[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/7296\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ENew wave of medical \u2018deep tech\u2019 can help coronavirus response \u2013 but there\u2019s resistance \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Deep tech\u2019 describes companies working with technologies such as advanced material science, artificial intelligence or biotech to bring completely new scientific discoveries or engineering breakthroughs to businesses. For example, deep tech includes pharmaceutical companies using the ultra-fast processing power of quantum computers to simulate complex chemical reactions to discover new drugs, or using artificial intelligence and machine learning to build navigation systems for self-driving cars. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDeep tech is often based on \u2018fundamental\u2019 research driven by scientific curiosity about new, untested theories \u2013 rather than \u2018applied\u2019 research, which improves existing technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough the term is new, the approach has been around for decades, says Jonathan Wareham, a Professor of Information Systems at the ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018History has given us many examples of how deep technologies have diffused into clinical products or medicines that have been tremendously helpful,\u2019 he said. He gives the example of how Paul Dirac\u2019s theory of antimatter evolved from a theory that even Dirac didn\u2019t believe to being the science behind modern PET scanners.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENew wave\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs the coronavirus spread through Europe in early 2020, many deep tech companies adapted their technology to help with the response.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Wareham is part of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/attract-eu.com\/selected-projects\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EATTRACT\u003C\/a\u003E project which oversees nearly 170 deep tech projects to help them reach investors. He believes that a new wave of medical technology based on fundamental research can readily respond to the pandemic.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn example of this is Galactica Biotech, an Irish company using machine learning to help small pharmaceutical companies find new uses for their medical molecules. Since the molecules are already approved for medical use, new drugs based on the molecules are often approved faster. They are now working with companies to look for molecules that could create coronavirus treatments.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGalactica has experience in this area, having used their artificial intelligence algorithm during the 2014 Ebola outbreak to search for possible treatments.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In this case we did the same with the coronavirus,\u2019 said co-founder Dr Jorge Valencia. \u2018We just updated some parameters and data.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Valencia says work done at Galactica has helped companies to develop new drug combinations that can treat the symptoms of the virus. He says that, like the Ebola epidemic before it, the coronavirus pandemic brought about a drastic shift in their business as more companies work on the coronavirus response.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch institutes are also shifting their work to help. The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, can generate powerful X-rays by forcing a fast-moving electron to change direction. The X-rays can then be focused by the ESRF\u2019s 32 beamlines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ESRF have now made these beamlines \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.esrf.eu\/fr\/home\/news\/general\/content-news\/general\/covid-19-scientific-research.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eavailable for Covid-19 based\u003C\/a\u003E research. Using these X-ray beams can be useful to analyse fast and complex biological processes, such as protein reactions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Michael Krisch, chair of the ATTRACT consortium board, and a scientist at ESRF has seen big changes take shape in just months. He notes that X-ray researchers at ESRF quickly got together to make their facilities available for Covid-19-related research while under lockdown.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I clearly see a completely new approach where the research infrastructures get their act together to tackle jointly a huge issue,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHaving worked at other fundamental research institutes such as Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) in Germany and the Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, US, Dr Krisch was impressed by the speed at which research was reoriented towards, for example, using\u0026nbsp;ESRF instruments to view the lung tissue of Covid-19 patients.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Typically, things take a long time because there\u0027s a lot of inertia. I think people were so shocked by the violence of this crisis\u2019 that it shook up the system, he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe coronavirus pandemic\u0026nbsp;has given deep tech funding an opportunity, Dr Krisch says. \u2018(European research infrastructures) have become very receptive to accelerating processes and mechanisms to allow result-driven research and innovation which is not their typical timescale.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u0026#039;That initial process of (deep tech) R\u0026amp;amp;D is done by taxpayers. It\u0026#039;s almost a gift for investors.\u0026#039;\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProf. Jonathan Wareham, ESADE Business School, Barcelona, Spain\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPotential\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENonetheless, there are intrinsic problems with deep tech that continue to affect it, says Prof. Wareham. Since deep tech uses new concepts such as quantum technology, it can take years for investors to fully appreciate its potential. Deep tech start-ups looking for early investment are at a disadvantage when talking to sceptical investors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The problem with this in terms of selling it in the public imagination is that cause and effect is difficult,\u2019 he said. \u2018You\u0027re not talking about a car sharing app. You\u0027re talking about something that could take maybe 10 years before it piloted, tested, produced and commercialised.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDifferent national attitudes in Europe can also hinder deep tech companies developing their products. This has been the experience of BeSure Online, a Dutch start-up that uses wearable medical devices to monitor people at risk of strokes or cardiovascular disease. They have adapted this technology to help doctors monitor at-risk Covid-19 patients during their recovery.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to BeSure cofounder Olga Chumakova, the difficulty of trying to reach European investors during lockdown became obvious immediately. \u2018It was a little bit difficult to launch into international partnership and collaboration because we don\u0027t have an opportunity to travel as normal,\u2019 she said. \u2018On the other hand, we demonstrated that our project could be launched completely remotely.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe technology gained attention in countries like France and Spain, where the devices are being trialled. Chumakova says that some European countries put their requirements online, making it faster and easier to get approval for their product there. \u2018We can check all requirements and we can adapt our product completely remotely. It\u0027s a challenge for us, but we can fix it.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe also feels that poor communication across borders impedes feedback. \u2018Our product is a little bit difficult for international general practitioners because they do not understand clearly how to monitor patients,\u2019 she said. \u2018It would be much better in the future, for example, if governments and public authorities could launch something to help us to connect with healthcare providers to better understand their needs.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECollaborate\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Krisch thinks that researchers need to collaborate better too. There is room for further improvement, according to him, but the current crisis has also created an unexpected opportunity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ESRF and other synchrotron X-ray facilities have launched a call for proposals to allow consortia of researchers with different disciplines to use the unique experimental facilities for research on the coronavirus. Dr Krisch says that seeing different experts coordinating their experiments as one proved how efficient experiments can be. \u2018The amount of data and the amount of results produced was quite striking,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Prof. Wareham, better communication of deep tech\u2019s low-risk potential could be better. \u2018You have to convince people that the benefit that deep tech has is that researchers develop the technology. They test it, they operate it and scale it. That initial process of R\u0026amp;D is done by taxpayers. It\u0027s almost a gift for investors.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe breakthrough science that deep tech uses can also be reinterpreted for a second life as another new technology, says Dr Krisch. Having different disciplines work together can help that happen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018You put a physicist together with an architect and psychologist, and they have three completely different angles. And in the end, you come up with a smart idea you didn\u0027t think about as a physicist or psychologist on your own,\u2019 he said. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the future he hopes that bringing investors closer to fundamental research will help create deep tech businesses that respond to future crises, like climate change.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I think one of the strongest common denominators (between the pandemic and climate change) is early detection,\u2019 Dr Krisch said. \u2018One of the lessons to be learned is how we can use deep tech to prevent future crises.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EJonathan Wareham and Dr Michael Krisch will be speaking at a panel to discuss deep tech and breakthrough innovation at the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/info\/research-and-innovation\/events\/upcoming-events\/european-research-and-innovation-days_en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EEuropean Research and Innovation Days conference\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;which will take place online from 22-24 September.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-blelyumurqmbm-zyahpas5rpiw5vh2sspv-kj3jaxue\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-BLelyUmUrqMBm-ZyaHPAs5RPiw5vH2sspv_KJ3jAxuE\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]