Forty years of innovation serving health. Medica Spa celebrated its 40th anniversary in Bologna with the international conference “40 Years of Medica: Innovating Health for Tomorrow,” which was attended by experts, partners and institutions from around the world.
The event provided an opportunity to reflect on the future challenges of healthcare, including an aging population, rising healthcare spending and the need for new technological solutions.
Founded in 1985 with the idea of offering itself as a reference partner for research and development of solutions in the field of blood purification, Medica is today a globally active company engaged in the design and marketing of medical devices, electro-medical machines and water filtration systems.
“This event is not just a celebration, but an opportunity to look to the future,” said Marco Fecondini, CEO of Medica, "and to do so we wanted to involve scientific and industrial partners with whom we share a passion for innovation. In our history we have often undertaken projects guided more by ethical values than by immediate economic returns. Thus, for example, was born Carpe Diem, the first blood purification machine designed for newborns: an example of technology born from a concrete clinical challenge*."
"Carpe Diem is an innovative neonatal dialysis machine designed to treat low-weight infants with severe kidney and cardio-renal problems. Miniaturized and high-precision, it was developed by Medica at the International Renal Research Institute of Vicenza IRRIV to treat acute kidney dysfunction in the most fragile patients and has already proven its effectiveness in complex cases such as kidney failure, acidosis, hyponatremia and oliguria in patients around the world. Carpe Diem is an example of synergy between a research institute and an industry sensitive to the ethical values of innovation," commented Claudio Ronco founder and director of the Vicenza Renal Research Institute - IRRIV and speaker at the conference.
Among the most recent and soon-to-be marketed products made by Medica should also be mentioned AD1, a wearable device for continuous and isolated ultrafiltration, designed together with the Vicenza Renal Research Institute to support patients with cardio-renal insufficiency. It is the smallest and lightest in its class, battery-powered, easy to use thanks to the ready-to-use kit, and equipped with safety sensors.
COLLABORATION BETWEEN INDUSTRY AND SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY TO MEET HEALTHCARE CHALLENGES
The conference was an opportunity for a wide-ranging reflection on healthcare, touching on such crucial issues as the challenges facing medicine both clinically and structurally, the environmental impact of care systems, new technologies for intensive care, and rare diseases. Also central is the issue of sustainability, not only economic and ecological, but also organizational and social.
"Collaboration between industry and the scientific community is fundamental and strategic to address the major transformations that modern medicine proposes. Occasions such as this one help us to better understand which direction to follow in order to develop solutions that are increasingly effective, accessible and at the same time environmentally friendly -said Loreto Gesualdo, President FISM Federazione Società Medico-Scientifiche Italiane. Medica has always represented over the years an example of sustainable innovation and continues on this trajectory."
Alongside medicine, the conference also highlighted the potential of translational research, that is, the ability to transfer skills gained in clinical settings to other areas that affect public health, such as rehabilitation and accessibility to water resources. A challenge that affects not only the technology, but also the business model and public-private collaboration.
"Research in the medical device sector- stressed Guido Beccagutti, director general of Confindustria Dispositivi Medici- is crucial for the continuous development of cutting-edge technologies, and public-private partnership represents an opportunity to strengthen the competitiveness of the sector. Italian companies that invest in research are a pillar for the economy, which is why it is essential to create a dynamic and attractive industrial policy that can enhance local excellence and attract investment. Realities like Medica's should not be exceptions, but models to be replicated, to build modern, efficient and sustainable healthcare. Only with collaboration among all health actors can we build a more competitive and inclusive health system, for the good of the country."
SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION: MEDICA AND CNR TOGETHER FOR HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
With an eye to the future, Medica continues to invest in research and develop new technologies in collaboration with centers of excellence, universities and scientific societies.
It was therefore highlighted how, in collaboration with CNR, Medica has developed a new filtration technology based on graphene oxide to remove contaminants from drinking water, including PFAS, known as “eternal pollutants.” Out of this synergy came Graphil filters and, in 2024, the Graphisulfone® brand, effective against PFAS and heavy metals such as lead. Designed for domestic use, these devices offer an innovative and practical solution for water safety.
Also with the CNR in Bologna, Medica started a significant collaboration that resulted in the Life Remembrance project, which led to the creation of the Water Living Lab, a pilot plant installed at the Pontelagoscuro drinking water treatment plant in Ferrara.
The Water Living Lab represents a virtuous example of circular economy applied to research: it uses polymer granules containing graphene, derived from the optimization of production processes of membranes in the biomedical industry produced by Medica Spa. These innovative materials, tested and validated by the CNR-ISOF in Bologna, are capable of retaining and eliminating emerging micropollutants in water, such as PFAS, drugs, cosmetics and pesticides, with superior effectiveness compared to traditional granular activated carbon.
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