"You can ask for advice, but the founders are the ones that need to make decisions”
João Curado
After studying Bioinformatics in the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, João Curado arrived in Barcelona in the end of 2009 to pursue his PhD in Computational Biology at the CRG. During those years he founded the Innovation Forum, a network that helps scientists to give the first steps in business creation. In the intersection of both experiences Curado realized there was an opportunity to translate his scientific knowledge to the clinical practice and he started working in what today is Flomics.
Flomics is developing a new diagnostic test for the early-detection of cancer and other complex diseases. Its technology combines cell-free RNA sequencing with automated analysis by machine learning. From a simple blood sample it aims to detect molecular warning signs of the disease, even before the first symptoms appear. Flomics was one of the ten European projects chosen to to participate in the 2nd edition of CRAASH Barcelona, the acceleration program Biocat organized in collaboration with CIMIT (Boston) which is part of the bootcamp programs run by EIT Health (Biocat has just started the 3rd edition of CRAASH Barcelona. You can read here Flomics's experience in CRAASH Barcelona). João Curado is the founder of Flomics.
Why did you want to be an entrepreneur?
I believe I'm a scientist by training and an entrepreneur by passion. I like to learn, to explore and, very importantly, to manage the risk. It was a natural decision. During my entire career I explored opportunities to design and launch new projects and it's what I believe I'm good at.
What is the most important strategic decision you’ve made so far?
To get proper help in the tasks and skills that we are not good at.
What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
There's no magic formula that always works. We can talk with different experts that give different opinions and they may be all right. In the end of the day, the founders are the ones that need to make decisions.
And now what? What milestones do you want to achieve in the short term?
We are starting the validation phase of our first diagnosis model, in colon cancer. We hope it will open some doors in the diagnosis market. In parallel, we are starting new collaborations with hospitals and research institutions in order to replicate the success of the first project but in different diseases, where an early diagnosis is key to optimize the treatment and to save lives
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