https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSYGEbgPESM
Eolo Pharma, the new company founded by Garat along with three partners (Carlos Batthyány and Carlos Escande, researchers at the Pasteur Institute, and Virginia López, a researcher at the School of Chemistry), is dedicated to the rational design of new compounds for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and atherosclerosis.
These types of compounds do not exist in Uruguay or anywhere else in the world; rather, they were developed through research conducted at the Pasteur Institute in Montevideo and the School of Chemistry at the University of the Republic.
After testing them on animals and confirming that they were highly effective in preventing these diseases, they faced the challenge of testing them on humans. To do so, they needed funding and expertise in all the stages involved in developing these processes.
Driven by her curiosity and desire to take on new challenges, Garat submitted this proposal to the CITES (Center for Technological, Business, and Social Innovation) incubator of Argentina’s Sancor Seguros Group, which approved the project, selecting it from among 200 proposals.
This brought about a major change in Garat's life; she had to move to Argentina on her own, leaving behind her family and her boyfriend, and take charge of the company's strategy.
“I currently live in Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina (40 km from Sunchales, where the incubator is located), and I’m the CEO of the company; I handle everything related to management, ”she says.
She admits that the biobusiness and economics courses she took during her undergraduate studies were essential, but she’s still continuing her education: “I’m taking training courses to further my development as an entrepreneur, and I completed an online graduate program in Spain focused on science and technology companies.”
Now that she’s settled in Rafaela—though she says her apartment still doesn’t have electricity or furniture—she faces a major challenge: “The plan is to have these new compounds ready for the first human trials in a year and a half or sooner, which is a huge challenge for us.”
Even as an undergraduate, Garat showed an interest in the world of entrepreneurship—perhaps because of her innate curiosity and eagerness to try new things, or perhaps as a way to break into the field of biotechnology.
While working on her thesis, “Development of New Biotechnological Tools and the Creation of a Company for the Research, Validation, and Commercialization of Nutraceuticals,” she was supported by BIOESPINN. There, she took her first steps as a researcher by founding the startup NutraScan, a company that develops nutraceuticals (foods that have a beneficial effect on human health).
“I don’t think you need a brilliant idea to start a business; you just need to believe in the project and work hard,” he concludes.