How to Secure the EIC Transition Grant: 6 Key Lessons from a Spanish Success Story
The biotechnology company Viva In Vitro Diagnostics shares its experience during the CDTI and FECYT workshop, offering insight into accessing one of the EU’s most competitive programmes for disruptive technologies.
The EIC Transition is one of the most selective instruments of the European Innovation Council (EIC), with a competitive budget and a clear objective: to transform emerging technologies into market-ready solutions. In its latest call, only six Spanish companies were selected. Among them was Viva In Vitro Diagnostics, a member of ASEBIO, specialising in immunological medicine and early prognosis and stratification of sepsis.
On 26 June, Dr. Pablo Pelegrín Vivancos, co-founder and scientific advisor at Viva In Vitro, participated in the national workshop organised by CDTI and FECYT, where he outlined the factors that made their application stand out. Based on their multi-year experience, these are the six key practical lessons they identified:
- Structured perseverance: Reaching this milestone may require several attempts. In Viva’s case, it was the third submission—each version refined and strengthened over time.
- Spin-off-led proposals: The EIC prioritises business-led innovation. The applicant must be a company, not solely an academic consortium, and must demonstrate operational capability.
- A clear roadmap to market: The proposal must justify that EIC support is not simply beneficial, but essential to reach the market.
- Balance between science and business: The plan must include both scientific milestones and commercial deliverables—clinical validation, regulatory planning, and a defined business model.
- Deep understanding of the ecosystem and competitors: Clearly defining the clinical problem, impact, and differentiation from existing alternatives is vital.
- Strategic interview preparation: Five team members attended the final interview, each with a clear role. Diversity, technical credibility, and confidence in the solution were decisive.
In addition to Viva In Vitro’s case, the workshop featured expert sessions by Luis Guerra (CDTI), Marta Marín Barba (FECYT) and Marta Herrero (CDTI), as well as the complementary success story of the EndocartoScope project, led by Juan D. Tardós (University of Zaragoza).
Viva In Vitro’s funded project, VIVA-ELISA®, is developing a diagnostic tool to identify immunosuppressed septic patients through activation of the NLRP3 biomarker, enabling faster and more personalised clinical decisions. Its underlying technology was validated under the ERC SPEDI-TEST project and is currently in the scale-up and clinical validation phase.
Learn more about the CDTI workshop: https://eventos.cdti.es/agenda/20250626_taller_transition