Biosensor for multiple sclerosis wins Amyris Innovation BIG Impact Award

The “BrainSense” project, a biosensor for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, and which is coordinated by the researcher Inês Mendes Pinto, was the winner of the 2nd edition of the Amyris Innovation BIG Impact Innovation in Biotechnology contest in the “BIG Impact Innovation Award” category, worth €7,500 euros. The contest brings together the company Amyris Inc and the Escola Superior de Biotecnologia da Universidade Católica and aims to reward the best projects and promote innovation in the field of biotechnology.

The objective of BrainSense is to develop “the multiplexed detection of a panel of molecular biomarkers relevant to the disease of multiple sclerosis, from a small volume of blood”. This analysis through an Artificial Intelligence driven risk algorithm will allow healthcare services to reduce the costs of disease detection and monitoring.

According to Inês Mendes Pinto, “the Amyris BIG Impact Award represents the opportunity to advance this technology for clinical validation of personalized diagnosis and monitoring of neurodegenerative diseases, mainly multiple sclerosis, which is currently achieved through conventional invasive methods”.

The Amyris Innovation BIG Impact Award is promoted by the company Amyris Inc and the Escola Superior de Biotecnologia da Universidade Católica. It aims to reward the best projects in the area of ​​biotechnology and promote innovation in biotechnology as a fundamental driver of economic development. It also aims to promote new processes, technologies or services that are both marketable and sustainable, with a great positive and measurable impact on society.