The arise Accelerator is kicking off its next round
Attention DeepTech startups in the Health, Industry, or Smart Region sectors: The arise Accelerator supports startups on their journey to market entry and beyond, providing comprehensive expertise and valuable contacts for the personal development of founders and customer acquisition. Applications are open until 03.03.
arise is part of the innovation platform badenCampus and supports startups with its accelerator program to master market entry. The program's initiators place great emphasis on personal development and aim to specifically promote the entrepreneurial personalities and teams behind the startups.
Participating startups also gain exclusive access to a strong network of mentors, potential customers, and strategic partnerships. This includes offers for proof-of-concept partners, funding search, test infrastructure, and more.
Particularly in the health ecosystem, arise is well-connected: there is close collaboration with clinics, health insurance companies, and health enterprises, which is especially beneficial for startups in the health sector – the Pfizer Healthcare Hub is also a cooperation partner of badenCampus.
The accelerator program
- 03.03. & 04.04.2025: Kick-off and workshop on business model, testing, and mentoring
- 10.04. & 11.11.2025: Workshops on financing and organization
- 08.05. & 09.05.2025: Workshop on personality, team, and resilience, as well as mentoring
- 22.05. & 23.05.2025: Workshop on marketing and sales
- 24.06. & 25.06.2025: Summer School (pitch and mentoring)
- 24.07.2025: arise Startup Day – pitch to investors and the startup ecosystem
Thanks to funding from Start-up BW, participation in the arise Accelerator is free of charge.
Learn more
10 Years of Cocreation, Collaboration, and Coinnovation
The Healthcare Hub Berlin recently celebrated its 10th birtday: The Hub in Berlin was founded on October 01, 2014 – an important foundation for Pfizer to leverage the potential of digital technologies along the patient journey and drive innovation “beyond the pill”. A look back at three exemplary collaborations between start-ups and Pfizer initiated by the Hub Berlin.
"Our first mission was to understand the new tools and innovative ideas that were emerging outside the large corporations. We sought dialogue with promising young companies, such as ADA Health, which today provides one of the most successful symptom checkers," recalls Torsten Mintel, Director of Strategic Innovation, who has been with the Berlin Hub from day one.
The Interface Between Startups and Pfizer
Today, the Pfizer Healthcare Hub, with locations in Berlin and Freiburg, is a key player in healthcare, connecting Pfizer with the startup ecosystem and thus driving the development of innovative health solutions.
The Pfizer Healthcare Hub as a Model for Hubs Worldwide
Over the past ten years, important partnerships have emerged between the Healthcare Hub and external partners, strengthening Pfizer’s innovation power and also having a lasting impact on healthcare delivery. Below, we highlight three exemplary collaborations that showcase how we have worked together with our partners to bring innovative solutions to application.
Cortrium – A Best Practice Example of a Successful Distribution Partnership
Cortrium, now a market leader in the field of long-term ECG, was looking for a distribution partner for the C3⁺ Holter Monitor, a wireless long-term ECG, in 2017.
Pfizer had built up a stable distribution network over the years, and this led to a partnership that became a model of successful distribution collaboration between a pharmaceutical company and a MedTech startup. Pfizer continues to support Cortrium with marketing and sales, contributing significantly to the earlier detection of patients with atrial fibrillation and making diagnosis faster and more comfortable for both doctors and patients.
More about Pfizer and Cortrium
Smoke cessation via app with Alex Therapeutics
Alex Therapeutics from Stockholm combines the latest psychological insights with artificial intelligence. Through the AlexDTx platform, the company offers personalized and digital therapy solutions.
The company developed a digital application for smoking cessation via smartphone, and Pfizer is supporting Alex in providing evidence to potentially market a DiGA together, should the results be positive.
Learn more about Pfizer and Alex Therapeutics
Changing Science Communication with Visual Abstract
Currently, there are 35 million medical research publications, with over a million new ones added each year. Under the motto "Changing Science Communication," Visual Abstracts, a startup from Mannheim, aims to make relevant information more accessible through visual summaries, ensuring that key insights can be quickly and efficiently found—not only by scientists but also by practitioners, decision-makers, and the general public.
Pfizer and Visual Abstract are currently evaluating the possibility of developing new standards together to communicate medical knowledge clearly and understandably, thereby sustainably improving the quality of medical care.
Learn more about Pfizer and Visual Abstract
Looking to the future, exciting possibilities emerge: New technologies have the potential to revolutionize healthcare. The coming years will be marked by the challenge of continuing to develop innovative solutions and intensifying collaboration with startups and other partners. The goal of the Pfizer Healthcare Hub is to better understand the needs of patients and, based on this, create forward-thinking projects.
The Pfizer Healthcare Hub invites all employees, partners, and innovators to work together on the next big idea. Commitment, creative ideas, and passion are the keys to collective success. The Pfizer Healthcare Hub is excited to explore new paths with its partners and move the healthcare industry forward!
Here’s to the next years full of innovations and shared successes!
The innovation advent calendar: socks, tea and mulled wine?
What does an advent calendar look like that is created by an innovation platform and filled together with an innovation ecosystem? Without giving too much away: It's all in the mix.
With 24 little doors, the BadenCampus wants to provide the innovation community with a platform for impulses and future-oriented ideas. Behind the doors are insights, tips for useful AI tools and inspiration with a focus on innovation, knowledge and networking. Spoiler alert: If you were expecting socks, tea and mulled wine, you won't be disappointed. As a partner of the BadenCampus, the Pfizer Healthcare Hub has also created a little door for you – take a look:
Click here for the BadenCampus Advent calendar
The Pfizer Healthcare Hub at #dhc24: Three highlights
Every year, the Digital Health Conference in Berlin brings together leading experts, start-ups, investors and political decision-makers to discuss trends and developments in the field of digital healthcare and to shed light on the opportunities and challenges facing our healthcare system. The Pfizer Healthcare Hub was there: A look at three highlights of #dhc24.
Dr. Karl Lauterbach: Germany strives for a leading role in digital medicine
One highlight of the conference was the inspiring keynote speech by Federal Minister of Health Prof. Dr. Karl Lauterbach. He emphasized the importance of the digital transformation in the healthcare sector using the example of specific projects such as the electronic patient file. At the same time, he focused on the transformative potential of artificial intelligence for the healthcare of tomorrow. Lauterbach emphasized that Germany is striving to play a leading role in digital medicine and that corresponding laws should accelerate this development. He also announced that more research into AI in the healthcare sector would be promoted in order to drive forward innovative solutions.
Dr. Christian Lenz: Getting to patients faster with AI
Dr. Christian Lenz, Medical Director of Pfizer Germany, directly followed on from this with his presentation of Pfizer's latest developments and contributions to improving patient care and promoting innovative therapy options through the targeted use of AI. Dr. Lenz outlined how Pfizer is using AI to increase the efficiency of clinical trials and develop personalized therapies. He also explained how digital healthcare concepts can improve patient care and facilitate and accelerate access to innovative treatment options.
The Healthcare Hub as Pfizer's central point of contact for digital health projects
DHC24 is an important networking platform that many start-ups used to get in touch with Pfizer and find out exactly what the Pfizer Healthcare Hub offers and what a partnership with Pfizer could look like in concrete terms. The Pfizer Healthcare Hub Berlin was represented at this year's DHC by Thorsten Mintel, Maria Scham, Paulina Achter and Florian Reis. The Hub team was able to get to know interesting start-ups from various sectors and gain numerous insights into promising digital health projects.