The COMTE-EBT working group, made up of experts from SECOT, FI Group, CSIC and Fundación General CSIC (FGCSIC), has met virtually today, Friday January 15th, with the promoters of the three beneficiary projects of the second edition of this programme, which aims to promote the creation of Technology Based Companies (EBT) by CSIC researchers, based on the protected results of their research projects.
At this first working meeting, which was attended by María Sanz, Deputy Director of FGCSIC; Adolfo Torres, General Secretary of SECOT; and Miguel Carretero, FI Boost Manager at FI Group, the selected projects were analysed in detail, and the programme and methodology to be followed were explained. The technical and mentoring teams that will accompany the EBT promoters throughout 2021 were also presented. Ramón Torrecillas San Millán, Managing Director of FGCSIC, and Beatriz Lara, Deputy Vice-President for Knowledge Transfer (VATC-CSIC), welcomed all the participants.
The second edition of COMTE-EBT, launched in 2020 after the good results obtained in the first call, will support the following projects selected after a competitive process:
- Ancient cultivated roses of Asturias. Farming and transformation into products for the perfume industry and others (Researcher: María del Carmen Martínez Rodríguez, Biological Mission of Galicia).
Cultivation of old Asturian roses as a high quality raw material for obtaining essential oils, rose water and other extracts used in the perfume industry. The roses themselves or the waste generated during the process of obtaining these extracts can also have other applications in the nutraceutical or pharmacological field. Likewise, the recovery and exploitation of these native roses will promote the generation of a new industry in the region.
- SALGO – Strong Algorithmics (Researcher: Germán Rodrigo García, Institute of Corpuscular Physics).
Specialised services for the development of efficient algorithms and precision data modelling, mainly applied to the urban design and smart mobility sector. The added value of the project lies in the use of knowledge and tools developed in theoretical physics of elementary particles, artificial intelligence and machine learning. In the future, applications will be able to be extended to other sectors such as utilities and fintech.
- Artificial lymph nodes and their applications in immunotherapy (Researcher: Judith Guasch, Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona).
Project based on the production of synthetic 3D hydrogels inspired by lymph nodes with two complementary applications: on the one hand, their clinical use for cell expansion for therapeutic purposes against cancer and, on the other, their use in biomedical research, both for basic science and for the development of drugs and therapies, which will make it possible to reduce the use of animals in laboratories.
COMTE-EBT, a programme promoted by FGCSIC, is based on a year-long mentoring and accompaniment of the research teams by specialists in innovation and technology transfer. Through practical training sessions and continuous tutoring, they work together to generate viable, profitable and sustainable businesses. In addition, the process includes solid support in the search for funding and investors, as well as collaborators and potential customers.
