Sofia-based companies have developed over 70% of all HealthTech solutions, according to data from BULGARIA: HealthTech Mapping Report 2021 – the first report in Bulgaria on the technology sector for medicine and healthcare. The analysis has been carried out by PrEXCELerator Bulgaria, and all the data have been collected and analyzed for two years in collaboration with Bulgarian companies and experts in the field.
The results from the Report have been calculated based on 74 Bulgarian HealthTech solutions (find more information on the scope of this technological area below). This is the number of tech solutions identified by PrEXCELerator Bulgaria as of 01.04.2021, representing 70% of the currently known ones (16.08.2021). Because of the extremely high percentage, the Report’s authors consider all conclusions as valid for the whole segment.
The document considers as a priority the technological solutions in medicine and healthcare, and, where explicitly indicated, it views the respective companies as legal units. This shows that a company has more than one tech solution in the field.
What characterizes the sector is that a significant part of digital solutions is developed by a single core of companies. Thus, more than half, namely 56% of all Bulgarian HealthTech solutions have been developed by only 13 companies from all in the ecosystem. There is seriality in the generation of solutions and the creation of outstanding corporate portfolios. This is an exceptional specificity for the sector and is not observed in the other technological sectors, annually surveyed by PrEXCELerator Bulgaria such as PropTech (including ConTech), Tourism Tech (including Travel Tech, Hospitality Tech), EduTech, Impact companies (businesses contributing to 17 UN SDGs), commented the experts from PrEXCELerator Bulgaria.
Key conclusions of BULGARIA: HealthTech Mapping Report 2021
Viewing technology companies from the perspective of the towns where they originated and operate, the results in the Figure below show that:
– Sofia is the principal city where 74.3% of all Bulgarian HealthTech solutions are created and operate;
– 16.2% of these solutions were created and operate in Stara Zagora, Kazanlak, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Ruse, and Pleven.
– there is no publicly available information about the place of establishment and functioning of 9.5% of the studied solutions
Digital solutions, built simultaneously with software and hardware, comprise only 15% of all Bulgarian HealthTech solutions. The combination of software and hardware in one technological solution is considered an indisputable competitive advantage and makes the solution difficult to replicate by competitors. In comparison – in the PropTech sector this percentage is 25% according to PrEXCELerator Bulgaria – the only organization in Bulgaria that has been examining this technology sector and presenting annual reports since 2019.
2020 marks an unprecedented boom in the sector. There is a growth of 32% in tech solutions, and specifically, in the Telehealth segment, the growth is 30%. As a comparison – 36% of HealthTech solutions in Bulgaria were created in the last 5 years, preceding 2020 (in the period 2015-2019), and 32% were created within the previous 15-year period – between 2000 and 2014.
In terms of funding, based on the publicly available figures at the closing date of the Report (01.04.2021), the company that attracted the largest amount of funding is the Sofia-based Bioseek, followed by another HealthTech in Sofia – Findmecure.
Regarding the applied technologies, the results are the following: 15% of all Bulgarian HealthTech solutions use AI and 5.7% work with Big Data and Predictive Analytics.
32.8% of the Bulgarian HealthTech solutions apply Platforms and/or apps, which is equal to 1/3 of all solutions in this sector.
From the point of view of the industrial segments in the field of medicine and healthcare, the predominant part of the Bulgarian HealthTech solutions are in the following categories:
– 19% Other Examinations, tests & diagnostics
– 17% Administrative instruments
– 16% Supply chain in pharmacy
The BULGARIA: HealthTech Mapping Report 2021 of PrEXCELerator Bulgaria identifies, categorizes, and analyzes HealthTech solutions in the following segments, including wearables:
- Symptom Navigators
- Patients portals
- Health condition trackers
- Medication trackers
- Chronic condition / disease management solutions
- Their solutions are in the following 4 value chains: These 4 Value Chains are as follows, Life Sciences Value Chain, Health System Value Chain, Pharma Value Chain, and Laboratories which are not part of Pharma companies.
- The report also examines the technological solutions that provide services to people with specific diseases; physicians working in certain medical fields with these diseases, etc. The analysis does not include companies from the following industry segments: Biometric solutions, Virtual fitnesses, and gyms, Nutritional supplements, Tech solutions for dietetics and nutrition, Medical cosmetics, Bioproducts such as BioTech is only partially represented where there are points of contact with HealthTech.
- More data on the technology sector for medicine and healthcare in Bulgaria can be found on the website of PrEXCELerator Bulgaria is available at: https://prexcelerate.eu/healthtech-hub/