on 11 June 2026.
1st place: Ymolution
Ymolution | The Antibody Revolution (Greifswald)
The newly founded start-up has developes a groundbreaking platform for the animal-free production of highly specific nanoantibodies. These are powerful tools for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cancer, Alzheimers, allergies, and infectous diseases, but their development remains slow, costly, and largely dependent on the immunization of animals.
Ymolution replicates essential principles of the adaptive immune system in a micobial host, thereby enabling a fast, highly selective choice of fully functional nanoantibodies. The platform was developed of next-generation diagnostics tools and therapeutic antibody candidates, including nanoantibodies against Alzheimers disease and biospecific cancer targets.
2nd place: TympanoColl
TympanoColl | Rapid, non-surgical eardrum repair (Dublin)
Worldwide, approximately 200 million people suffer from preventable hearing loss, which is primarily caused by non-healing eardrum perforations. Currently, there are no medical devices or implant delivery systems that enable eardrum repair through a safe and minimally invasive procedure via the ear canal. Conventional surgical repair requires a large incision behind the ear and the harvesting of donor tissue from the patient, making it unsuitable for outpatient treatment or general practice settings. TympanoColl is a minimally invasive system for eardrum repair consisting of two distinct components: (i) a novel regenerative biomaterial implant, which is delivered via (ii) a custom-designed delivery device specifically optimized to insert the biomaterial implant directly through the ear canal, thereby avoiding surgical intervention. The product offers a safe, single-use device that allows a pre-installed regenerative implant to be administered through the ear canal. TympanoColl has the potential to reduce current medical procedure costs by at least 25% and reduce infections by up to 10%.
3rd place: MetaAIDiagnostic GmbH
MetaAIDiagnostic GmbH | A Blood-Based Diagnostic Test for ADHD (Rostock)
ADHD affects about 5% of the population, yet access to a diagnosis remains limited. In Germany, wait times for a psychiatric evaluation can range from 12 to 18 months, and current diagnostic methods rely primarily on questionnaires and subjective assessments.
The project team is developing a laboratory-based biomarker test that detects ADHD using eight biomarkers from a small blood sample. The test can be performed at home using a clinically validated, painless sampling device. Mass spectrometry and AI-based analyses identify metabolic signatures associated with ADHD. The test is highly accurate (93% AUC), fast, and cost-effective, with results available within 7 days.
A pilot study conducted with the University Medical Center Greifswald analyzed blood samples from ADHD patients and control subjects to validate this approach. Our goal is to enable faster, objective, and accessible ADHD diagnostics and to expand this biomarker-based method to other mental disorders such as depression, autism, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Special Award: University Medical Center Greifswald
ExoNephX | Exosome-based platform for the targeted treatment of kidney diseases through precise molecular drug delivery (Greifswald)
Chronic kidney disease represents a silent global crisis affecting 850 million people, for which there is no curative treatment in up to 80% of patients. Dialysis and transplantation remain the only life-saving options, contributing to high mortality rates and rising healthcare costs. Regions such as Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where up to 20% of the population suffers from chronic diseases, urgently need transformative solutions. A fundamental obstacle in nephrology is the inability to safely and precisely deliver therapeutic molecules to kidney cells to restore their function. ExoNephX, developed by the PodoHealthX team at the University Medical Center Greifswald, is an exosome-based technology designed to overcome this limitation. By utilizing the body’s own nanoscale carriers for targeted gene modulation, ExoNephX enables highly efficient molecular delivery—without any detectable toxic side effects. This groundbreaking technology has the potential to revolutionize kidney research and therapy, as well as the treatment of other diseases.