Interview: Neide Vieira & IPLEXMED

The interview with Neide Vieira PhD, Co-founder & Chief Business Officer of IPLEXMED from Portugal.

IPLEXMED offers a new generation of portable genetic diagnostic devices, ensuring health support is accessible anytime, anywhere.

You can listen to the episode with Neide Vieira on EmpoWomen Podcast:

Or read the interview.

Pitching IPLEXMED

IPLEXMED is developing NexAward, a first-of-its-kind portable, lab-grade, and easy-to-use platform for diagnosing multiple respiratory infections, including their associated antimicrobial resistance, in just 20 minutes. Our diagnostic platform is suitable for on-site use in emergency rooms by healthcare providers, supporting timely and personalized treatments. It is also ideal for home use, enabling continuous remote monitoring of respiratory conditions.

This innovation is crucial, especially for patients with chronic respiratory diseases. Globally, 1 billion people suffer from these conditions, resulting in 3 million premature deaths annually. At IplexMed, we are paving the way for on-site, at-home, lab-grade diagnostics of bacterial infections, aiming to reduce morbidity and mortality rates and enhance healthcare services.

Story Behind

It’s a funny story, and we’re definitely one of a kind because we were brought together by pure chance — people often don’t believe it, but it’s true. We’re researchers from different institutions in the northern region of Portugal, in Braga, and these institutions organized a hackathon.

The hackathon was designed to bring together researchers from various fields. I was primarily involved in the health sector, while the other researchers who eventually became part of our startup were more focused on the technology side. At the event, we were randomly paired together as part of an exercise to draft a “blue sky” idea.

Our group ended up winning the competition, which provided us with some seed money to continue developing our concept. We quickly realized how well we complemented each other, both in skills and vision. We clicked, fell in love with the idea of what we wanted to achieve, and have been working together ever since. It’s funny to think that none of this would have happened if we hadn’t attended that hackathon.

I’ve seen firsthand the power of hackathons, and I hope that this energy continues to bring people together at such events, leading to the creation of something truly remarkable.

Naming IPLEXMED 

Initially, we had a different name for the project we were developing, which was focused on diagnosing the infectious agents that cause malaria. It was a very different clinical application. But as we continued working together, we realized that we were serious about taking this project beyond academia and making it a reality in the real world.

We wanted a name that captured the essence of our innovation, the multi-flexibility of our platform, and its role as a medical solution. So, one afternoon, we got together and started playing with words, and that’s how IPLEXMED was born.

Secret Sauce of IPLEXMED

What’s innovative about our solution is that we’re bridging the specificity and discriminative nature of DNA and nucleic acids with the sensitivity of graphene. We use graphene as a sensor because it’s highly sensitive to changes in its surface charge, which are induced by biomolecules.

In our case, we use sputum samples from patients. If there’s homology to the probes we’re using, it results in an electric readout. Essentially, we’re transforming complex biological and molecular signals into digital, electric outputs. That’s our secret sauce.

Mission

Our mission is to provide high-quality clinical diagnostics and make them accessible. We aim to break down barriers to healthcare access by making our platform available on-site so that clinicians can treat their patients in a reliable, fast, and personalized manner. This will significantly improve the well-being of countless lives.

Core Team

We came together by chance, and no one expected us to succeed or thrive, but we’ve been working together ever since. We’re four co-founders who didn’t start out as best friends with shared ideas. Instead, we began by valuing each other’s strengths and experiences, and from there, we clicked and connected.

As a team, we’ve discussed this, and we believe it was our collective growth that transformed us into a stronger unit. The whole truly is greater than the sum of its parts. We come from diverse backgrounds with PhDs in areas like nanofabrication, nanosensing, engineering, physics, chemistry, infectiology, and molecular biology. This gives us highly complementary skills.

In addition to our academic expertise, we bring leadership and team management skills, qualities that are crucial for entrepreneurs. We’re problem solvers, resilient, and accustomed to failure, competition, and enduring hardships to achieve success. Our PhD journeys have also honed our data analysis abilities and communication skills, which have proven invaluable in this entrepreneurial world.

We’re a balanced team: two women co-founders, Joana Rafaela Guerreiro and me, and two men co-founders, Bruno Almeida and Jerome. Our investors also reflect this balance, with one woman and one man. This diversity is a significant strength for our team, as it brings together different perspectives and personalities. We complement each other well, and our ability to get along is equally important, making diversity truly beneficial in our case.

The Biggest Challenges for IPLEXMED

One of our biggest challenges is definitely the long road to market because we’re a startup operating in the medical field, developing an in vitro diagnostic device that involves both software and hardware. This means we have to navigate a very lengthy certification pathway, especially with the recent changes in regulations. We understand that our journey to market will be longer compared to other startups.

Another key challenge is finding the right partners and securing the necessary funding to support our product development and market entry before we start generating revenue. This is certainly more difficult compared to other types of startups.

On a personal level, as a founder, one of my biggest challenges is juggling different roles. It may sound cliché, but it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the many hats we wear. Personally, as a woman, a mother of two beautiful girls, a partner, an entrepreneur, and a scientist, I find myself constantly navigating these roles. Within our startup, since we’re only co-founders, we’re pushing forward in all directions, and it often feels like it’s never enough.

One aspect that really resonated with me during the Ample Women program was the focus on managing our energy and finding life hacks to navigate startup life. They emphasized the importance of creating time for ourselves and our well-being—not as something extra, but as something mandatory. As a hard worker and a perfectionist, I used to feel guilty about taking time off, as if the house was on fire and I wasn’t working. But this mindset shift has made me realize that taking care of ourselves is essential for performing better in the long run.

Being Inside the EmpoWomen Programme

We are really enjoying this program. It’s one of the few that offers real access to funding, which was a key factor for us. Of course, we value the mentorship, but securing resources, particularly funds, is crucial for leveraging women-led companies. Another great aspect is that all team members can participate, allowing us to grow together.

We’ve been on this journey for about eight weeks now, and one of the highlights was having an onsite meeting. While digital meetings are convenient and functional, being in person made a significant difference. It was wonderful to meet all the women co-founders in a healthy, empowering environment where everyone lifts each other up.

The program itself is incredibly intense and comprehensive. It provides a thorough overview of what it takes to build a startup and identifies areas where we can improve. The mentors have offered us insightful and valuable advice. Overall, I highly recommend the program. Although we’re only halfway through, we’re excited about what’s to come and are already seeing improvements. We’ve implemented many of the lessons we’ve learned, and as a result, we’re functioning better because of this program.

Relationship with Other Startups at EmpoWomen

We definitely help each other with networking and double-checking ideas. We’ve been doing this with all the startups in the program. Naturally, we get more specific and precise input from those closer to our field, which helps us address some of the challenges we’re facing.

On our communication platform, there’s a channel specifically for asking for help or sharing general information. We regularly post when we see calls for applications or opportunities that could be interesting to one of the teams. It’s a very supportive and healthy environment—I don’t feel any competition within the program.

We’re all focused on improving our companies, refining our paths, and developing our business plans, but we’re also committed to helping each other. I’ve experienced this not only in this program but in other programs as well. I think it’s important to mention because there’s a misconception that women don’t help each other, and that hasn’t been my experience at all.

Business Environment in Portugal for Women-Led Companies

When we transitioned from academia to the business world, we greatly benefited from the support of the Braga Innovation Hub and Startup Braga. It’s a very close-knit community, providing access to mentorship, programs, and, crucially, connections with other founders.

As you mentioned, it’s incredibly important to discuss our challenges with people who have faced similar ones and can offer valuable insights. While the final decision rests with the team, having this supportive network is essential. We’re really happy to be part of the Braga Innovation Hub.

Regarding Portugal, it’s an exciting time for the startup scene, especially in tech. We’re seeing a lot of people from overseas choosing to live here, drawn by the many benefits—sunshine, great weather, good food, and excellent wine—but also by the vibrant communities. This influx of international talent creates more critical mass and more opportunities to connect with people who can make a significant difference in your ecosystem and within your startup. It’s a very friendly environment.

Of course, there’s still room for growth. We do have a shortage of funding assets, as investors in Portugal tend to invest with smaller amounts. However, the arrival of different types of investors and founders is gradually changing the scene. Additionally, various national institutions support startups, including women-led ones, by tailoring and channeling applications and calls specifically for women.

Overall, it’s a buzzing environment, and we’re definitely on our way to becoming a key player in the global startup landscape.

Other Countries and Ecosystems

As a researcher, I moved around quite a lot, but it was mainly within academia. In terms of the startup world, we’ve been based here in Portugal. However, we’ve been traveling, attending meetings, and applying for grants, which has allowed us to participate in other acceleration programs. For instance, through the event of the EmpoWomen program in Slovenia, we’ve gained insights into other regions in Europe and observed how they’re also pushing for women-led and digital tech startups.

It’s a fascinating world to be part of, filled with an enthusiastic community. Although we face many challenges, that’s the life of an entrepreneur. It’s also incredibly rewarding, and I appreciate the sense of community where everyone genuinely tries to help each other—no hidden agendas, just a desire to pay it forward.

Next Steps for IPLEXMED

Our current goal is to secure investment. We’re working hard towards that, with a focus on raising a seed round in 2025. That’s our primary objective right now.