Airway Shield, the only Spanish company to have participated in the second edition of South Summit Brazil 2023, has won, among nearly 50 finalists, the competition for the best project. start. Originally from Santander, she designed a device that ensures safety in tracheal intubation, a procedure performed more than 50 million times a year as a result of a serious respiratory condition, such as pneumonia or trauma. It is required for most surgical procedures and for mechanical ventilation of patients with severe respiratory insufficiency.
The mechanism of the operation consists in holding the tongue while creating a channel for the endotracheal tube, so that the direction indicated by the blade of the laryngoscope towards the larynx can easily be followed. The device is designed from a special plastic that maintains its shape and reduces exposure to aerosols, which prevents health workers from becoming infected during the maneuver. Precisely in 2020, when the epidemic broke out, its founder, Julio Alonso, created this product. The consequences of exposure to the covid virus prove the need to have tools that provide greater safety during the process. To date, serious medical complications occur in more than 40% of these types of procedures and more than 10% of healthcare workers develop symptoms of COVID after intubating patients with this disease.
The company has a distribution contract for Spain and Portugal. Their closest goal is to spread throughout Europe, but they want to reach Latin America in the medium term, which is why they presented themselves at the Southern Brazil summit. “It was the perfect place to come and win. In addition, in a few months we will start our second round of financing and we want to increase it very quickly so that we can focus on reaching the whole world in about 18 months, which is our ultimate goal,” explains Alonso in an interview. .
The CEO of the company believes that the distinguishing factor among the rest of its 45 competitors is its smart business model. He elaborates that they are “a small group focused on scientific research and development. Manufacturing and distribution are left to them.” partners“. Another factor is the fact that they’re dedicated to the mission of saving lives, which is something investors value much more since the pandemic.
The other four prizes awarded at the event, organized by IE University and in collaboration with the Institutional Government of the Government of Rio Grande do Sul, were won by startup companies Brazilian and Mexican. The local companies that emerged victorious were Trashin, Alana AI and Incentiv, which took home the Projects Award With better, more scalable and more sustainable equipment. The Mexican, for his part, was recognized as the most innovative.
In the preliminary selection competition, more than 2,000 startup companies46 of them were selected for the final. The nominees came from 11 different countries; Brazil, with 29 projects, had the highest representation. In addition, it has highlighted the emergence of the United States, which did not appear in the first edition and on this occasion six companies. Among the finalists there were also start Chilean (Eniax Care), two Argentinian (Qurable, Cryptomate) and three Colombian (Fribrazo, Wecall, Energy Retail). Outside of Latin America, the countries that had at least one representative were Germany, the United Kingdom, and Israel.
The South Summit project, which was born in 2012 as a reaction to the crisis that destroyed the fabric of business at the time, will be presented again in Madrid from 7 to 9 June in its eleventh edition. For her part, Maria Benjumea has advanced the Brazilian lockdown, as the city of Porto Alegre will have a new version in 2024.
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