Xeltis has successfully passed the evaluation phase of the 2025 European Innovation Council (EIC) STEP Scale-Up call programme, and is set to secure a €10 million equity investment from the EIC, subject to an award decision by the European Commission and to an EIC Fund Investment Committee decision.
The EIC STEP Scale Up call is a strategic initiative aimed at accelerating the growth of high-potential companies in the digital, deep tech, clean tech, and biotech sectors to enhance the EU’s economic and technological competitiveness. It provides equity investments of between €10 million and €30 million, targeting larger funding rounds of €30 million to €150 million. The programme is designed to help companies with transformative technologies grow faster and achieve international expansion.
Only seven companies, including Xeltis, were successful in securing funding, with Xeltis selected as the only life science company among the cohort. To be selected, companies were required to demonstrate high levels of innovation and technological excellence, the potential for significant market, societal and economic impact, as well as execution capabilities. As part of the award, Xeltis will also receive the STEP Seal which allows access to complementary or alternative funding, in addition to EIC Business Acceleration Services.
This funding will be used to support the company’s clinical advancement and preparations for the commercialisation of its bioresorbable vascular conduits.
Eliane Schutte, chief executive officer of Xeltis, said: “To have been selected as the only life science company among this cohort of leading EU technology companies is a fantastic honour. Our technology, based on Nobel-Prize winning supramolecular chemistry, represents an opportunity to transform vascular surgery, while also providing a PFAS-free solution in a field where innovation has stalled to the detriment of patients.”
Alexander Goemans, chief financial officer of Xeltis, commented: “With the EU pivotal trial readout a couple of months away, this prestigious award will allow us to start commercialising aXess, our first regenerative vascular access conduit for dialysis patients. It is a tremendous validation and endorsement of our revolutionary technology and also recognises that we have the capability to successfully bring this first-in-class technology to the market and establish Xeltis as a global leader.”
aXess is a restorative vascular access conduit which enables the creation of new, long-term living vessels for haemodialysis vascular access. It combines the safety and patency of a fistula with the speed to treatment of an arteriovenous (AV) graft while avoiding the frequent reinterventions and complications, such as infections, associated with current treatment options. Currently, Xeltis is advancing pivotal trials for aXess in both the EU, where enrolment was recently completed, and the USA.
