Who is developing the most impactful innovation in Life Sciences & Health in the Northern Netherlands? Five companies are in the running for the LIFE Science Innovation Award 2026: Flux Robotics, Limosa Immunodiagnostics, SPCTR, MimeCure and GlycanScan International. The nominees will present their innovations on Tuesday 22 September during the fifth edition of the LIFE Science Conference in Groningen. An independent jury will select the winner, who will receive a €10,000 cash prize.
The LIFE Science Conference is an initiative of the LIFE Cooperative and is made possible in part by the Municipality of Groningen, Health~Holland, NV NOM and various other partners and sponsors.
Flux Robotics is developing the Flux 4 Magnetic Vascular Navigation Platform, a robotic navigation system that enables physicians to steer a magnetic guidewire more precisely through complex blood vessels. Flux aims to make difficult-to-reach vascular stenoses and occlusions more treatable and ultimately contribute to preventing up to one million amputations worldwide each year. In 2025 and 2026, Flux took important steps towards clinical application, with successful preclinical validation and further development of the Flux 4 platform.
Limosa Immunodiagnostics has been nominated for ProliSpot-TB, an innovative diagnostic test for latent tuberculosis. The technology addresses a key limitation of existing tests: their limited sensitivity in people with compromised immune systems. ProliSpot has shown promising results in two clinical studies.
SPCTR is developing SPCTRone, a technology that combines optical imaging and artificial intelligence to provide insight into tumor-free margins within minutes during breast cancer surgery. This enables surgeons to intervene during the same procedure if tumor tissue remains, with the aim of preventing repeat surgeries and additional treatments. The company was founded in March 2025 and has already scanned more than 150 breast cancer tissue samples as part of the SPCTR-I trial.
MimeCure is in the running with MC002, a first-in-class regenerative inhalation therapy for chronic lung diseases such as COPD and pulmonary fibrosis. MC002 is a biologically active fragment of the naturally occurring human protein mimecan, also known as osteoglycin. In preclinical research, MC002 has been shown to inhibit fibroblast activation and stimulate the repair of damaged lung tissue.
GlycanScan International has been nominated for Illumino™, a molecular imaging system that makes early-stage oesophageal cancer light up. The Netherlands has the highest incidence of oesophageal adenocarcinoma in the world, while the current method – taking dozens of biopsies at random – can miss up to 57% of early abnormalities. Illumino uses a spray containing a fluorescent lectin that binds to abnormal cells, making them directly visible during a standard endoscopy under near-infrared light. The first five patients have now been examined using the clinical tracer.
The nominees will pitch their innovations during the conference and will be assessed by an independent jury. The jury consists of Martijn Dekker (UMCG Innovation Center), Laura Gähler (Health~Holland), Roel Dekkers (NextGen Ventures), Berry Baring (NV NOM) and jury chair Linda Dijkshoorn (DANU Strain Engineering & LIFE Cooperative). The jury will assess the innovations based on criteria including societal impact, innovativeness, scalability and their ability to address an unmet medical need.
Jury chair Linda Dijkshoorn: “These five nominees demonstrate the great diversity and innovative strength of the Life Sciences & Health sector in the Northern Netherlands. From new diagnostics and imaging to robotics and regenerative therapies, each nominee is working on a solution to a concrete healthcare challenge. We look forward to hearing more about each innovation during the LIFE Science Conference and determining which innovation can make the greatest impact this year.”
The LIFE Science Innovation Award will be presented during the LIFE Science Conference on 22 September 2026 in Groningen. The conference brings together professionals from the Life Sciences & Health sector and offers opportunities for knowledge sharing, networking and collaboration between companies, knowledge institutions, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders.
The five nominees will present their innovations as part of the programme. The winner of the LIFE Science Innovation Award 2026 will be announced at the end of the day.
Want to join us? Tickets are still available, but don't wait too long: places are limited. View the programme and reserve your ticket: www.lifescienceconference.nl
Last week, the participants enthusiastically kicked off this inspiring programme. Over the next six months, they will be working on validating their market, strengthening their team and developing an integrated venture roadmap.
For many years, founders, board members and members have dedicated their time, expertise and energy to strengthening the LIFE Cooperative and the Life Sciences & Health ecosystem in the Northern Netherlands.
That is the firm belief at LIFE Cooperative. The annual conference, which this time featured Peter Wennink as one of the speakers, recently celebrated its fifth edition. The LIFE Science Innovation Award was presented, and the companies and guests in attendance can look back on an inspiring evening. This reflects the ambition of LIFE Cooperative, which was set up over 10 years ago to connect people and is now continuing to build the conditions necessary for growth.
