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Galenband walked away as the winner of today’s MedTech World Startup Pitch Competition at MedTech Malta 2025, edging out nine other finalists in a compelling showdown of ideas, data, and vision.
This year’s competition, powered by Malta Enterprise, Blue Goat Cyber, Prolucid Technologies, and MedTech Impact Partners, brought together early-stage innovators and a distinguished panel of judges who know exactly what separates a good idea from a game-changing one.
The judging panel included:
Hamzeh Abdul-Hadi (Angelini Ventures); Branden Rosenhan (MedMountain Ventures); Miguel Borg (Malta Venture Capital); Stefan Madansingh (Mayo Clinic); Stephen Borg Balzan (Malta Enterprise); Ken Nelson (MedTech Advantage Fund); Soyoung Park (1004 Ventures Partners); and Esther Reynal de St Michel Richardot (Thena Capital).
Each startup had three minutes to tell its story and three minutes to face questions, and the judges scored every detail. In the end, Galenband claimed the top spot with the highest score of the day.
During his pitch, Eddie McDaid, Co-Founder and CEO of Galenband, wasted no time getting to the heart of the issue: intermittent atrial fibrillation (AF) is incredibly common, easy to miss, and a major driver of stroke. One in four people over 40 will develop AF at some point, and when it goes undetected, the risk of a second stroke jumps to 26%.
The problem? The monitoring tools we rely on—24-hour Holters, watch ECGs, and implantable devices—all come with compromises. They’re uncomfortable, too short-term, too expensive, or simply not built to catch irregular events that come and go on their own schedule.
Galenband’s answer is refreshingly straightforward: A 90-day continuous ECG band that people can wear comfortably without wires, adhesives, or surgery.
It offers:
In a category crowded with either overly complex or overly limited devices, Galenband sits right in the sweet spot.
Intermittent AF is tricky. It doesn’t appear on command, and that’s exactly why short-term diagnostics often miss it. Galenband extends the monitoring window long enough to catch what others overlook, an approach the judges seemed to appreciate.
The company also has strong commercial potential behind it. With the arrhythmia monitoring market expected to reach $11B by 2028, and AF-related monitoring making up a huge share of that space, Galenband isn’t just solving a clinical problem; it’s stepping into a fast-growing market with room to scale.
Their team is another reason the pitch resonated. Alongside McDaid, Galenband includes experts in clinical research, product design, digital platforms, and electrophysiology. The advisory board features former leaders from Amazon, Abbott, Biotronik, and Google Health, as well as respected cardiologists and founders who have already guided successful exits.
It’s the kind of team that signals they’re ready for what comes next.
With judges representing investment firms, strategic funds, and clinical institutions, the scoring process was methodical. Each startup was evaluated across innovation, feasibility, clarity, and market potential. In the end, Galenband claimed the highest total.
Galenband topped the leaderboard.
Their pitch delivered:
They also announced plans for a Series A in 2026, signalling confidence in scaling manufacturing, regulatory progress, and market entry.
For Galenband, today’s victory is a milestone in their journey to bring long-term, accessible AF monitoring to patients who need it most. For clinicians, it introduces a new tool with the potential to cut down on avoidable strokes. And for the ecosystem, it’s a sign of the growing innovation energy at MedTech Malta.
The audience certainly felt it, as this was one of the most anticipated and exciting pitches of the day.
If you want to pitch, partner, showcase, or simply experience the momentum firsthand, register your interest for MedTech World’s 2026 events. The next wave of founders, investors, and innovators is already gearing up, and we’d love to have you in the room.
