The University of Barcelona awards 118,000 euros to research projects with high transfer potential
The University of Barcelona (UB) has awarded 118,000 euros to research projects with great potential for transfer through the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation (FBG), with the support of Banco Santander, and within the framework of the eighth edition of the Call for the Fund for the Promotion of Innovation (F2I). These grants aim to promote UB technologies and bring them closer to market requirements.
F2I grants have two modalities: on the one hand there is the Proof of Concept (PoC) grant, for the valorisation of UB projects with a high transfer potential; and on the other, the Mentor in Residence (MiR) grant, aimed at complementing the team with an external advisor who is an expert in business.
The Proof of Concept call, with a budget of 100,000 euros, aims to help projects to advance in maturing the selected technologies with the objective of bringing them closer to market requirements and to enable their transfer by means of a licence to an existing company or the creation of a new spin-off.
In this call, four projects have been selected to receive 25,000 euros each. The following projects have been selected:
“Preclinical progression of a structurally novel anti-glioblastoma drug”, led by Dr. Carmen Escolano, from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences.
“Super-resolution laser scanning microscopy with photochangable fluorophores”, led by Dr. Jordi Tiana, from the Faculty of Physics.
“Ultra-fast portable IR camera based on coded light”, led by Dr. Martí Duocastella, from the Faculty of Physics.
“Second generation hepatitis A vaccine: use of a rapidly replicating strain in Vero cells encapsulated in immunopotentiating vesicles”, led by Dr María Isabel Costafreda, from the Faculty of Biology.
The Proof of Concept grants are aimed at UB researchers who lead transfer projects in which the University owns or co-owns both the knowledge and prior technology, and the results for whose valorisation the grant is requested. A total of fifteen research projects developed at the University of Barcelona submitted proposals for the 2023 Call.
Since 2016, the Fund for the Promotion of Innovation programme has fostered the creation of six spin-offs –AIGecko Technologies, Bluephage, ColorSensing, Mind & Identity, Neurekalab and Virtual Bodyworks– enabled the licensing of six technologies, and leveraged more than five million euros in public and private funding.
Mentor in Residence
The MiR call, with a budget of 18,000 euros, offers to complement the entrepreneurial team with a specialised mentor who will accompany them through the different phases of the start-up process and fundraising, with the aim of promoting the creation of UB spin-offs that are more robust from the moment they are established. It is addressed to UB research staff who lead transfer projects aimed at the creation of a company in which the university owns or co-owns the knowledge on which the new company will be based.
The projects selected for the MiR programme were as follows:
• “Ultrafast IR portable camera based on encoded light,” led by Dr. Martí Duocastella, from the Faculty of Physics.
• “Device for predicting neurodevelopment outcomes at age two based on AI applied to neonatal EEG recordings to speech” led by Dr. Carles Escera, from the Faculty of Psychology.
• “MENTAQUA” led by Dr. Ignacio Sirés, from the Faculty of Chemistry.
• “NeuroEPI” led by Dr. Cristian Griñán, from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences.
• “PM-01 new compound for the treatment of osteosarcoma in children” led by Dr. Maria Dolors Pujol Dilme, from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences.
These grants are supported by Banco Santander and Innovative and Scientific Culture SLU.
