By the age of 75, one in two men and one in three women will have cancer, and atrial fibrillation - the most common heart arrhythmia - major public health problems. Add to this the unstoppable development of gene therapy, one of the most topical and rapidly evolving fields of medicine, and you have three really big challenges.
But there is a solution to all three, called electroporation. It is a process that uses short, high-voltage electrical pulses to temporarily increase the permeability of a cell membrane, allowing the entry of molecules that are normally not permeable to the membrane. Using more or higher voltage pulses, tissue can also be removed.
This is the story of the future with mPOR's HF-EP device, the first company in the world to show that high-frequency bipolar pulses cause significantly less pain, and that the technology they have developed is both effective and more patient-friendly.
MPOR D.O.O., A NEWLY ESTABLISHED COMPANY, ORIGINATES FROM THE BIOCYBERNETICS LABORATORY OF THE FACULTY OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LJUBLJANA. THEY ARE A WORLD-RENOWNED TEAM IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTROPORATION TECHNOLOGIES.
mPOR experts have also worked with world-renowned medical device manufacturers such as Medtronic and IGEA in the past, and their product has been in use at the Oncology Institute of Ljubljana and the University of Ljubljana since the first prototype. To date, they have been able to demonstrate the useful value of the high-frequency electroporator in as many as ten biomedical research studies.
A few words with Eva Pirc, head of development, design and production at mPOR
1. What would the title 'Slovenian Startup of the Year 2022' mean to you?
Wow. That would be really amazing and wonderful. It would give us an extra boost and, of course, confirmation that not only we see opportunities, but others do too. And at the same time, an extra commitment to persevere and succeed.
2. When will you become a Slovenian Unicorn?
We need at least a few years. Maybe seven? 🙂
3. What does the finalist of the Startup of the Year 2022 bring to the beach?
At least a smartphone, if not a laptop.
4. Any advice for any budding entrepreneurs who may be in your shoes next year?
Anything is possible - especially if you become the Startup of the Year!
On 21st June, we will find out whether mPOR will be the team to earn the prestigious title of Slovenian Start:Up of the Year 2022. The award, which for the fifteenth year in a row has been presented by Start:up Slovenia in cooperation with the Slovene Enterprise Fund, the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, and active stakeholders in the Slovenian ecosystem, will go to the team whose achievements, actions, reputation and development potential represent a new generation of Slovenian innovative entrepreneurs.
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Content support for recipients of P2, SK75 or SI-SK financial products under the "de minimis" scheme is co-financed from the Slovene Enterprise Fund and the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund. This is implemented on the basis of the Content Support for Funds Recipients (SMEs) Programme in the 2018-2023 period, under the Operational Programme for the Implementation of the European Cohesion Policy 2014-2020.
