Eir Accelerator, Finland’s accelerator programme for women’s health startups, attracted applications from 58 countries in its first open call. Two of the 15 selected startups are from Finland, with the others coming from 12 countries. At least one company from Hong Kong is already considering establishing operations in Finland. The programme kicks off in Helsinki during Slush week.
Main photo: Preethy Paul, CEO and co-founder of ATB Antivirals, in 2009, shortly after arriving in Finland.
The inaugural Eir Accelerator cohort spans 13 countries across six continents, with companies developing solutions ranging from cancer screening and endometriosis to fertility, menopause, maternal mental health, pelvic health and infectious disease.
The two selected Finnish companies are Thestra and ATB Antivirals. ATB Antivirals is developing a novel topical HPV treatment that it aims to advance into clinical trials and ultimately expand to treat HPV-associated precancerous lesions.
– Eir Accelerator will play a key role in helping us secure clinical development funding, establish strategic partnerships, and connect with leading experts and investors. Our long-term vision is to expand our treatment to HPV-associated precancerous lesions. Through Eir, we aim to accelerate our path to the clinic, bring new HPV treatments closer to patients, and improve women’s health worldwide, says Preethy Paul, co-founder and CEO of ATB Antivirals.
The cohort ranges from early-stage science-based startups to more established ventures. It includes US-based Yale spinout Metri Bio, India’s Periwinkle Technologies with its US FDA-cleared technology, Denmark’s CE-marked MagCath, and US-based NEXT Life Sciences, which has raised a $20 million Series A round.
Eir Accelerator is a eight-month Finnish accelerator programme helping women’s health startups advance towards clinical validation, partnerships, investment and international markets. The programme is part of Women’s Health Hub Finland, funded by Business Turku.
Finland attracts women’s health startups with data and clinical expertise
The programme kicks off in Helsinki during the Slush week. From 16 November, the 15 companies will explore Finland’s health and life sciences ecosystem and meet pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, researchers and potential partners. Visits include HUS, the New Children’s Hospital and FIMM.
Besides helping startups grow, Eir aims to attract new companies and investment to Finland. One of the selected international companies considering establishing operations in the country is Hong Kong-based WomenX Biotech. The company is developing an HPV screening test that uses menstrual blood, enabling sample collection without a traditional gynecological examination.
– Finland’s pioneering vision in adopting progressive screening policies, such us direct-to-consumer diagnostics and university hospital pilots for self-sampling HPV testing, create a favourable environment for health startups. Together with national initiatives such as Women’s Health Hub Finland and Eir Accelerator, establishing operations in Turku provides a clear pathway to scale next-generation diagnostics across the EU healthcare market, says WomenX Biotech founder Wah Choi.
According to Anastasiya Markvarde, Head of Eir Accelerator, the goal is to turn Finland’s health ecosystem into concrete opportunities for the participating companies.
– These companies come to Finland to work with our biobanks, hospitals and research institutions while building relationships with investors and pharmaceutical partners who understand women’s health. Our role is to turn those connections into clinical validation, pilots, partnerships and investment, says Markvarde.
During the eight-month programme, startups gain access to Finnish hospitals, biobanks, research institutions and health data, as well as support in clinical development, regulation, commercial strategy and fundraising. Through Eir’s partnership with FINBB, companies can also explore access to samples and health data from Finnish public biobanks.
Other partners include international biopharmaceutical company Chiesi Group, medical diagnostics provider SYNLAB and global law firm DLA Piper. The programme’s investor network includes more than 25 venture capital investors and two allocators dedicated to women’s health.
Women’s health conditions cost Finland €15.9 billion annually
The Finland Women’s Health Cost-of-Illness Study, published in September 2026 by Eir Accelerator, part of Women’s Health Hub Finland, estimates that 50 women’s health conditions cost Finland approximately €15.9 billion each year. Nearly half of the total, 49%, comes from costs outside healthcare, including lost productivity.
