WINNER OF THE BEST NEWCOMER AWARD OF THE YEAR 2021 - FLOMICS BIOTECH
In this interview, we talk with Flomics Biotech, winner of the Best Newcomer Award of the Year 2021.
Flomics Biotech is located in Barcelona, Spain, and was set up by a group of genomicists who believe in translating discoveries from the lab into better healthcare for society. Their mission is to improve clinical practice with the implementation of genome-wide RNA analysis. At Flomics, they believe that the dynamic pool of RNA molecules is the optimal source of biomarkers. Best of all, the ones in patients’ blood.
In the last 2 years, Flomics’ team has been working in the fine-tuning and validation of its cell-free RNA liquid biopsy technology that will enable early-stage detection of complex diseases from a standard blood sample.
Flomics discussed the challenges of starting a biotech company, plans for the future, and advice for future candidates. These are some of the highlights we reviewed.
What has been your greatest challenge?
To create a startup from scratch in such a difficult field as biotech or Life Sciences.
How would you use being the recipient of this award to influence others and how would it impact your career?
It's great to see our effort being recognized and we feel very humbled and honored to receive this award. We'll try to use this opportunity now to demystify entrepreneurship in the biotech sector and to influence others to pursue this path. It indeed has a longer road map but it's also more rewarding at all levels.
What is your greatest career accomplishment?
To put together such an amazing team under the name of Flomics.
Do you feel you are making a positive difference in the startup community?
Yes, I can't stop pointing out that we are a biotech startup in an ecosystem completely dominated by IT and derivatives. We hope we're helping pave the way for a new generation of startups with more impact on peoples' lives.
What challenges have you had to deal with, if any, in your startup career?
Finding the right partners that understand well the journey of a biotech startup.
Flomics offer a complete range of services for Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) based projects. Flomics offers a completely tailored sequencing workflow depending on your project needs. They have a fully compliant molecular biology laboratory and a specialized bioinformatics department to extract the most from your NGS experiments. From patient screening to large biomarker discovery projects, they provide full support for any basic and translational research, pre-clinical or clinical project.
The company's in-house workflow includes the following:
RNA/DNA extraction (any type of sample including optimized protocols for body fluids such as plasma, serum, or urine)
cDNA library preparation (starting from 250pg of RNA/DNA)
Optional customized capture RNA/DNA sequencing
Sequencing with the best-suited platform (Illumina, Oxford Nanopore, …)
Complete quality control and data analysis tailored to the project goals
De novo annotation of novel transcripts
Mutations and fusion genes detection
Intuitive extensive reporting
Machine learning-powered novel biomarker discovery
Cloud-based storage with interactive capabilities for the client
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Preparing Flomics for an IPO
Would you and how encourage other startups to apply for the competition?
Definitely, at this stage, it's very important to get visibility and the GSA team did a great job.
Do you have any advice for future candidates who will compete in this category?
Being a newcomer doesn't mean you can be sloppy. Bring the best of your game, take seriously the opportunity to show the amazing things you are doing.
Thank you, Flomics Biotech!
Written by Natalija Josipović
Partners of the Global Startup Awards include
Livatek BioInnovation Institute Goodwille Danske Bank Aarhus University Good Monday Sustainia NIRAS GREEN TECH HUB Innovation Centre Denmark DI - Dansk Industri DROBE.media
