The start-up expressTEC, led by Ana Teresa Maia and Joana Xavier, is the winner of the Altice International Innovation Award 2023 with the “expressPIK” project, a solution that provides diagnostics for personalized treatments for breast cancer. In the “7th edition of the Altice International Innovation Award”, which aims to promote and recognize entrepreneurship and technological talent, the company, incubated at UALG TEC START, from the Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer Division of the University of Algarve, stood out among more than 116 applications. expressTEC reached the grand final of the competition, securing the podium and the final prize of 50 thousand euros.
Competing in the Startup category, expressTEC presented the jury with an innovative test that will identify women with a specific genetic mutation so that a more personalized and targeted therapy can be applied. The project aims to improve, as the founders explain, “a large number of incorrect treatments being carried out for cancer that target proteins.” By proposing treatments based on RNA technology, Ana Teresa Maia and Joana Xavier believe they can minimize the number of women undergoing ineffective treatments, thereby reducing side effects and contributing to a better quality of life and a higher survival rate through the application of more personalized and targeted treatments.
It is worth noting that the Altice award, in addition to the monetary value that will further boost the project, also offers the opportunity to create a prototype for proof of concept with Altice Labs, as well as access to the incubation services of StartupLisboa.
This is the sixth innovation and entrepreneurship award won by the company in the span of two years, underscoring the continuous recognition and importance of this project on the national and international stage and reaffirming the commitment to excellence and innovation.
