Reading and rewriting the human body: the AI challenge that brings European experts together at Bellver Blue Tech Zone

• Leading figures from the healthcare, digital and investment sectors gathered at this Mediterranean setting between Benicàssim and Oropesa del Mar for The Vertex Summit.
• The epigenetic clock, CRISPR gene editing and clinics designed from the outset for prevention were the focus of some of the most notable sessions.
• The Castellón complex is consolidating its position as a space for research and preventive health.

Oropesa del Mar (Castellón). Rewriting the human body to live longer and better is already a reality. It is one of the ideas that defined The Vertex Summit, the gathering that on 19 and 20 October brought together startup founders, strategic investors and leaders of the technology ecosystem from across Europe at Bellver Blue Tech Zone. The event was organised by the venture capital fund GoHub Ventures in collaboration with Microsoft.

Over the two days, the programme combined talks and networking sessions around three main themes: health and life sciences, the present and future of artificial intelligence, and Europe’s role in technological innovation.

AI shortens the timelines of medical research

One of the most notable talks was given by Jaime de Mora, CTO for Startups and Digital Natives for EMEA and Western Europe at Microsoft.

Alongside him, the speakers included Carolina Aguilar (INBRAIN), Marisol Quintero (Columbus Venture Partners), Lucas Mittelmeier (Heal Capital), Leonard Rinser (Venture Institute), Alberto Conti (Alceus Bio) and Jared Aron (Coherent Healthcare), among others.

The session “Programmable Biology: Reading and Rewriting the Human Body” examined how artificial intelligence is accelerating the study of the epigenetic clock, the indicator that measures the biological age of cells beyond chronological age. The speakers also discussed its role in molecular and biological intervention, where it is increasing the precision of gene-editing tools such as CRISPR when cutting and rewriting specific DNA sequences.

Another topic was AI-based healthcare, the focus of the session “The AI-Native Clinic: Building Preventive Care from Day One”. The approach represents a shift in how healthcare is conceived, creating clinics whose operating system, clinical workflows and data models are designed from the start around artificial intelligence, with prevention as the starting point.

“Preventive health is one of the great challenges of our generation, and artificial intelligence is changing the speed at which we can address it. With The Vertex Summit we wanted to bring to the same table those who are building these solutions and those who can help scale them, in a setting where wellbeing is part of the experience itself”, said Inés Calabuig, Managing Partner at GoHub Ventures.

An ecosystem where technology and wellbeing meet

GoHub Ventures focuses much of its investment activity on digital health, with particular attention to early detection, preventive health and clinical AI. These are areas that share a focus with Bellver Blue Tech Zone, an ecosystem of more than 700,000 square metres facing the Mediterranean, conceived as a meeting place for technology, wellbeing and sustainability, where caring for people and the environment is part of its purpose.

This link with the health sector is not new. Bellver Blue Tech Zone has already hosted events such as the Cardiovascular Diseases Congress of the Valencian Society of Cardiology, and its users include medical technology companies such as Quibim, which is also part of the GoHub Ventures portfolio.