The nanorobot revolution in medicine is also happening in Spain

More scientific publications, more patents and new start up, During recent years, the field of nanotechnology has not stopped growing in Spain: if in 2012 there were 3,559 scientific publications on the subject, in 2021 the figure reached 5,568. The number of patents has also increased: from ten in 2013 to 36 in 2021. These are data from consulting firms Nanospan and StatNano that prove how this field is thriving strongly. To some extent, these numbers are driven by Explosion of nanorobotics and its application in medical field, Experts anticipate a future (which may be even closer) in which tiny particle-sized robots will roam our bodies to carry drugs through blood vessels, electrostimulate tissues or penetrate cancerous tumors.

in this area, Spain is emerging as a reference country, One of the names promoting medical nanorobotics in our country is Nanobot Therapeutics, this is a By-product Created in 2023 by the Bioengineering Institute of Catalonia (IBEC) and the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) with the participation of several private partners and researchers. Samuel Sanchez, as founding academic partner. His team is working on an exciting technology based on building nanorobots capable of penetrating tumors. ,They’re going to reach where drug nanoparticle can’t” Sánchez summarized in statements he gave to Plantados.

“Nanorobots will penetrate inside tumors, where drug nanoparticle cannot reach”

A few weeks ago, the Nanobot Therapeutics team announced a new accomplishment. The patented technology they have been working with for more than seven years has helped create some Nanorobots capable of reducing bladder tumors by 90%, Research led by IBEC with the participation of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) has shown in mice how these tiny nanomachines are powered by urea present in urine and specifically target tumors, using radioisotopes on them. They attack with whatever they carry. Its surface. the study, Which has been published in the prestigious journal Nature NanotechnologyOpen the door New treatments for bladder cancer Hospitalization time will be reduced, which will reduce costs and provide more comfort to the patient.

“With one dose we see a 90% reduction in tumor volume, so it is more efficient, taking into account that the usual thing for patients with this type of tumor is that they go to the hospital 6 to 14 times Are,” says Sanchez, who is also a research professor at IBEC and leader of the study. “With this type of treatment We will increase efficiency, reduce hospitalization time and treatment costs“says the founding academic partner of Nanobot Therapeutics.

A rapidly growing ecosystem

Globally, the nanorobot market was set to be valued at $6.96 billion in 2022, but consulting firm Precedence Research says this will grow to $6.96 billion by 2032. 32,190 million, “The race we are experiencing for nanorobots is reminiscent of the research and technological development that has driven the space race and the nuclear arms race,” say the report’s authors. They point to a future in which programmed surgical nanorobots could act as a kind of autonomous surgeons inside the human body. “Aspects that were long considered science fiction are going to become possible, such as performing precise and sophisticated intracellular surgeries, impossible to achieve with human manipulation capabilities,” he concluded.

“With nanorobotics, aspects that were long considered science fiction will become possible”

This is an area that arouses interest among investors. In September last year, Nanobot Therapeutics closed financing round pre-seed 478,000 euros Led by Banco Sabadell’s bStartup Health. The Prous Institute for Biomedical Research, ESADE-BAN and the Generalitat de Catalunya also invested through ACCIÓ’s Startup Capital Programme. With this injection of money, start up Will be dedicated to the development and marketing of the technology platform MotionTxThe potential of which lies in the ability of nanorobots to penetrate tissues and deliver drugs directly to cancer cells.

perfect, Getting financing is one of the main hurdles For the development of the area. “There is a huge need for private financing, because we need hundreds of millions of euros so that the technologies can reach the clinical trial stage,” Sanchez revealed. However, Nanobot Therapeutics’ expertise in bladder cancer has placed Spain at the center of research in this area, along with another team established in China. “We’ve got to a pretty good spot,” he acknowledged. In 2021, they began testing on mice, and it represents a major advance.