Marina Rigau: "Historically, research into women's health has not been prioritised"

MiMARK Team 2023
05/10/2023 - 12:11 h - Science Ajuntament de Barcelona

Trained in Biology and specialising in the field of Biomedicine, her career is a clear example of the impact of research on the economy and society through the transfer of knowledge. Currently, Marina Rigau is CEO and co-founder of MiMARK, a spinoff specialising in the early diagnosis of gynaecological pathologies that is one of the eleven companies participating in the BCN Health Booster acceleration programme. We talked to her about the challenges of creating a company in the field of biomedicine, the support of programmes such as the BCN Health Booster and knowledge transfer in general.

How did you make the leap to the company?

I studied Biology at the University of Barcelona. Then I did my PhD in Biomedicine at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR). My research focused on the search for biomarkers for the early diagnosis of prostate cancer. In fact, my thesis work led to a patent that was transferred to the first spinoff of VHIR, Transbiomed S.L. I finished my thesis immersed in Transbiomed. Later, Transbiomed was absorbed by Amadix S.L. (a startup that this year has launched its first product on the market). This was my first experience in the entrepreneurial environment.

And you stayed?

Well, after Amadix I tried to return to the academic environment. Again at VHIR I did a postdoc in ovarian cancer, but the move from industry to academia is not classically well considered, and I didn’t get any grants, which made me consider a change of career path.

Where did you turn?

At that time, my former thesis supervisor and one of the people who most influenced me as a mentor, Dr. Jaume Reventós, proposed a new professional adventure, and so I began a six-year period in research management at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL). At the same time, I complemented my training in the field of management with an Executive MBA at IESE. In IDIBELL I grew as a professional and as a person, passing through as an assistant to the Directorate and consolidate myself with the Directorate of Strategy, and later as Director of Organization and People. This until 2021, when I decided to jump on the MiMARK Diagnostics bandwagon.

What motivated this change?

The moment that marked this decision was on 25 October 2020, when after an intense mentoring and acceleration programme (EIT Health – Wild Card, Women’s Health edition) we were selected as the winning team of 1.5 million euros, with an essential initial condition: to found MIMARK Diagnostics, S.L. And so we did! On 29 January 2021, we established MiMARK.

What does MiMARK Diagnostics consist of?

MiMARK Diagnostics is a spinoff of VHIR created in January 2021, initially driven by Dr. Eva Colás, principal investigator in the Gynecology research group at VHIR, and Dr. Antonio Gil, head of the Gynecology and Obstetrics service at Vall Hebron Hospital, and me. At MiMARK Diagnostics we work to improve women’s health and, in particular, gynaecological diagnosis. We want to develop less invasive diagnostic tests based on gynaecological fluid as a source of biomarkers. The first product in the pipeline is a test for the diagnosis of endometrial cancer.

What does your research contribute to society?

Historically, women’s health research has been left on the back burner or not prioritised. One example is gynaecological diagnosis, which has not evolved much. We propose the use of gynaecological fluid to understand pathologies related to the female reproductive system, avoiding the need for invasive tests such as hysteroscopy. In this way, we want to avoid patient suffering and invasiveness in the first phase of diagnosis, when there is no clear need.

Was it difficult to start up the company?

For us, unlike many other entrepreneurial projects, we can say that we were “lucky”. Starting the company with an injection of 1.5 million euros was a very important boost. We cannot be grateful enough to EIT Health’s Wild Card programme, in its Women’s Health 2020 edition. It is true that this was a very competitive programme, and it was not easy to get it.

What did this support allow you to do?

Thanks to this European aid, we received support from experts and panels of investors who guided us in defining the first milestones of MiMARK. I would like to highlight the most relevant ones: (1) having a business plan with a clear idea of the clinical need and business model; and (2) having a pre-prototype validated by our first product in a relevant clinical cohort.

Did you have knowledge of the business world when you started?

In my case, we can say yes, but never executed from the prism of a first-person entrepreneur. That is why, from day one, we have worked with business advisors with an international profile who have helped us and are helping us a lot in planning the company’s strategy.

Despite the facilities, did you encounter any obstacles?

In March 2022 we started our first private financing round, and it was not until fourteen months later that we made the first closing of the round. The benchmark in our environment for the time it takes to close a round is nine months… it was not easy.

How did you find out about the BCN Health Booster programme?

We are up-to-date with almost all the calls for public-competitive projects. An important part of what a startup or spinoff has to do in its early years is to try to raise funding and resources to survive. For us, the BCN Health Booster came at the right time, because our first months of life took place at VHIR, but needing our own lab space, made us look for alternatives in the city, and the Parc Científic de Barcelona is the best option for startups that need that space.

Why was MiMARK Diagnostics chosen?

The BCN Health Booster programme chose a total of eleven projects and MiMARK Diagnostics was one of them. Our project has two aspects that make it “special”: it is focused on women’s health, and it is led by women. We also meet an important clinical need, improving the diagnosis of endometrial cancer, a pathology that is becoming increasingly prevalent.

How do you assess the first year of support for this programme?

Having laboratory spaces in Barcelona is not easy, as there is a lack of them. This is undoubtedly the most relevant aspect of the programme. At the same time, being able to access these spaces at a reduced price makes the programme even more attractive. In the case of MiMARK Diagnostics, having our own laboratory has been critical to be able to develop our quality system, which is essential when you want to bring a diagnostic product to market, as the regulatory framework requires it. On the other hand, the programme offers us mentoring and training, both by the founding team and the rest of the team, which helps us to become stronger in areas in which we do not have experience, internally.

How are you approaching the two years of participation in the accelerator that lie ahead?

We have to freeze the design of the first product (the endometrial cancer diagnostic test) and validate it clinically. We also hope to reach agreements with leading diagnostic companies to bring the product to market. Furthermore, we also plan to initiate the development of a second product, also focused on the use of gynaecological fluid as a non-invasive diagnostic tool, but in this case to improve the diagnosis of endometriosis.

And beyond the accompaniment of BCN Health Booster?

If things go as we hope, we will need to grow in terms of space to be able to carry out all of MiMARK Diagnostics’ activities.