With the inspiration of reusing waste products from the aquaculture industry to develop biotechnology products, Manuel Rozas, Endeavor Entrepreneur and MIT Innovator under 35 years old, founded Kura Biotech. A Chilean biotechnology company, located in Puerto Varas, recently certified as a B Company, is a world leader in the development of enzymes for toxicological analysis, and during 2023 expands its presence to three synergistic markets. Kura Biotech has developed a state-of-the-art protein engineering platform, offering enzyme solutions to improve workflow in toxicological laboratory analysis and food safety testing. At the end of 2023, it launches its latest innovation to the genomics market, by developing enzymatic solutions for genetic sequencing. About Avenire In 2020, faced with a global shortage of supplies and the arrival of the pandemic, Kura decided to focus its scientific expertise on the development of kits for Sars-Cov-2 testing. In just three months, the team was able to create the first RT-qPCR and RT-LAMP kits made in Chile, certified by the ISP. This initiative made it possible to diagnose more than 5 million people in Chile with locally produced reagents, highlighting Chile as one of the few countries with sanitary sovereignty in the production of 100% national kits. Kura’s post-pandemic reflection: Positive externality, bringing molecular biology to new industries The pandemic has had a significant impact in Chile, both in terms of public health and the economy and society in general. However, the crisis experienced in Chile and the world encouraged Kura to go further by seeking new and innovative solutions to bring molecular biology to different industries, through the implementation of new technologies to meet their operational challenges. RESIST Food: History of how RESIST Food was born Given the experience and success of the technology used with its Covid-19 testing kits, Kura developed a kit, with the same technology, capable of detecting in a molecular way, the pathogens that affect the productive chain of the food industry companies, giving origin to RESIST® Food. RESIST® Food is a fast and economical alternative to traditional microbiology, widely used in pathogen detection. Its ability to monitor the safety of the production chain allows cost and process efficiencies, providing highly sensitive results in only 45 minutes post enrichment. The versatility of the kit allows testing for different pathogens (Listeria and Salmonella, among others) in different food matrices, and its easy implementation allows the creation of low complexity laboratories in less than a week without additional investment in specialized equipment. RESIST® Food’s Recognized Achievements: An Innovative Impact on the Industry Recently, RESIST® Food, won the PwC 2023 Innovative Entrepreneurship Award for its cutting edge and contribution to national competitiveness, highlighting its importance in supporting the food safety challenge of the local and global food industry. This stimulus encourages Kura to continue developing disruptive and sustainable solutions to strengthen food safety and thus contribute to the development of innovation projects and science from Chile to the world.