Baja California, Mexico, would be promoted as a technological platform for the biomedical industry

Entrepreneurs and representatives of the Government of Baja California are pursuing a project to position the state as an incubator for the Biomedical industry, for which they are preparing the first “Hackathon BioMedTech,” an event aimed at fostering innovation and promoting entrepreneurship in this sector.

Patricia Hernández, ITJ Senior Binational Advisor, indicated that the Hackathon would be a 50-hour competition during the weekend of September 9-11, in which participants can put their programming skills into practice.

The idea, he said, is that they generate a technological project that provides a solution to the new challenges facing society in areas such as biotechnology, medical devices, innovation, and health.

For this, he noted, the attendance of 150 people is expected, including participants, mentors, judges, business partners, sponsors, and organizers.

“This is the first effort of what is expected to become the most important technology event of the year in the Baja California region,” he said.

The directive elaborated on the opportunities offered by the proximity to cities such as San Diego and San Francisco, located within the three most essential biotechnology hubs in the world, so there are 3,000 companies as a niche of opportunity.

“The rapid evolution of technology and its trends force companies, government, and academia to think about how to achieve a constant process of transformation, focused on the growing development of skills in demand, as well as improving the regulatory framework and infrastructure of support at the public and private level,” he pointed out.

Patricia Hernández pointed out that strengthening the binational innovation ecosystem must be a priority for Baja California and the convergence of information technologies and life sciences.

“We must take advantage of the competitive advantage offered by the fact that we graduate more engineers than the United States and envision niches where it is possible to employ this talent, add value, and position our leadership,” he stressed.

As part of the organizers of the Hackathon, Baja California is Deitac, Canieti, and companies such as Dexcom, Insulet, Outset Medical, Biosero, Xiltrix, and Luna DNA, among others, which have centers of excellence in Tijuana and are now joining the event as sponsors and mentors.

For his part, Kurt Honold Morales, Secretary of Economy and Innovation of the State, stressed that Baja California should be offered platforms, innovative technologies, and new projects such as the Hackathon BC.

“We know that the biomedical industry directly impacts people’s lives and contributes to the knowledge of many areas of health. The biomedical and technological industry allows us to devise and generate new ways to solve the problems of our environment and, thanks to them, we continue to move forward”, he specified.

In this sense, the state official assured the government would seek to team up with the academy, the private sector, and society. Hence the State Secretariat of Economy and Innovation, along with ITJ, Deitac, Canieti, and other organizations, will meet this September 9, 10, and 11 in Tijuana for the BioMedTech Baja Hackathon BC.