The ceremony, held on October 3 at the LATU Innovation Campus, was attended by the Secretary of the Presidency, Alejandro Sánchez; the Minister of Education and Culture, José Carlos Mahía; the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, Alfredo Fratti; the Deputy Minister of Transport and Public Works, Claudia Peris; and Fernanda Nozar, General Director of Health at the Ministry of Public Health, among other authorities.
In addition to the startups linked to the Institute, the 10 recognized projects also included the Montevideo Fertility Center, Kinzbio, Polymera, Marfrig + INIA, Eduvaluer, Eldest, and MagicBox.
During the event, representatives from all the projects took part in panel discussions where they answered questions and shared insights. Gonzalo Moratorio, representing Guska, explained that the project’s main motivation is “to increase the chances of developing new therapies—new ways to truly fight cancer.” He shared that the name of the project is a tribute to a friend who died at age 40 from the disease. “It’s a very paradoxical story because a few years later, here I am in the same place, fighting the disease,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of Scaffold Biotech, Agustín Correa explained that the goal was to put lab research into practice—a challenge he took on in 2022. “It’s a problem that translates into annual losses of US$95 million and creates risks of environmental contamination due to the tick’s resistance to chemical treatments,” he noted.
This edition of the Nova Awards also presented two special distinctions: the Gold Nova and “La 10 de la innovación.” The Gold Nova symbolizes the impact, transformative power, and international projection that Uruguayan innovation can achieve. Selected by a committee of ecosystem leaders and institutions—and endorsed by ANII’s Board of Directors—the award represents how far national science can go. The prize, presented by ANII president Álvaro Brunini, went to Eolo Pharma. Co-founder Pía Garat accepted the award and highlighted that “through entrepreneurship—through companies—we can also produce high-quality science.”
“La 10 de la innovación,” the award voted by the public through the website, went to Guska, with more than 34,000 votes. Paula Perbolianachis, a researcher at the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo and the Faculty of Sciences and a member of Guska, received the award alongside other representatives of the startup. She emphasized that the driving force behind the project’s work is “turning the pain we’re going through into motivation” to keep moving forward as a team.
More information on the 10 projects is available on the Nova Awards website.
