Gilead and Esade announce the winners of VISIONARIUM I, the first innovation hub to promote HIV research and entrepreneurship

Bridge, BioScan and Imagina Meta Empowerment are the three winning projects in the first edition of VISIONARIUM, the innovation hub created by Gilead in conjunction with the Esade Entrepreneurship Institute (EEI). These projects will each receive €60,000 from Gilead plus a mentoring program from the business school, to help them start up their projects. 

The selection of these projects marks the end of the first edition of VISIONARIUM, which, since its launch last March has brought together more than 250 participants from the health industry, the business world and the community to promote innovation and transformative science in the field of HIV. As a result of this collaboration, 24 projects were submitted, delivering responses to each of this year’s categories: (1) HIV prevention, diagnosis and referral; (2) people with HIV; and (3) the quality of HIV care, respectively.

First category: HIV prevention, diagnosis and referral

The winning proposal in this category is Bridge, a project stemming from the need to eradicate the stigma associated with HIV diagnosis tests. This intuitive, secure and anonymous application will enable users to access tests, information and medical advice without having to reveal their identity. It is hoped that this project will increase HIV diagnosis testing by facilitating access in a user-friendly, private and secure setting, thereby eliminating the hidden infection.

This project was submitted by a team of professionals from the company DigimEvo together with health professionals (nursing, internal medicine and infectious diseases) from the Bellvitge, Vall d’Hebron and Clínic de Barcelona hospitals. The NGO Stop Sida is also involved.

Second category: people with HIV

BioScan is the project retained in this category. This venture will further the development of a precise diagnosis tool able to improve the identification of precancerous anal lesions, and thus reduce the incidence of anal cancer, a serious disease with a high incidence amongst people with HIV. This development is based on knowledge about the role of the microbiome gathered during the previous phase of the research.

Participants in this venture include clinical and innovation managers from Ramón y Cajal Hospital, and the NGO Apoyo Positivo.

Third category: HIV care

The winner in this category is Imagina Meta Empowerment. Their aim is to create the virtual headquarters of Imagina MÁS in the metaverse, thus becoming the first metaverse place specifically dedicated to understanding and empowering people living with HIV. This process will strengthen their role as active, informed patients as regards their healthcare and health-related decision taking, and also their ability to manage the psychological, behavioral and social considerations of the infection that have an impact on their long-term health outcomes.

The leader of this project is the NGO Imagina MÁS, with the collaboration of Telefónica and Hospital Clínico San Carlos.

These projects were selected by the external Committee of Experts which, besides acting as advisors during this year’s awards, evaluated the winners of the first round of the 2023 Accelerator Program. This panel features Mercedes Balcells-Camps, principal research scientist at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), co-founder and director of the MIT-Spain Program, and chair of the Committee; Candela Calle, general director of the Sant Francesc d’Assís Foundation and member of the board of directors of SEDISA (Spanish Society of Health Directors); Manel Peiró, professor in the Department of People and Organization Management at Esade and director of the Institute for Healthcare Management at Esade; Jorge Garrido, executive director at Apoyo Positivo and expert in the management and leadership of patient associations; Adrià Curran, specialist physician in the Infectious Diseases Department at the Vall d’Hebron Hospital, and Jesús Troya, specialist in Internal Medicine at the Infanta Leonor University Hospital.

Pau Arbós, director of the HIV Business Unit in Gilead Spain, thanked the entrepreneurial community, health professionals and HIV community for taking part and giving their utmost to the project: “VISIONARIUM demonstrates that the collaboration of experts from different fields with a shared goal encourages the creation of ideas and projects that extend far beyond what we could imagine. It also enables us to take another step towards faster innovation enabling what seemed impossible. This is the philosophy that has allowed Gilead to transform the lives of people with HIV and is what helps us continue advancing and creating a healthier world for all.”

Xavier Mendoza, Esade director general, added that “being part of the Gilead Innovation Hub is a new opportunity for Esade to give value to society through knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurship. Consequently, the undertaking of the Esade Entrepreneurship Institute, taking part in the program, is to transform these innovative ideas into projects that make an impact, and to work together on the feasibility of the hypotheses put forward and also the sustainability and scalability of the model.”

The presentation was brought to an end by Cristóbal Belda, director of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, who explained to the audience that “ventures like these are essential in order to encourage the innovation and development of solutions in the battle against HIV. To make progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of HIV, it’s crucial for research bodies, the private sector and community organizations to pull together. Our institution is committed to supporting projects that promote scientific excellence and make a direct impact on enhancing the quality of life of affected persons.”

The VISIONARIUM project is endorsed by SEIMC (the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology); GESIDA (AIDS Study Group); SEISIDA (the Interdisciplinary Spanish AIDS Society); RIS (the Spanish AIDS Research Network), and CESIDA (the State HIV and AIDS Coordinator).