Spatz participated on Tuesday, June 25, in the virtual conference “Innovative visions for Argentine bioeconomic development” organized by the IUDPT, as the closing of the postgraduate course “Fundamentals of Bioeconomy”. In this framework, he detailed the advances against the disease that affects children under twelve years of age and can even cause death.
Once this stage has been passed, the treatment could be registered and begin to be applied. “We seek to recover kidney function and prevent dialysis of patients,” said the director of Inmunovawho also commented that they continue to advance in the development of polyclonal antibodies to neutralize hantaviruses.
The need for external financing
Previously, the virtual conference organized by the IUDPT had begun with the words of Matias Peireco-founder and CEO of the company builder and venture capital specialized in biotechnology GRIDX. It has 33 active startups in its portfolio -in addition to one exit and a company acquired by a multinational group-, which has already They received investments for US$90 million and whose valuation rises to US$530 million.
Peire anticipated that with a second fund of US$30 million They have already created 30 additional startups and hope to do the same with another 30 by the end of 2025. “The idea continues to be to connect these companies with venture capital specialized in biotechnology around the world, since the millions of dollars they need for their development are not available. today in Latin America nor will they be in the next few years,” Peire said.
Another of the conference presentations was given by Gaston Paladinifourth generation and director of the business group that bears his name, and current founder and CEO of the biotechnology company Moolec Science. Created in 2020 and controlled by the group Biocereslisted on the NASDAQ since January 2023.
This is the first company in “molecular farming” in the world whose cultivation is approved in the United States. Specifically, your project Piggy Sooy managed to produce up to 26.6% of total soluble pork protein in soy seeds, and next year it is proposed to become an ingredient capable of “improving the nutritional profile and flavor,” as he noted, of hamburgers and sausages. produced by the global meat processing industry.
The deficit of human resources
It was also the starting point Hugo Menzella, founder of the biotechnology company Keclon and current director of the Institute of Biotechnological and Chemical Processes Rosario (IPROByQ). In the last 20 months, there, together with the 11 researchers he leads, he developed a total of seven startups, which have raised US$27 million in capital investment and created one hundred jobs.
Menzella assured that “he is trying to replicate the experience” for now in the province of Corrientes and postulated that the market demand for new biotechnological solutions “is enormous.”
However, he warned that the deficit is due to the balance of researchers that Argentina offers, which is very different from that of developed countries, where “30% is dedicated to basic science and 70% to technology”He said that the characteristics of a researcher who did not leave academia are “diametrically opposed to those needed” to carry out a biotechnology venture.
Menzella agreed with the last speakers’ diagnosis. It was about Gustavo Schujmanco-founder and manager of INMET. Dedicated to transforming agroindustrial waste into bioplastics, the Rosario biotechnology company, also part of the group Bioceresdeveloped different technological platforms to study, cultivate and modify microorganisms, which allowed it not only to take the proposal to a demonstration scale, but also to provide services to companies and academia.
The scientist stressed that the training of professionals is very biased towards research and, therefore, “is not adequate” for their incorporation into technological projects such as those mentioned throughout the conference. On the other hand, he highlighted the proposal of the IUDPT University Institutein which, “from the beginning, students begin to work on problem solving.”
The virtual conference was moderated by Stephen Corleymanaging director of mAbxienceand the Science and Technology secretary of the IUDPT university institute also participated, Cintia Hernandez; the director of Postgraduate Studies, Dario Codnerand the director of the Master’s Degree in Bioeconomy, Alejandro Mentaberryalong with almost a hundred attendees, including researchers, teachers, students and community members.
confirm the start of the last phase of the clinical trial in 21 health centers in Argentina
