Finaves V, IESE’s venture capital fund, is part of a group of investors providing €900,000 in financing for InBrain Neuroelectronics, a startup that is developing graphene-based technologies to treat neurological disorders such as epilepsy and Parkinson’s with unprecedented precision.
Finaves contributed €150,000 to the round, which was led by Sabadell-Asabys and Alta Life Sciences, two Barcelona-based funds that specialize in healthcare. Other partners in the round were the Institut Catalá de Finances (ICF), the research center Institut Catalá de Nanociéncia i Nanotecnologia (ICN2) and venture capital firm Ysios Capital.
InBrain is founded and managed by a team of leading experts in the fields of neuroelectronics and business management. CEO and co-founder Carolina Aguilar worked for more than a decade as business director of medical technology and services company Medtronic, responsible for the global commercialization of the company’s neurological business, with a particular focus on deep brain stimulation (DBS).
Jose Garrido, founder and chief scientific officer, is a renowned expert in the field of graphene technology, and Mario Capizzani, co-founder and chief commercial officer, is a marketing professor at IESE.
InBrain, a spin-off of ICN2, is developing neuroelectronic therapies that use graphene interfaces to stimulate areas of the brain in better and more targeted ways. The thinnest known material, graphene is also incredibly strong, is an excellent conductor and has interesting light absorption abilities. Due to its superior material characteristics, graphene-based implants can be designed smaller than traditional metal-based implants, which allows for a more precise stimulation of diseased brain areas and fewer side effects.
Today up to 50% of DBS candidates refuse therapy do to its invasiveness and more than 35% drug resistant brain disorder patients remain without treatment. InBrain’s technology will help these patients by offering a less invasive more efficient treatment of their disease.