Heka VR: Digitally transforming mental health care

The chronic underfunding in European mental health services and the slow adoption of digital interventions in psychiatry is accelerating non-pharmaceutical treatments for severe mental illnesses, addressing a significant gap in current treatment options.

The digital landscape in mental health has predominantly focused on more prevalent conditions like depression and anxiety, leaving a void in innovative solutions for severe conditions like schizophrenia, OCD, eating disorders, and affective disorder like bipolar, anxiety, and depression.

Whilst investigating innovative companies in this space we came across Heka VR, a company aiming to bridge this gap, offering a cutting-edge alternative utilising VR avatar technology to treat auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia marking a significant breakthrough in therapy with immersive mediums.

Project Manager Katalin Vikuk helps us understand their diversified funding pathway on the journey to commercialisation:?

We are currently conducting clinical trials, one of them is the largest VR Avatar Therapy trial in the world that involves 266 patients with treatment resistant schizophrenia.??

At the same time we engage with potential international partners moving towards market entry and scaling up. Danish regions have already expressed interest in purchasing the Heka VR for schizophrenia treatment.?We are hoping to see significant impacts on reducing hospitalisation rates and improving quality of life.

Heka VR has expertly leveraged EU grants to fund groundbreaking research, what are your reflections on this pathway?

The greatest advantage of grant funding is that we don’t have to give up equity to fund operations. Additionally it encourages you to develop a vision and strategy early on, and the downside is obviously the bureaucracy and that in itself is time consuming.?

Its important to remember you can’t rely on soft-funding alone in your pre-marketing stages. Pre-seed and seed investments are crucial to cover the everyday operations of your venture (and the time while your team finds and applies for the grants).?

How do you pitch such a revolutionary and disruptive method of providing therapies to investors and customers?

The key to our communication is to craft a compelling personal narrative that resonates with our audience. This approach helps them empathise with the situation and see the real-world necessity for our solution.?It's also important to articulate our value proposition clearly and concisely, so the audience immediately understands its significance.

What does the regulatory landscape look like for VR in healthcare and what are the challenges to getting enough clinical data?

In MDR the specific type of the device (for example VR) is less crucial than its intended use, the effects it delivers, and the associated risks.?Gathering clinical data is challenging due to the time and costs involved. It is crucial to take regulatory requirements into account when designing validation studies, since these outcomes are crucial for supporting claims about the device's intended use.

What advice would you give other companies looking to bring revolutionary technology on to the market?

Attempting to develop a quality management system retrospectively without this foundational documentation is extremely hard. Never assume you are compliant. Actively establish and maintain thorough documentation of your design procedures from the start.?Be prepared for the lengthy process involved in bringing devices to market with unexpected complexities in adapting to the healthcare system’s business model.

Key Takeaways:

Establishing meticulous documentation is essential as compliance should never be assumed. Pre-seed and seed investments are crucial for daily operations, particularly during pre-marketing stages, despite the benefits of soft-funding. And finally the development of vision and strategy is vital to success in the early stages of commercialisation.

Thanks again to Katalin Vikuk for engaging and sharing her valuable insights on her innovative approach to funding research and commercialisation.

Now, we turn to you: Who else in the life science sector is working on the fundraising, and accessing EU grants?

Let's continue the dialogue. ?? #healthcare #fundraising #mentalhealth #medtech #Rekonnect