Healthcare and Biotechnology in Slovakia: How to Unlock the Region's Hidden Potential with Private Capital and Investments

Slovakia and the wider Central and Eastern European (CEE) region are poised for significant advancements in healthcare and biotechnology.

The recent Biotech & Healthcare Investment Opportunities in Slovakia and CEE event, co-hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce and investment platform Crowdberry, underscored the region’s potential to emerge as a competitive force in this fast-growing sector.

With untapped talent, improving infrastructure, and access to EU funds, Slovakia’s healthcare and biotech landscape is ripe for growth—but collaboration of various sectors and private sector investments are crucial to fully realize its potential.

Europe’s Competitiveness at a Crossroads

Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s report, The Future of European Competitiveness, paints a stark picture of Europe’s global standing. While the EU benefits from robust healthcare and education systems, its ability to convert these strengths into globally competitive industries lags behind the U.S. and China, with future trends looking even bleaker.

To reverse this trajectory, Europe must enhance its competitiveness by reducing bureaucratic barriers, simplifying regulations, and creating systemic support frameworks.

"One vital step to channel savings into productive investments and bolster economic resilience is establishing a European union of investments and savings," says Radim Dvořák, Acting Head of the European Commission in Slovakia. "In addition to that, it's crucial to address energy costs and secure supply chains to further strengthen the EU’s foundation. We should also not forget about forward-looking integration policies and talent retention which will fuel innovation and create ecosystems capable of attracting and nurturing global talent," continues Dvořák.

Ako preklenúť investičný deficit

Slovakia’s rankings on the Global Competitiveness Index (39th out of 141), IMD World Competitiveness Ranking (37th out of 64), and Global Innovation Index (5th out of 132) reveal progress made but also potential for further advancement.

Investment in healthcare and biotechnology directly supports competitiveness by fostering economic growth, innovation, and global leadership. Such investments can create high paid jobs, improve resilience to health crises, and attract top international talent. However, Slovakia currently allocates just 0.02% of GDP to growth capital, venture capital, and private equity capital. "EU average is 0.50%. Bridging this gap will require active involvement from both the public and private sectors," notes Daniel Gašpar, Managing Partner of Crowdberry.

Tomáš Pačinda, Partner of the investment fund Kaya VC, points to neighboring Poland as an example: "Poland is obviously a bigger market than Slovakia, but one element that stands out regardless of size, is Poland’s higher share of private spending on healthcare compared to public resources, which in comparison remains the primary driving force in Slovak healthcare. In Poland, private money has allowed for testing of many more new concepts in healthcare simply because they could be tested commercially."

Creating Synergies and Strengthening Ecosystems

A cohesive ecosystem is critical for Slovakia’s growth in biotech and healthcare. Slovakia, as well as most countries in the CEE region, still lacks an official framework for supporting biomedical research. "Many success stories in this region rely on the determination of individuals or companies rather than structured support systems," explains healthcare analyst Martin Smatana.

According to Michal Nešpor, Partner of Crowdberry, one of the major obstacles for more capital to be mobilized in CEE is that the region is still very unconnected to other ecosystems. "Approximately 50% of the venture capital in CEE comes from national and regional sources. This means that national funds, usually EU money, and government-sponsored venture capital funds, invest only in their own country. This points both to the lack of and to the available space for additional private capital, ideally domestic capital combined with foreign capital," explains Nešpor.

Célestin Garcelon, Program Manager for EIT Health, adds: "International investors seek trusted local partners to co-invest with, but the lack of connections in the region often discourages them from entering the market."

Spotlight on Success Stories

Despite the challenges, Slovakia’s burgeoning biotech ecosystem has already produced several notable success stories, highlighting the transformative impact of early-stage investment and international collaboration.

Váš Lekár is a modern polyclinic Eurovea 2 dedicated to prevention, well-being, and longevity.  It offers its clients a new standard of healthcare. "Slovakia is one of the worst countries in the EU when it comes to prevention. Our aim has thus always been to focus on not only people who already have health problems, but also on healthy people and on minimising the risk that they will one day become patients," explains the vision CEO Pavol Marcinko. Váš Lekár now operates a Polyclinic with 24 specializations, 6 general medicine outpatient clinics, performs 2,800 monthly examinations, and runs a network of 7 pharmacies equipped with diagnostic centers. "Without external capital, we wouldn't have been able to scale this rapidly," adds Marcinko.

Dúbravská oáza, a state-of-the-art elderly care center with 24/7 services and a specialized Alzheimer’s wing, has utilized investment funds to achieve 94% occupancy with nearly 150 clients and is planning to double its capacity.

Specializing in late-stage breast cancer diagnostics, MultiplexDX has secured private investment and EU grants, thanks to which they were able to test first female patients, as well as develop cutting-edge PCR tests, showcasing its innovative potential.

Glycanostics is another company focused on cancer diagnostics. Private equity has helped them secure a patent and trademark and launch Giasay® Prostate, a non-invasive diagnostic test for prostate cancer, which is already being actively used by Slovak urologists and patients. The principle on which this diagnostic method is based has the potential to detect 10 other types of cancers, including breast cancer.

Prevention and Women’s Health as Key Areas for Innovation

Experts agree that one of the key areas where innovation and investments should be focused, is prevention and early diagnostics.

Emília Mamajová, Partner of ESPIRA Investments, explains this on an example of Alzheimer's disease in women: "Women are twice as likely as men to develop Alzheimer's disease at the age of 60. It starts around 20 years prior to that, with the hormonal changes that happen in perimenopause. The fact that menopause and perimenopause are not even a topic at all, and women are not given information about what they could do or how they could be treated, has a lot of knock-on effects later in their health. For instance, it’s osteoporosis, cognitive decline and, related to that, Alzheimer's disease."

Mamajová adds that women's health is only a peripheral topic in modern medicine in terms of research, diagnosis, and proper treatment. It is not optimal for women to live nearly a third of their lives in poor health. At the same time, it ends up costing the system much more than early diagnosis, which starts with educating the market.

A Collaborative Vision for the Future

Investments in healthcare and biotech can profoundly impact both the economic growth of CEE and Slovakia and the well-being of its citizens. The event guests agreed that Europe already possesses the necessary talent and capital—the challenge lies in tapping into this potential effectively.

Innovative approaches and collaborative effort of private and public sectors must be implemented to remove the existing barriers and foster an environment where ideas can flourish and be put to practice. The return on investment here is not only financial but also ethical, as healthcare innovations have a direct impact on improving people's lives.

You can watch the full recording of the Business breakfast event here.

*Investment involves the risk of partial or complete loss of the invested money. Your investment is not covered by the deposit protection system.