Menu
Biotech Forum 2025 took place at LATU's Innovation Park
The event, held at the LATU Innovation Park Auditorium, reaffirmed its place as the leading forum for biotechnology in Uruguay. Researchers, companies, entrepreneurs, and students shared ideas and projects that strengthen the national biotechnology ecosystem.
It was co-organized by Latitud, LATU’s foundation for research, development, and innovation projects; the School of Engineering at Universidad ORT Uruguay, through the Center for Industrial Biotechnology and Innovation (CBI+I); and the Pando Science and Technology Park (PCTP). It was supported by the National Research and Innovation Agency (ANII) and the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC), which declared it of ministerial interest.
The opening featured Lucila Arboleya, president of LATU and Latitud, who shared the stage with Bruno Gili, head of the Uruguay Innova program, and Eduardo Mangarelli, dean of the School of Engineering at Universidad ORT Uruguay.
On that occasion, Arboleya emphasized the sector’s growth and its transformative power in people’s lives, highlighting LATU’s role—through its Innovation Park—as a bridge and catalyst between academia and the productive sector.
Afterward, there was a series of short talks in which leaders from various organizations carrying out biotechnology projects presented their work. Representatives took part from Latitud, the School of Engineering at Universidad ORT Uruguay, PCTP, Institut Pasteur Montevideo, the Clemente Estable Biological Research Institute, the Faculty of Sciences at the University of the Republic (Udelar), and the National Institute of Agricultural Research.
A second round of short talks took place later, this time featuring biotechnology companies. Participating were Scaffold Biotech, Yeda, Promethenz, Polymera, and Xeptiva.
Fabiana Rey, a Latitud researcher who took part on behalf of the foundation, stressed that this forum is a unique opportunity to bring together all ecosystem stakeholders, fostering synergy, exchange, and growth of the sector.
There was also space for two keynote lectures: one by Francisco Carrau, a researcher at Udelar’s Faculty of Chemistry, and another by Pía Garat, co-founder and CEO of Eolo Pharma.
Closing remarks were delivered by Gustavo Domínguez, Latitud’s technical manager, and Carlos Sanguinetti, academic coordinator of Biotechnology at the School of Engineering, Universidad ORT Uruguay.
Domínguez noted that the forum brings together and promotes dialogue among academia, government actors, and startups, and that it represents an opportunity to drive the growth and transformation of companies that then generate a positive impact on the environment, health, and the economy.
For his part, Sanguinetti also highlighted collaboration among institutions as a driver to continue advancing biotechnology in Uruguay.
Latitud continues to promote science, innovation, and technological development to strengthen this field and its impact in the country.
