The startup expressTEC, led by Ana Teresa Maia and Joana Xavier, researchers at the Center for Research in Technologies and Health Services (CINTESIS) at the University of Algarve (UAlg), is the big winner of the “Altice International Innovation Award 2023” , with the “expressPIK” project, a solution that offers diagnoses for personalized treatments for breast cancer.
In what is the 7th edition of the Altice International Innovation Award, an award that aims to promote and recognize entrepreneurship and technological talent, the company incubated at UAlg Tec Start, from CRIA – UAlg's Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer Division, stood out from the more than 116 applications and reached the grand final of the competition , having won the podium and the final prize of 50 thousand euros.
Competing in the Startup category, expressTEC presented to the competition jury an innovative test that will identify which women have a certain genetic mutation so that a more personalized therapy can be applied to them, targeted at the root of the problem.
As the founders explain, “the project aims to improve a large number of incorrect treatments that are being carried out for cancer and which target proteins”.
By proposing treatments based on RNA technology, Ana Teresa Maia and Joana Xavier believe they will be able to minimize the number of women who undergo treatments that will not be effective for them, thus reducing their side effects and contributing to a better quality of life and a higher survival rate due to the application of more personalized and targeted treatments.
The prize awarded by Altice, in addition to the monetary value that will allow the project to be further leveraged, also offers the possibility of creating a prototype for proof of concept with Altice Labs, as well as access to StartupLisboa's incubation services.
This is the sixth innovation and entrepreneurship award won by the company in the space of two years, which highlights the continued recognition and importance of this project on the national and international scene and reaffirms the commitment to excellence and innovation.
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