<\/p>\n
Parti\u00f3 como un trabajo universitario y hoy es la base de un promisorio negocio. Se trata de Phage Technologies, una empresa biotecnol\u00f3gica enfocada en la creaci\u00f3n de tecnolog\u00edas que permitan sumar nuevas funcionalidades a alimentos de consumo animal y humano. Detr\u00e1s del emprendimiento est\u00e1n los ingenieros en biotecnolog\u00eda de la Universidad Andr\u00e9s Bello, Nicol\u00e1s Ferreira, Hans Pieringer y Diego Belmar.<\/p>\n
Hoy, est\u00e1n un paso m\u00e1s all\u00e1 apostando por el desarrollo de aditivos alimenticios a partir de bacteri\u00f3fagos que act\u00faan como controladores microbiol\u00f3gicos en los alimentos. Estos microorganismos son los m\u00e1s abundantes en la bi\u00f3sfera, a tal punto, que \u201cdonde existe una bacteria, hay un bacteri\u00f3fago para combatirla\u201d, explica Diego Belmar, co fundador y chief operating officer<\/em> (CEO) de la compa\u00f1\u00eda.<\/span><\/p>\n Si bien, desde inicios del 1900, la medicina los utilizaba como un potente agente de eliminaci\u00f3n bacteriana, la aparici\u00f3n de la penicilina y otros antibi\u00f3ticos terminaron por dejar en el olvido sus potencialidades y su uso masivo.<\/p>\n Situaci\u00f3n que estos tres j\u00f3venes decidieron dejar atr\u00e1s con la creaci\u00f3n de una plataforma tecnol\u00f3gica que les permiti\u00f3 identificar y producir de manera industrial bacteri\u00f3fagos espec\u00edficos.<\/span><\/p>\n Un apoyo importante para el desarrollo del proyecto, fue el que recibieron del destacado cient\u00edfico chileno, Pablo Valenzuela, quien los asesor\u00f3 y les facilit\u00f3 espacios en la Fundaci\u00f3n Ciencia & Vida para que pudieran concretar su plan de negocios.<\/span><\/p>\n Salieron al mercado con Safe, un producto destinado al lavado de verduras y frutas, orientado al consumo humano. Sin embargo, no tuvieron \u00e9xito. \u201cEl mercado no respondi\u00f3 como quer\u00edamos. Lo quisimos vender en restaurantes, pero no est\u00e1n muy preocupados de la seguridad alimentaria\u201d, dice. Sin embargo, casi por obra del destino, y luego de una charla en Puerto Varas, un veterinario que conoci\u00f3 el <\/span>producto, les sugiri\u00f3 orientarse a la industria ganadera. Tras varias pruebas, finalmente decidieron cambiar de foco.<\/span><\/p>\n A inicios de 2013, lanzaron el primer aditivo para el sector: Milkeeper, que apunta a prevenir la diarrea neonatal en terneros, enfermedad que reduce el peso y tama\u00f1o de los animales, incidiendo en una generaci\u00f3n menor de carne. Adem\u00e1s, afecta el buen desarrollo del rume, parte del est\u00f3mago encargado de absorber los nutrientes.<\/span><\/p>\n Seg\u00fan Belmar, 80% de los terneros sufre de este mal, con una tasa de mortalidad de 20%. En cuanto al impacto econ\u00f3mico para la industria, por cada 100 animales enfermos, un productor puede perder hasta US$ 25 mil al a\u00f1o, acota.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEn el sector, la diarrea neonatal se trata \u00fanicamente con antibi\u00f3ticos. Nosotros apuntamos a prevenir, y para ello hay que aplicar diariamente el aditivo en todas las comidas\u201d, se\u00f1ala el ejecutivo de la firma que ha recibido apoyo de IncubaUC y es parte del programa Start-Up Chile de Corfo. Adem\u00e1s, en 2013 recibieron el premio Pyme Innovadora del Ministerio de Econom\u00eda.<\/span><\/p>\n El aditivo los est\u00e1 haciendo crecer en el mercado, ya que seg\u00fan sus resultados, ha logrado bajar la incidencia de la enfermedad a 20% y la mortalidad s\u00f3lo alcanza a 1% de los animales afectados. As\u00ed, y con menos de un a\u00f1o de ventas, lograron una facturaci\u00f3n de US$ 100 mil en 2013, y van por m\u00e1s.<\/span><\/p>\n Planes de crecimiento<\/strong><\/p>\n Este 2014, la firma est\u00e1 en un explosivo plan de crecimiento. Con menos de un a\u00f1o de ventas, lograron una facturaci\u00f3n de US$ 100 mil en 2013, y van por m\u00e1s. El foco actual est\u00e1 puesto en la industria lechera, \u201cque es la que m\u00e1s dinero deja en Chile. Si bien, esta enfermedad estomacal neonatal tiene una menor incidencia en las terneras, hay m\u00e1s factores en juego: por cada kilo que aumenta una vaca, m\u00e1s leche produce en su vida\u201d, se\u00f1ala.<\/p>\n En 2013 firmaron un acuerdo con el distribuidor nacional Chemie para comercializar el producto y consolidarse en la industria. Diego Belmar adelanta que para este ejercicio proyectan comercializar del orden de US$ 400 mil, equivalentes a 5 mil unidades de Milkeeper, y abarcar entre 15% y 20% del mercado nacional. <\/span>La meta en el mediano plazo es exportar a Estados Unidos o Brasil.<\/span><\/p>\n Ya se est\u00e1n preparando para el futuro. Acaban de levantar US$ 1,5 mill\u00f3n de un fondo de inversi\u00f3n privado que les servir\u00e1 de \u201cbase\u201d para el crecimiento, lo <\/span>que incluye la apertura de una planta de producci\u00f3n propia en Paine, Regi\u00f3n Metropolitana, de 2.000 metros cuadrados.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEn Chile planeamos llegar a producir una tonelada y media mensual de producto y, si pensamos en Estados Unidos, ser\u00eda llegar a cinco o diez toneladas mensuales\u201d, argumenta Belmar.<\/p>\n Nuevos productos<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Adem\u00e1s de comercializar Milkeeper, est\u00e1n pr\u00f3ximos a lanzar una versi\u00f3n mejorada (versi\u00f3n S) que controlar\u00e1 enfermedades como la Salmonella y la Escherichia Coli.<\/p>\n Paralelamente, est\u00e1n trabajando en un nuevo producto para la mastitis, y tienen un acuerdo con la Universidad Andr\u00e9s Bello para realizar investigaci\u00f3n y generar un producto para la industria salmonera. \u201cQueremos en el futuro volver a generar un producto para alimentos de consumo humano, y por qu\u00e9 no, de enfermedades humanas\u201d, sentencia.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It began as a university initiative and it today forms the basis of a promising business. Phage Technologies is a biotechnology company focused on the creation of technologies which provide new functionalities to foods used for animal and human consumption. Behind this entrepreneurial endeavor are the biotech engineers from Andr\u00e9s Bello University, Nicol\u00e1s Ferreira, Hans Pieringer and Diego Belmar.<\/p>\n Today, they have progressed to seeking the development of food additives based on bacteriophage, which act as microbiological controllers in food. These microorganisms are the most abundant in the biosphere, to such a degree that \u201cwhere bacteria exists, there\u2019s a bacteriophage to counter it\u201d, explains Diego Belmar, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (CEO) of the company. While medicine has used them as a strong anti-bacterial agent since 1900, the discovery of penicillin and other antibiotics meant their potential and widespread use was largely forgotten.<\/span><\/p>\n This is a situation these three young engineers decided to address, by creating a technological platform allowing them to identify and produce specific bacteriophages on an industrial scale.<\/span><\/p>\n Significant support in the development of this project has come from the renowned Chilean scientist, Pablo Valenzuela. He has advised them on their work and provided them with a place in which to devise their business plan, in the Fundaci\u00f3n Ciencia & Vida (Foundation for Science and Life).<\/span><\/p>\n They launched their first product on the market, \u2018Safe\u2019, designed to be used in the washing of fruit and vegetables for human consumption. However, they were unsuccessful. \u201cThe market didn\u2019t respond in the way we wanted. We wanted to sell it <\/span>to restaurants, but they\u2019re not overly concerned about food safety\u201d, he says. Nevertheless, almost as if by fate, and following a talk in Puerto Varas, a veterinary doctor who discovered their product suggested they target the livestock industry instead. After conducting various tests, they finally decided to change direction.<\/span><\/p>\n At the beginning of 2013, they launched their first additive for the aforementioned sector: Milkeeper, aimed at preventing neonatal diarrhea in calves, a disease that reduces the weight and size of livestock and results in lower meat production.<\/span><\/p>\n It also affects the development of the rumen, the part of the stomach which absorbs nutrients.<\/span><\/p>\n According to Belmar, 80% of calves suffer from this problem, with a 20% mortality rate. In terms of the economic impact on the industry, for every 100 sick animals, a producer loses up to US$25,000 per year.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn the industry, neonatal diarrhea is only treated using antibiotics. We aim to prevent, and in order to do so the additive must be applied on a daily basis with all food\u201d, says the CEO. Their company has received assistance from IncubaUC in addition to being part of CORFO\u2019s Start-Up Chile program. Furthermore, in 2013 it won the Innovative SME award from the Chilean Ministry of the Economy.<\/span><\/p>\n Their additive is now experiencing market growth. According to their results, it has successfully lowered incidence of the disease to 20%, while the mortality rate is now at 1% of affected animals. As such, and with less than one year of commercializing their product, they have achieved US$100,000 in sales in 2013. They are now planning even bigger things.<\/span><\/p>\n Plans for growth<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n In 2014, the company has been implementing its growth plan. The current focus is on the dairy industry, and as the CEO points out, \u201cit\u2019s the most profitable industry in Chile. While this neonatal stomach disease is most common in calves, there are additional factors involved in rearing a healthy animal. For every kilo put on by a cow, the more milk it produces during its life\u201d.<\/p>\n The previous year, in 2013, they signed an agreement with the national distributor Chemie, to sell their product and consolidate the company within the industry. \u201cWe began selling by making on-site visits to the dairies, but it\u2019s better to have a company that knows the sector. We\u2019re specialists in developing the products and they\u2019re experts in distribution and sales\u201d, explains Belmar.<\/span><\/p>\n For this exercise the CEO projects sales of around US$400,000, equivalent to 5,000 units of Milkeeper, and reaching between 15% and 20% of the domestic market. But the goal in the medium term is exportation. As he says, \u201cwe hope to make it to the United States or Brazil. But first, we have to ensure a solid base in order to withstand sales abroad\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n They are already making preparations for the future, however. They have recently raised US$1.5 million of a private investment fund which will serve as a \u201cbase\u201d for future growth, including the opening of their own production plant of 2,000m2 in Paine, in the Metropolitan Region. This way, they will have the sufficient capacity to satisfy domestic demand as well as that of countries like Brazil and the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn Chile, we plan to produce one and a half tons of the product per month, and if taking the United States into account, it would be at least five or ten tons per month. It\u2019s one of the most important livestock industries in the world\u201d, he notes.<\/span><\/p>\n New products<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Today, they sell just Milkeeper, but they are close to launching a new and improved version (version S), which as well as diarrhea, will help to combat sicknesses like Salmonella and Escherichia Coli.<\/span><\/p>\n Simultaneously, they are working on a new product for mastitis, and have an agreement with Andr\u00e9s Bello University to conduct research into and the generation of a product for the salmon industry. \u201cIn the future we would like to return to making products for human consumption, and why not, for combating human diseases\u201d, says Belmar.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" <\/p>\n Parti\u00f3 como un trabajo universitario y hoy es la base de un promisorio negocio. Se trata de Phage Technologies, una empresa biotecnol\u00f3gica enfocada en la creaci\u00f3n de tecnolog\u00edas que permitan sumar nuevas funcionalidades a alimentos de consumo animal y humano. Detr\u00e1s del emprendimiento est\u00e1n los ingenieros en biotecnolog\u00eda de la Universidad Andr\u00e9s Bello, Nicol\u00e1s Ferreira, Hans Pieringer y Diego Belmar.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Parti\u00f3 como un trabajo universitario y hoy es la base de un promisorio negocio. Se trata de Phage Technologies, una empresa biotecnol\u00f3gica enfocada en la creaci\u00f3n de tecnolog\u00edas que permitan sumar nuevas funcionalidades a alimentos de consumo animal y humano. Detr\u00e1s del emprendimiento est\u00e1n los ingenieros en biotecnolog\u00eda de la Universidad Andr\u00e9s Bello, Nicol\u00e1s Ferreira, Hans Pieringer y Diego Belmar.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","news_tax":[],"user_type":[],"class_list":["post-5193","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n