O P E N A C C E L E R A T O R

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The OA 2017 edition was the first International OA edition and proved to be an unprecedented international startup scouting and acceleration program bringing together the most promising innovators from all Italy and abroad. OA 2017 Edition did not target a specific therapeutic area, however, had a specific technological focus instead- aiming to identify the most innovative projects and ideas in the following technological fields: Wearable Devices and Digital Health (DH), Open Source Prototyping (OSP), Drug Delivery Systems (DDS) and Big Data (BD). Out of 124 international applications 13 projects completed OA acceleration program successfully.

Have a look at the OA 2017 Summary Video!

The participants of OA 2017

3D Brain (Italy)

Combining the technologies of 3D bioprinting and neural cell obtained from induced pluripotent stem cells derived from patients, 3D Brain team develops an innovative 3D brain model (like a brain in a dish!)- realistic cellular model for studying neurodegenerative disorders. This 3D model can provide a more realistic structure and a more reliable model for improving drug testing and disease modeling.

LiverA (Italy)

LiverA brings a new treatment option to both- Primary Biliary Sclerosis (PBC) and AutoImmune Hepatitis (AIH) -two chronic rare liver-associated autoimmune diseases causing progressive liver damage up cirrhosis. Thanks to a proprietary drug delivery system, combined with a target-triggered drug releasing chemistry, LiverA is able to deliver the necessary drugs selectively and effectively to the liver, improving efficacy and avoiding side effects.

Biorek (Italy)

Biorek is developing a diagnostics kit for the diagnosis and prognosis of Kidney Cancer with just a Liquid Biopsy.

CortiCare (London, UK)

CortiCare is an innovative technology and design company which aims to build a portable and smart device for affordable, quick and accurate hormonal testing. CortiCare rethinks the traditional testing procedure by dramatically reducing the cost, turnaround and ease to use of these tests by using novel biomimetic materials developed at Imperial College London. https://www.caura.me/

enGenome (Italy)

enGenome's proprietary software- the Expert Variant Interpreter (eVAI) is built to support medical geneticists in the pathogenicity assessment of variants that are automatically classified according to international standard guidelines and evaluated to suggest a ranking of possible diagnosis. The combination of knowledge base expert system and artificial intelligence allows eVAI to learn from data over time and to explain the evidences behind each classification to medical geneticists. https://www.engenome.com/

GIMO-PD (Seville, Spain)

In Parkinson´s disease (PD), the response to medication and the apparition of symptoms and treatment-related complications is highly variable among patients. Another limitation is the poor monitoring of patients since examination is restricted to short sporadic visits. GIMo-PD integrates the genetic profile, neuroimaging markers motor and no-motor aspects to be taken into account to try to overcome these shortcomings in the management of PD in a cost-effectiveness way.

MicroArt (Italy)

MicroArt solution for arthritis medication administering consists of a single intra-articular injection of microspheres prepared with new patent pending technology allowing a drug payload 10 times higher than existing microsphere and controlled drug release over 1-month period.

M3datek (Italy)

M3datek focuses on the development of medical devices by the means of a robust and scalable 3D printing process and in specific on the production of ad hoc medications for chronic wounds using a patented material. The advanced dressing is completely bio-absorbable and capable of halving healing times avoiding frequent painful and expensive treatments and lowering hospitalizations.

NanoThermopatch (Italy)

NanoThermoPatch (NTP) provides novel and unique “smart” heating patches activated by light exposure that could also be used to induce heat triggered drug release.

Brain Innovations (Italy)

The solution proposed by Brain Innovations is a complete solution that addresses all the needs of Parkinson’s disease patients with the following instruments:

Answer to PD: Diagnosis device & Symptoms monitoring device

PD Assistant: Oral Therapy device& Infusional therapy device

The long-term objective is to offer a complete set of solutions that could become the gold-standard management tool for PD, with solid improvement in diagnosis procedures and patient’s symptoms monitoring, and the introduction of closed-loop automated device for therapy management.

PDmee (Italy)

PDmee is a solution for real time monitoring of motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease patients, management of therapy and treatment through a Clinical decision support system also leveraging the use of wearable sensors. PDmee also offers comprehensive report for patients, caregiver and clinicians and makes possible to 24/7 tele monitoring, to provide personalized treatments, monitor therapy adherence and thus improve the prevention of complications.

SkySurgery (Italy)

Sky Surgery is an innovative online platform for doctor-patient communication and management of clinical pathway for Bariatric surgery. Facilitating and improving the efficiency of the process of care of the bariatric patients SkySurgery will allow the healthcare systems to deliver more operations so saving more lives.

Turse (Italy)

The problems in the current Transurethral resection of the bladder tumors are that the bladder gets perforated accidentally, tumor is not completely removed, or healthy tissues get affected and unnecessarily removed. Turse is a sensor that will flank the resection electrode of a resectoscope which will stop electricity in presence of healthy tissues.

The Winners & Awards

The finalists and the prizes of the OA 2017 were:

  • LiverA: €100 000 seed investment award and access to OpenZone.
  • BIOREK: €50,000 seed investment and access to OpenZone.
  • BRAIN INNOVATIONS (Combination of previously- PD assistant and ANSWER to PD): €25,000 seed investment and access to OpenZone.

Furthermore, two other startups PDmee and GIMOpd have received an access to the OpenZone campus and possibility to use the office spaces. Finally, our partners have awarded LiverA, BIOREK and BRAIN INNOVATIONS with consultancy services- €5,000 of value of consultancy services provided by Deloitte Italy and 3 legal advisory consultations each by the international firm Bird&Bird.

Have a look at the OA 2017 Awards Ceremony!