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EU Approves State Aid for Cutting-Edge Medical Tech

By  |  July 22, 2025

The European Commission has approved the second health-related Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) aimed at fostering innovation in medical devices. According to a statement, this new initiative will integrate cutting-edge digital and artificial intelligence (AI) features into medical devices, further propelling advancements in predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine.

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    The project, known as IPCEI Tech4Cure, has been jointly submitted by five EU Member States: France, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, and Slovenia. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in the ongoing effort to improve healthcare across Europe, with the IPCEI providing critical support for the research, development, and first industrial deployment of these pioneering technologies.

    Funding and Expected Outcomes

    As per the statement, the project will benefit from up to €403 million in public funding, which is expected to attract an additional €826 million in private investments. The initiative will see the involvement of 10 companies, six of which are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These companies will engage in innovative research and development projects, as well as implement the first industrial-scale deployments of their breakthroughs.

    The main focus of Tech4Cure is to create advanced medical devices incorporating AI and digital solutions. These devices will support the evolution of “3P medicine”—predictive, preventive, and personalized care—each of which plays a pivotal role in improving patient outcomes. Predictive medicine aims to foresee health risks, preventive medicine seeks to identify and mitigate those risks early, and personalized medicine tailors treatment plans to individual patient needs.

    Read more: States Move to Regulate Brain Data Collected by Wearable Consumer Devices

    By promoting these concepts, Tech4Cure is expected to not only enhance healthcare quality and patient outcomes but also reduce overall healthcare costs, according to the statement.

    Strategic Impact on EU Industry

    The approval of IPCEI Tech4Cure is part of the European Commission’s broader strategy to bolster industrial resilience and reinforce the EU’s Single Market. The initiative will significantly contribute to the competitiveness of the EU’s medical devices sector while simultaneously supporting the green and digital transitions within healthcare technologies. This, in turn, is anticipated to strengthen the European healthcare value chain.

    With a completion date set for 2036, the project is expected to create approximately 800 new jobs, though specific timelines will vary depending on the individual projects and the companies involved, according to participating Member States.

    EU State Aid Rules and Project Evaluation

    The European Commission reviewed the project under its EU State aid rules, specifically the 2021 Communication on Important Projects of Common European Interest. As per a statement from the Commission, these rules are designed to address market failures by allowing Member States to jointly invest in projects that involve high levels of risk, particularly in breakthrough innovations. This framework ensures that these investments benefit the broader EU economy while minimizing potential distortions to competition.

    Source: EC Europa