The winning projects of the 9th edition of BIP PROOF have been announced. Promoted by U.Porto Inovação, the programme aims to fund innovative projects developed within the University of Porto’s (Portugal) research ecosystem, supporting their progression through the proof-of-concept stage.
In the 2026/2027 edition, six projects will receive funding of up to €10,000 each, including those focused on health innovation.
The projects are listed below in alphabetical order, not by ranking:
AngioHeal Therapeutics and BERMICIN Care: two innovative approaches to treating chronic wounds
Chronic wounds remain a significant clinical challenge, and existing treatments “are not sufficiently effective”. These are the words of Cristina Barrias, a researcher at i3S and leader of the team behind AngioHeal Therapeutics.
The project is developing a new solution for chronic wound treatment based on an innovative approach. “Instead of simply supporting healing, it aims to rebuild the microcirculation needed for tissue regeneration,” she explains.
The technology combines pre-vascularised dermal microtissues with an injectable hydrogel to promote skin regeneration — an approach that “currently does not exist”. Barrias adds that, if the team can demonstrate the technology’s effectiveness, “this strategy could, in the future, represent a new therapeutic option for difficult-to-treat wounds, reducing complications and improving patients’ quality of life.”
The funding secured through BIP PROOF will help the team take the next step. “We will use the funding primarily to advance the preclinical validation of the technology, testing its ability to promote the formation of new blood vessels and tissue regeneration in a chronic wound model,” the team explains.
This work will allow the researchers to move beyond the promising in vitro results already obtained in the laboratory and towards validating the approach in a preclinical setting. They also plan to continue “preparing the technology for future clinical and commercial application.”
Also addressing this significant health challenge, BERMICIN Care was developed by a team of five researchers from the Laboratory of Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy (LEPABE) at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP).
“Chronic wounds are difficult to treat because bacteria can form biofilms — complex, highly resistant microbial communities that hinder the action of antibiotics and delay healing,” says Anabela Borges, the project leader. The team behind BERMICIN Care also includes Ariana Gonçalves, Lília Teixeira, Manuel Simões and Miguel Leitão, all affiliated with LEPABE and ALiCE at FEUP, University of Porto. The project also secured second place in the first edition of SheLeads Ventures.
The technology combines a bioactive gel, applied directly to the wound, with blue light. When activated by the light, the gel helps combat biofilms and enhance the effectiveness of antibiotics, while also creating favourable conditions for healing.
“Treatment with BERMICIN Care could be administered outside a hospital setting, in the comfort of patients’ homes, significantly improving their quality of life. It could also ease pressure on healthcare systems by reducing repeat hospital visits, prolonged hospital stays and the high costs associated with treating chronic wounds,” the team explains.
Laboratory tests have already demonstrated the technology’s potential in controlled in vitro conditions. The funding awarded through BIP PROOF will enable the team to test the technology using more complex wound models, “reducing the risk and making the solution much more attractive to future investors and partners in the pharmaceutical industry”.
The €10,000 in funding will therefore help the researchers take an important step towards “transferring this technology from the laboratory to the market”, the team says.
The researchers expect BERMICIN Care to benefit patients, society and healthcare systems. “From both a social and a clinical perspective, BERMICIN Care could help tackle one of the greatest global public health threats: antimicrobial resistance. The gel has the potential to restore the effectiveness of conventional antibiotics without the need to develop new drugs,” they conclude.
PRECISE IT: precise evaluation of cancer treatments
The PRECISE-O project emerged from the work of four researchers at i3S: Filipe Pinto, Fátima Carneiro, Liliana Santos Ferreira and Cristina Barrias. It aims to develop an advanced experimental platform to “evaluate cancer treatments in patient-derived models, in a context closer to human biology,” explains Filipe Pinto.
The main value PRECISE-O could bring to the market and society lies in “generating functional human evidence at an early stage in the development of new therapies”. By enabling the assessment of tumour responses and treatment selectivity, the platform “could help identify promising candidates earlier and prevent less effective options from advancing to more complex, time-consuming and expensive stages,” the researchers explain.
Having secured €10,000 in BIP PROOF funding, the team will use the funds primarily to prepare and qualify experimental models, conduct functional studies and quality controls, analyse results, and standardise procedures. “This support will allow us to take a decisive step towards transforming a technology with a solid scientific basis into a more robust, reproducible solution, ready for use by external partners,” says Filipe Pinto.
The technology could be applied “to both existing therapies and new candidates in preclinical development, allowing responses to be compared, signs of efficacy and selectivity to be identified, and decisions to be supported at an earlier stage”. In the long term, PRECISE-O could contribute to “more efficient, informed and evidence-based development of biologically relevant therapies,” concludes Filipe Pinto.
SENSEgraft: an intelligent vascular prosthesis
The prostheses currently used in bypass surgery can undergo functional changes that are not always detected in time. This can lead to serious clinical complications, such as thrombosis. To address this problem, a team from i3S, led by Inês Gonçalves, conceived and developed SENSEgraft.
“Our solution integrates sensors and wireless communication directly into the prosthesis. It is powered autonomously by energy generated by the blood flow itself, without the need for batteries,” explains Daniela Sousa. The aim is “to enable continuous monitoring of the prosthesis’s performance and provide information to help doctors detect changes early and intervene in a timely manner,” she adds.
The solution developed by the i3S team, which also includes Andreia Pereira, Daniela Sousa and Rogério Henriques, offers several potential advantages. For patients, “it enables continuous monitoring and the earlier detection of changes in prosthesis performance, helping to ensure more timely interventions.” For healthcare systems, “it could help reduce the need for complex interventions at a later stage, potentially lowering the costs associated with monitoring and treating vascular complications,” the researchers explain.
In the long term, the scientists aim “to contribute to a paradigm shift, moving from an essentially reactive approach to vascular health towards a more preventive and personalised one.” The funding awarded through BIP PROOF will help them advance towards this goal.
“This support is fundamental to accelerating the transfer of our technology to the market and reducing technological risks at this stage of development,” they state. The funding will enable the team to proceed with laboratory validation of the integrated system, further develop its technological maturity and begin engaging with potential industrial and commercial partners. Looking ahead, the researchers envisage the possibility of establishing a spin-off company, exploring licensing opportunities and collaborating with medical device manufacturers.
Created by U.Porto Inovação in 2018, the BIP PROOF programme has supported 61 innovative ideas, providing more than €650,000 in funding.
Across its various editions, the initiative has demonstrated a significant impact, fostering collaborations with external partners from academia, industry and public institutions, as well as generating publications and stimulating further research. Its wider socio-economic impact is also reflected in the more than €2 million in additional funding secured by participating teams over the years.
BIP PROOF has received support from several partners.
The Amadeu Dias Foundation (FAD) has been involved since the programme’s first edition and continues to support it today. Caixa Geral de Depósitos joined in 2024 and continued its involvement in the 2025/2026 edition. That edition also benefited from support from UI-TRANSFER 2.0, a project co-funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund under Portugal’s Competitiveness and Internationalisation Operational Programme (COMPETE 2030), within the Portugal 2030 framework.
The main objective of BIP PROOF is to help researchers demonstrate the feasibility and potential of their innovations through proof-of-concept projects.
These may involve developing technically feasible prototypes, conducting in vitro or in vivo tests, carrying out feasibility assessments or market studies, and other activities that help mature technologies and bring them closer to market.
