Xenopat is awarded the Eureka prize at INNOVA Barcelona

Xenopat, a spin-off of the Institute of Biomedical Research of Bellvitge (IDIBELL) founded in 2014, has been awarded the Eureka Prize, during the Innova Barcelona Fair. Eureka is an international contest that distinguishes the best innovation projects, which are evaluated by a professional jury of numerous entrepreneurs and scientists from various fields and sectors.

xenOPAT, which offers anti-cancer drug development services based on orthotopic models, has two main business lines: Advanced preclinical services and personalized anticancer treatments. The company is lead by dr. Alberto Villanueva, group leader of the IDIBELL-ICO’s Drug resistance and Xenografts research group, dr. August Vidal, Pathologist at the Pathology Department of the University Hospital of Bellvitge, and dr. Anna Portela, a former researcher at the Cancer Epigenetics Group IDIBELL and current manager of the spin-off.

IDIBELL and its area of Innovation and Business Development participated in this first edition of INNOVA Barcelona, which took place last May 12th, 13th and 14th in La Farga de Hospitalet, presenting the results of their innovation and technology transfer programs, which in recent years have resulted in the creation of three spin-offs: I2Walk, working on a device to facilitate communication and mobility of disabled people through eye control TRACTIVUS, which designs implantable medical devices, and award-winning xenOPAT.

INNOVA is the leading international fair in the field of Innovation, Research and New Technologies and has been held annually for the last 64 editions in Brussels. In this new Barcelona setting, INNOVA aims to become a major universal showcase that brings together young inventors, entrepreneurs, companies and R&D companies.

Image: Drs. Jaume Reventós, Alberto Villanueva, Anna Portela and August Vidal