There are people who, without knowing why, are born with the genetic predisposition of leaving a imprint.People who, at an early age, feel the call to start, to undertake paths, not exempt from obstacles, to the conquest of objectives that in the eyes of the majority would seem unrealizable from the outset.
This is the case of Eduardo W. Jorgensen, a young Spanish doctor, 26 years old, who in 2015 decided to momentarily park his idea of exercising as a neurosurgeon to create a company, Medicsen, who intends to bring to the market an artificial pancreas to improve theQuality of life of patients with diabetes.
This young entrepreneur, of Danish father (hence the exotic last name), has just been designated Spanish innovative of the year 2017 by the magazine of the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).Jorgesen wanted to share his sensations with the avant -garde shortly after this designation.
What does it feel when one is named Spanish innovative of the year by MIT magazine?
He is quite amazing, it was a big surprise, something incredible.I am a doctor and I wanted to dedicate myself to the clinical path, but due to the circumstances of life one embarks on adventures, I would never have imagined being doing what I do.The important thing about the distinction is the recognition of the work and support that this type of awards gives you.
Have you appeared more friends from the designation?
Well yes [laughs].It is interesting to see the diverse opportunities that arise thanks to this type of awards.
I understand that your project to create an artificial pancreas is behind the award.How did the idea arise?
He was in a consultation a few years ago when, suddenly, a 10 -year -old girl with diabetes put the insulin bomb on the table and said that the therapy altered his routine and that the injections did not feel well.He explained that he could not go to school excursions, or birthday parties, because his family lived worried about the disease.I stayed a little in shock.
Everything arose with a girl with diabetes that put the insulin bomb on the table and told me that the injections did not feel well
Something was removed ...
I had a different path planned, I wanted to be neurosurgeon.But I was lucky to go to New York, to an entrepreneur program with another 40 people, and I got the bug of entrepreneurship.From that moment on, I realized that creating projects and carrying things forward depended on oneself and not on the help that someone could give you.
And he got to work ...
With two former colleagues of the school, both graduates in Telecommunications, and a companion of the Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Madrid we started to solve the problems of the patients.And we were the idea of creating an artificial pancreas that had the peculiarity of being non -invasive.
Create projects and bring things forward depends on oneself
I understand.
What we have is a learning algorithm that is in the cloud that receives information from third -party sensors of other brands (continuous glucose monitors, smart watches, user phones) and our algorithm, through an application, is capable ofPredict the future glucose figure that the patient with diabetes will have and gives him advice regarding his lifestyle.The patient can ask through a chat system things like ‘What happens if I take a cocacola within half an hour?’, ‘What if I run for an hour?’Here it is predicted what your glucose level will be and you are told whether or not you should do it.It is a way to grow the patient in the path of management of his diabetes.
That is the software, and the hardware?
It will be the part that closes theCircle in the treatment of diabetes, artificial pancreas.Basically, we have invented an needleless syringe in patch format that not only serves for insulin but for other drugs.At first, the user will have to load the insulin dose that he needs and, to put it quickly, give the button to activate it.But in the future we will regulate it to be an artificial pancreas in the sense that it will be the algorithm itself that decides how much dose of insulin is necessary and at what time for each of the patients.
The artificial pancreas has the peculiarity of being non -invasive
Will the system carry a specific insulin load?
It will be like insulin pen, the patient will be given the needle without needle already preloaded with doses already established for concrete indications and the operating system may easily give orders on what amount manage at all times.
And how do insulin inoculate the patient without the use of needles?
That is part of our secret sauce, the object of our intellectual property.To explain it briefly, we usually say that these drugs [administered through patches] do not access the patient's body due to the force of the unions between the skin cells, and what we achieve is to relax those unions creating a kind of porethrough which the molecule can pass during the time that the system is activated, and subsequently returning to its original state.
The operating system can easily give orders on how much managing at each time
How long is this ‘artificial pancreas’ a reality?
Our idea is to get the patch in the syringe format without needles in 2019, and the ‘artificial pancreas’ format, where the system already makes the decisions autonomously, in 2021.
Has the girl who inspired her to create this gadget again see?
No, to her in particular no.We have several people with diabetes close to the company that have supported us in the development of the tools and among them there are children.
We create a kind of pore through which the molecule can pass during the time that the system is activated
It gives me the feeling that at its newly fulfilled 26 years accumulates many experiences.He went to Neurosurujano, but instead he embarked on setting up a company with just over 20 years.To start such a project at an early age you have to be a brave or a reckless?Or both?
My parents would probably tell you that a reckless [laughs].I do not know if it is courage, what I am sure is that you have to have passion and pursue a dream.What allows me to follow and work everything that is necessary is the feeling of knowing that you are creating something for what it is worth fighting and what many people can benefit.I personally call me a lot to do crazy science, I like science, I became a doctor for that reason, to help people, and that is what makes me move on.
But undertaking has its risks.
I took a little risk yes, but I always recommend that people risk undertaking.It seems to me a fantastic experience and you learn a lot.You are responsible for many things that make you see life in a different way as you saw it at the beginning.I would repeat without any doubt, yes, without losing the love for the medicine that I have always had.
It calls me a lot to do crazy science
Is helping the other your motivation?
What catches me more attention is to make technological innovation that improves people's quality of life.
I wonder how many hours do you dedicate to work.
Countless, work and sleep basically.I have virtually no free time.I travel a lot, most of the capital we have received we have achieved itInternationally, and that implies having to move practically every month several times.
I always recommend that people risk undertaking
That is, part of his time passes it on an plane.
Yes, in fact the last part of last year I spent between Australia and the United States.Now I travel to Australia again because we have an agreement there with the Australian government, and when you return it will be a matter of looking for the next adventure that allows us to obtain capital.If we could get it in Spain we would be happy to stay.In the end, we have the development team here.But the business team has to travel in search of funds.
I understand, for what he says, that obtaining the necessary money is one of the greatest pitfalls of his project.
I always say it, Spain has helped us a lot with human capital, with some resource at the level of support for the patent, this kind of thing, but at the capital level we have achieved very little, less than 10%.We have been forced to go to foreign funds, to go to calls for public subsidies abroad too ... I think there is a pothole at the end in Spain in biotechnological projects between the moment you already have a minimum viable product and the point inThe one you need to try it to take it to the market.
Spain has helped us a lot with human capital, but at the capital level we have achieved very little
Do they already have sufficient financing to achieve the objective of 2021 to bring to the market the ‘artificial pancreas’?
No. We put an app that is on Google Play under the name of Medicsen.The app has had a test process with many patients.Now we are finishing making the improvements we have detected that they are necessary.We have capital for 2018 to perform the tests with this software.With respect to hardware, the patch, we are at a point where we have reached the end of all the development that we can do internally.We are in conversations with the drug agency, we have validated the technology in the laboratory and now we will go to the evidence with humans for which we will ask for subsidies to the European Union.
It does not have to be easy for a 26 -year -old to be in charge of a project like this in which the search for constant financing is required.It must be difficult to carry.
I really like challenges, always.I also like to direct teams.For me the pressure lies in the fact of growing, it is important to do it at a pace that does not drown you but in which you are not short.What I like most is science, innovation, but the problem is that, at least during the first years of a company like this, one also has to take the reins of the business part.Coordinating all these elements is complex and many times puts you in little sleeping situations.But in the end it is a challenge that you end up facing the support of your team.Whenever people ask me, I say the same thing, I recommend starting, but it is very important to make it have a good idea to fight and a good team with which to fight for it.
Telling you, they started this project three years ago two doctors and two graduates in telecommunications.How many are they?
Now we are 20 people between full time, partial and advisors who are very close to the company.We have grown a lot in a short time.We were taking modest steps at the beginning, trying to get capital, developing a minimum of viable products and testing users to know what they really needed.And from 2017 we find our message.Now we will have to go to the search for financing rounds of some million euros to deal with all expenses derived from testing the patch in humans.
Somemillion?And how was so much money?
There are several options.We carry the strategy of combining both public and private financing.There is a European subsidy that can reach up to two and a half million and, from that money, they ask you to complement 30% with private capital.
Now we will have to go to the search for financing rounds of some million euros
But I understand that there must be fierce competition to get that subsidy.
Of course.There is a very low success percentage, between 3 and 5%, even less.That is why the software we have created we have available to be able to generate some capital that allows us to throw without the need for external financing to the point that is possible.In parallel, we carry out strategies to obtain capital that allows usaspire.
What I explained before Australia, for example.
Indeed.We also have two or three businesses in parts of Europe.We are present in several parts of the world.For example, the first partners we have achieved are from the United Arab Emirates.We are always looking for capital around the planet.
We are always looking for capital around the planet
I understand that the travel companions, his team I mean, are of an age similar to his.
Yes, we are all born between 88 and 95. We have an average of between 22 and 23 years or less.
He is now engaged in this project, but does he consider acting as a doctor one day?
More than considering it, I don't rule it out.I really liked entrepreneurship.I do not consider myself a creative person, but I have ideas regarding these types of systems that can help people.If everything goes well with Medicsen I would like to continue.In the event that it wasn't right, and if it didn't end very badly [laughs], I would probably try to undertake again.I don't rule it out but I don't see it nearby either.
I do not consider myself a creative person, but I have ideas regarding systems that can help people.
Source: La Vanguardia
