|
Dr Valentin Fulga, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, TheraVitae Ltd., Israel
 1) Briefly tell us what it is about your company/project that makes it so special?
Since we began developing our technology, our primary goalhas been the benefit of the patient. We decided to develop the safest and mosteffective therapy and bring it to the patient as rapidly as possible. Wewanted to make it simple for the patient to receive the treatment and easyfor the physician to administer it. Based on these concepts we developeda therapy that uses the patient's own cells harvested from theblood instead of bone marrow. We use only factors that have already been usedpreviously in human subjects which even further ensures the safety of thetreatment.
2) What country best facilitates starting a tech company? What single thing can a government do to encourage Technology Pioneers?
As I always worked in Israel, I cannot comment on other countries. The common wisdom is that the US environment is very encouraging and that companies have a higher chance of success in the US. At least in terms of funding, it is much easier to get financial support there, than in other countries. However, funding, as important as it may be, it is not the only factor to becoming a tech pioneer. When someone has to struggle with are the difficulties related to the development of a new technology and also has to find resources to bring it to fruition, it is only if the technology is really outstanding that one can survive and become successful in a less encouraging environment. Not that I am encouraging governments to stop supporting new technologies, but maybe in certain cases entrepreneurs who do not want to fail work harder in these cases...
3) What makes an innovator?
This is a difficult question as I do not think that there is one specific factor that can encourage somebody to become an innovator. It is most probably a mixture of factors: strong will; hard work; not being afraid to use new approaches; deleting the term "impossible" from the vocabulary; an open mind to spot the small findings and envision the larger impact that they might have if pursued further and last but not least, luck. There are people who work very hard and probably have many of the features mentioned above, but they do not have the luck that others have. However, one must always "help" the luck by understanding its importance, not being afraid of the unexpected and making the most of an opportunity.
4) How does your company directly contribute to improving the state of the world?
This is for others to say, but from my perspective, if we will be able to help even a fraction of the people suffering from heart disorders, the most prevalent disease in the population, and improve their quality of life, this will be our small contribution to humanity.
5) What value do you hope to gain from being a Technology Pioneer?
The most important is that it gives me and everybody else in the Theravitae team confidence and encourages us to continue our hard work. It also gives us the strength to strive for higher achievements, by knowing that our work is appreciated by a respectable and completely objective body. No less important though is the fact that the more people know of us, the more people will be helped to cope with their disease and thus we will reach the main goal of our existence – to give patients with no other option the opportunity to receive a treatment that may be helpful. In addition, I hope that by gaining credibility and showing the positive side of our technology, we will be able to develop new technologies that will be beneficial to even more people in need.
6) What do you think the role of technology should be in society?
I will put it very simply: help mankind to live better and longer. This is not only related to biotechnology, it should be the goal for any technology.
7) What is the right balance in society between scientific interest and ethical concerns?
There is a very important balance between the two and I believe that our technology, which was deliberately developed to avoid ethical issues related with embryonic stem cells, proves the importance of ethical concerns not only In science, but also in economy.
|
