Laura Mendoza, Unima: Developing Low-Cost Diagnostics for 3 Billion People, Ep 108

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-size: 24pt;">Laura Mendoza, Unima: Developing Low-Cost Diagnostics for 3 Billion People, Ep 108</span><br /> <br /> Laura Mendoza was already working on solutions for tuberculosis, the</span> <a href= "https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> leading infectious killer</span></a> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">worldwide, before COVID-19 came along. As founder and CPO of biotech Unima, Laura develops fast and low-cost diagnostics for infectious diseases. Her solutions help decision-makers create better programs for the treatment and control of these diseases.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">From the first mentions of coronavirus early in 2020, Laura and her team immediately understood the magnitude of the problem. Quickly shifting gears, Unima started to focus on solutions for COVID-19, such as molecular tests for antibody detection.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I sit down with Laura to talk about why she decided to tackle human health and how she became an entrepreneur while completing several Masters along the way. We also discuss the work Unima was doing before COVID-19 and what it’s like to raise money as a biotech company in Latin America.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tackling global health</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It had never crossed Laura’s mind to become an entrepreneur until she entered the workforce. After a couple of years, she realized that there were so many unaddressed problems in the world that needed to be addressed. It was while working for Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world, that Laura saw an opportunity in biotech, specifically in animal health. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Listen to this episode of</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Crossing Borders</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">to learn more about how Laur