Made of Genes brings personal genomics
to national-scale through its participation in
Dubai Future Accelerators
•
‘Made of Genes’, a personal genomics company whose beginnings lie in ESADE
classrooms, has been selected to join the second edition of the Dubai Future
Accelerators
•
The company joins the regional carrier Etisalat Digital to design a platform for disease
management through prevention and precision medicine applying its unique patientcentric model of genomic data ownership.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates. March 30th 2017 - Made of Genes, a personal genomics
start-up based in Barcelona (Spain) whose beginnings lie in ESADE Business School
classrooms, has been selected to join the 2nd edition of the Dubai Future Accelerators
program, an initiative of the Dubai Future Foundation.
This unique program connects the world’s most innovative companies with the
government of Dubai to create breakthrough solutions to global challenges. The Dubai
Future Accelerators program partners with ground-breaking companies from around the
world and gives them the opportunity to find and test new solutions to real-life challenges
using the city of Dubai as a living test bed.
The first program, which ended in December 2016, resulted in US $33M in commercial
partnerships, MoU’s and pilot projects in just three months.
Three members of Made of Genes will join the regional carrier Etisalat Digital to work to
improve the chronic disease management of UAE patients. Chronic management linked
to ageing of the population is a global priority and will be the primary change driver in
health systems all around the world. In fact, 860 Million people suffer from one or more
chronic condition such as Diabetes, Hypertension, COPD or Heart failure, representing
the 75% of the overall healthcare budget. In the UAE, the annual national expenditure
for the treatment of diabetes patients is AED 3.82 B (~USD 1 B) and grows 15% per
year.
The information coded in our DNA is the blueprint of our biology and is a central pillar of
the personalised medicine. This new dogma in medicine changes the current “one-fitsall” approach to delivering a custom healthcare tailored to the needs of the patient. For
example, the study of the genetic predisposition and the personalised treatment enabled
by genetic screening can be used to prevent 20% of new diabetes cases or avoid 70%
of the emergencies related to drug-treatment side effects for patients who suffered a
cardiovascular accident.
Although genetic testing has been in wide use since the early 80’s, the Made of Genes
approach is unique as it reduces the need for multiple sampling for performing different
tests by using high throughput technologies. “We provide a framework where users can
sequence their DNA once in a lifetime and store this information forever. It’s like a
personal biological encyclopaedia where you keep this DNA sequence online, and you
access it only when it’s relevant to solve a specific question regarding your health,” says
Dr Oscar Flores, CEO and co-founder of Made of Genes. “Made of Genes is like an App
Store for genetics where third-parties can develop their analysis solutions and deliver
them to the patients and healthcare professionals in a very efficient way”, he adds.
“For those with vision and drive to face the challenges of the future and create innovative
solutions, we have launched the Dubai Future Accelerators,” said H.E. Abdulla bin Touq,
CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation. “We warmly welcome this next round of companies
to work with our leading government bodies and to use our city as a living test bed for
new technologies.”
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About Made of Genes
Made of Genes is the commercial brand of the Spanish company Genomcore S.L. The
company is based in Esplugues de Llobregat (Barcelona) and currently employs a team
of 13 doctors and engineers. Made of Genes was founded in 2015 by Dr Oscar Flores
and Miquel Àngel Bru, who met and conceptualised this project in the frame of the
ESADE Executive MBA.
Made of Genes has won numerous international awards such as the Wayra Global Call
2015 from Telefonica Open Future and the MIT Innovators Under 35 Spain 2016. The
company reported a seed round of more than 500.000€ and is currently seeking a Series
A round to speed-up its internationalisation. More information available at the website
http://madeofgenes.com
About Dubai Future Accelerators:
The Dubai Future Accelerators is an intensive program that pairs top companies and
cutting-edge entrepreneurs with powerful partners in Dubai to create breakthrough
solutions. Launched by Sheikh Hamdan, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the
Dubai Future Foundation, in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed
Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the program
explores and develops the technologies of the future and employs them to resolve the
challenges of the 21st century.
It aims to create a global platform to attract the brightest minds from around the world
to find creative solutions for the challenges of the future and implement them in the city
of Dubai. The inaugural program, which finished in December 2016, created $33m in
commercial partnerships and pilot programs.
About ESADE and ESADE Alumni
Founded in 1958, ESADE Business and Law School has campuses in Barcelona and
Madrid and a presence in São Paulo, Lima, Mexico City, Bogotá, Santiago and Buenos
Aires. It has partnership agreements with more than 100 universities and business
schools worldwide. Each year, more than 11,000 students participate in its programmes
(MBA and Executive Education, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes
in business administration and law). ESADE Alumni, the school’s alumni association, is
60,000 members strong, including more than 17,500 members in management positions
at enterprises around the globe. Through its 72 professional groups, the association
promotes continuing education, professional development and entrepreneurship. The
network includes members of 126 different nationalities located in more than 100
countries around the world, and it has been organising the project ‘Alumni Giving Back’
since 2006 – the first of its kind in Europe – through which more than 1,500 alumni have
voluntarily contributed their talent, experience and management skills to 200 third-sector
companies. Additionally, the association’s investors’ network, ESADE BAN, was named
the country’s best business angels network by the Spanish Business Angels Association.
ESADE Business School also participates in the ESADECREAPOLIS business park, a
pioneering innovation centre that brings together academia and the world of business.
With a clear international orientation, ESADE is consistently ranked among the world’s
top business schools by the leading rankings (Financial Times, Bloomberg
BusinessWeek, The Economist and América Economía). ESADE is a member of Ramon
Llull University.
Contact Info Made of Genes
Oscar Flores
CEO
Telephone: +34 93 66 77 127 // +34 717 706 645
E-mail: [email protected]
Contact Info Dubai Future Accelerators
Vera Futorjanski
Head of Global Communications
Telephone : +971 52 932 7868
Email: [email protected]
Contact Info ESADE
Francina Ribes
ESADE Media Relations
Telephones: +34 93 495 20 99 / +34 91 360 16 71
E-mail: [email protected]