CDL-Berlin Health

For founders developing solutions to the macro-healthcare challenges facing the European Union in human disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment

Run in collaboration with:

ESMT Berlin, bioRN Life Science Cluster and BioM together form a “Unified Hub” linking leading life science clusters in Berlin, Heidelberg and Munich, within which the CDL-Berlin Health stream operates as a joint platform for scaling health startups in Germany.

The Health Stream at CDL-Berlin supports early-stage founders building science- and technology-driven ventures at the intersection of healthcare, life sciences, and deep tech. The stream focuses on translating cutting-edge academic and clinical research into scalable companies capable of addressing Europe’s most pressing health challenges.

The mission of the Health Stream at CDL-Berlin is to bridge Europe’s long-standing commercialisation gap between scientific excellence and entrepreneurial execution. Our goal is to enable the creation of massively scalable ventures that leverage deep technologies to tackle the most challenging human diseases and contribute to improved healthspan and longevity.

CDL achieves this by providing structured mentorship from a global network of serial entrepreneurs, experienced operators, scientists, technologists, and investors who have played critical roles in building leading health and life science companies. Participating startups work closely with these mentors to refine objectives, prioritise time and resources, validate technical and commercial assumptions, raise capital, and engage with experts operating at the forefront of research and innovation.

Startups participate in five in-person objective-setting sessions held between October and June. CDL is a non-profit organisation: there are no participation fees, and CDL does not take equity. Learn more about the CDL program.

Who Should Apply?

The stream aligns ventures to four system-level impact objectives listed below. Each addresses structural constraints in critical industries. This stream is tailored towards early-stage companies (early venture or growth) or even projects (pre-incorporation); however, startups at all levels of maturity will be considered.

Example Innovation Areas

Pharmaceutical & Biological Therapeutics (Biotech – Therapeutic): Therapeutic approaches based on pharmaceutical and biologically derived interventions that act on disease mechanisms at the level of genes, proteins, or cellular processes, including technologies for target discovery, drug design, biologics, and advanced drug delivery.
Interventional & Therapeutic Medical Technologies (Medical Devices – Therapeutic): Therapeutic approaches based on medical technologies and devices that deliver physical, mechanical, or energy-based interventions, including minimally invasive procedures, implants, and device-enabled therapies.
Diagnostic Medical Technologies (Medical Devices – Diagnostic): Technologies that enable the detection, characterisation, and monitoring of disease through imaging, physical measurement, and engineering-based sensing systems, supporting clinical decision-making and diagnosis.
Molecular & Biological Diagnostics (Biotech – Diagnostic): Technologies that enable the detection, characterisation, and monitoring of disease through the analysis of molecular, genetic, and cellular biomarkers, including platforms for early detection, stratification, and precision diagnostics.

The list above is not exhaustive. Contact bhargavi.murthy@creativedestructionlab.com to discuss the program and your venture.

Our Mentors

CDL mentors include accomplished entrepreneurs, experienced operators, active angel and venture investors, world-leading scientists, engineers, and economists. Mentors and founders meet every eight weeks across Germany to help founders set objectives over the program’s six-month duration.