Four Portuguese innovative projects have been selected by the European Innovation Council pilot (EIC pilot) to receive financial support under the SME Instrument. One of the selected projects – ClarifyLupus – was developed by Clarify Analytical, a startup founded by Alexandra Antunes, principal researcher at Centro de Química Estrutural/IST (CQE/IST). A total of 283 projects will receive a €50,000 grant.

“ClarifyAnalytical team is very enthusiastic and honoured because this is a high competition at European level for small and medium-sized enterprises, which aims to reward innovation”, says Alexandra Antunes.

Clarify LUPUS is a simple blood test for earlier diagnosis and prognosis of the autoimmune disease Lupus. This product is being developed in close partnership with Instituto Superior Técnico, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Central (Hospital Egas Moniz) and Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

According to Alexandra Antunes, ClarifyLupus still has a long way to go before entering the market: “In our case, the process of entering the market will be longer and requires much more investment. This is essentially due to clinical validation”. Although it might take some time, it is very likely that in the near future this project will be a solution not only to increase life expectancy of patients with lupus, but also to improve the quality of life of these patients.