Medical Plasmas has been the winner of the 16th edition of the EmprendeXXI Awards, promoted by CaixaBank, through DayOne, and co-awarded by the National Innovation Company (ENISA).
This was decided by a jury made up of more than thirty people representing different areas of the CaixaBank Group, ENISA and relevant partners of the ecosystem. Since its creation in 2007, the program has invested 7.5 million euros in cash prizes and accompanying actions, which have benefited more than 465 companies.
During the awards ceremony, held in Madrid, Jaume Masana, Business Director of CaixaBank, recalled how in the early stages of his professional career, in the early 90s, he looked with healthy envy towards the flourishing entrepreneurial ecosystem in the United Kingdom. “In Spain there were some exceptions in Madrid or Barcelona, but they were small initiatives.” And he added that “to understand where we are now it is important to know where we come from.” According to the manager, the current entrepreneurs operating in Spain “are fortunate” because, within the complexities intrinsic to the act of entrepreneurship, today a series of previously unthinkable facilities are available.
Heal chronic wounds
Medical Plasmas (Navarra) has obtained the award in the SilverXXI category (active aging). Ana Megía, co-founder of the project, explains to Innovaspain that the company has created and patented a technology that allows the development of the first and only plasma jet – not to be confused with blood plasma – of cold air for the treatment of, among other pathologies, wounds. Chronicles. This plasma has regenerating, healing and disinfecting properties that make it a solution for these ailments.
The entrepreneur details that chronic wounds are a problem that especially affects older people and for which there was no solution. “Those affected can spend months, or even years, going to their health center to receive periodic cures without achieving healing. These wounds produce intense pain and have a strong impact on the quality of life of those who suffer from them, on their routines and those of their families; Furthermore, its treatment generates a high economic cost to the health system.”
In the Medical Plasmas adventure, Ana Megía (doctor in Engineering) is accompanied by her former professor at the university and doctor in Physics, Daniel Cortázar. “We had both worked a lot on different types of plasmas and, above all, building machines to generate them.” Her story takes a turn when Megía was developing her activity at CERN. “After studying all the existing scientific literature (the concept of plasma medicine was born in the late 90s), we detected that there was real interest in the potential of cold atmospheric plasma applied to medicine. “We could carry out a technological development that would revolutionize this field and solve an enormous problem.”
The first prototype was born in the garage where they started. Currently, its product PlasmAction MedTM is in the Clinical Trial phase at the Madrid and Pamplona headquarters of the Clínica Universidad de Navarra and its commercialization will begin in 2024. PlasmAction MedTM reduces treatment time from several months or even years to just a few weeks. “It represents a radical change in the quality of life of patients and an average saving for hospitals and health centers of 3,000 euros per patient and year,” argues Megía. Once they can operate in Europe, the company plans to jump into the US market.
Source: https://www.innovaspain.com/premios-emprendexxi-caixabank-enisa-dayone-jaume-masana-jose-bayon/