“I wanted to be an entrepreneur to try to turn a laboratory study into a useful diagnostic tool”

ADmit Therapeutics is a spin-off of IDIBELL that is developing the first blood test for early diagnosis of Alzheimer. It aims to determine whether a patient showing signs of cognitive decline (memory loss but still able to do everyday tasks) will develop Alzheimer. To do so, it detects a series of innovative, disruptive biomarkers using mass-sequencing techniques. The test could be highly for better selecting patients to take part in clinical trials and, therefore, help identify a drug that is effective against this disease, which is still an unmet medical need today. The company was at the Ship2B Tech4Health accelerator and has received funding through several calls held by EIT Health and the Ministry of Science and Innovation.

Why did you want to be an entrepreneur?

I became an entrepreneur based on my career of more than ten years in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. We began our scientific study, focused on identifying epigenetic biomarkers in the early stages of Alzheimer, in 2011. Initially we used human brain samples from tissue banks and in 2015 we began detecting these biomarkers in blood samples from patients with mild cases of cognitive decline in a longitudinal clinical study. While we were doing this research, we also patented the results. In 2017, we set up the company because the project had reached a fork in the road: we could either finish the study and publish it in a science journal or start a company that would allow us to raise the funds we need to maintain the patent and do clinical validation. I wanted to be an entrepreneur to try to turn a laboratory study into a diagnostic tool that is useful in clinical practice.

What is the most important strategic decision you’ve made so far?

From a personal standpoint, choosing a professional path that motivates me. From a professional standpoint, having the best team for the company. 

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?

I get good advice all the time. It is important to ask without expecting the answer you want to hear. I don’t like flattery. The best advice comes from people who are coherent and have good common sense.

And now what? What milestones do you want to achieve in the short term?

To advance in our development plan throughout 2020, building value in the company to help secure the funding we need for clinical validation and to get CE marking in 2023