In addition to the most ‘British’ English, Spanish, Catalan, French and Italian, Christopher Morton (Alicante, 1971) also speaks the language of the entrepreneur and the engineer, adapting with ease to any register, from the most scientific-technical to the most commercial. This aeronautical engineer attended Imperial College of London and delved into research of numerical methods at CIMNE-UPC before embarking on his business career that has taken him to Italy, France, the United Kingdom and Spain. Altair France (2001), Samtech UK (2005), and, since 2018, ELEM Biotech, “the virtual humans factory”.

From the heart of Barcelona, at Pier07, a team of biomedical engineers developers and computational modeling experts works under the direction of Chris creating virtual simulations of human organs to predict and cure diseases. That’s how ELEM operates. And that’s how Chris thinks…

TB: What is the purpose of your project?

CM: We create virtual human populations with which we can predict the outcome of pharmacological therapies and medical devices. In other words, we provide the biomedical industry with a powerful supercomputing-based platform so they can test their products, from pacemakers and ventricular pumps to drugs. These are the clinical trials and personalized medicine of the future.

TB: Where is your project at and where do you see it in two years’ time?

CM: We are just starting now with the commercialization of our first cardiac safety assay platform ‘V.HEART’. In two years, we anticipate inorganic growth, having demonstrated the impact and economic value our technology will have on the therapeutics industry.

TB: A good idea you’ve had.

CM: Very few [laughs].

TB: What is the greatest challenge you have faced? 

CM: At a business level, raising funds is always a challenge. And getting the first customers, too.

TB: Best advice you’ve been given. 

CM: No one knows your business better than you, but listen to your customers. Also, when someone gives you money, take it.

TB: A professional role model that inspires you.

CM: Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. Mariano Vázquez [co-founder and CTO of Elem Biotech] and I met Larry in San Francisco, shortly after joining the Oracle Accelerator program for startups. More than a decade ago, Oracle was a traditional company, focused on mainframes and software licensing, with not very exciting databases. Today Oracle is a leader in Saas, PaaS, Cloud and AI technology.  What impresses me most is how Larry at some point, decided that the company culture had to change. And he made it happen.

In addition, as a sailing enthusiast, I was also impressed by his participation in Australia’s toughest offshore race, the Hobart Yacht Race. Imagine how tough it must have been for him to say he would never do it again.

TB: A technology that will shape the future. 

CM: Virtual Flavour.

TB: In-person or remote?

CM: In-person, at least with a certain frequency.

TB: A startup or a company.

CM: My friend Jeremy O’Brien‘s company, PsiQuantum, which aims to produce the first viable quantum computer to address the grand challenges facing our planet. His vision and determination are admirable.

TB: How do you unwind?

CM: I don’t do anything in particular.

TB: A book to recommend. 

CM: I recommend: “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, by Daniel Kahneman; “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”, by Milan Kundera; or “Le fusil de Chasse”, by Yasushi Inoué.

TB: A series, movie or song that defines your life right now.

CM: “Porque te vas” and “Y viva España”.

TB: A recipe, a restaurant. 

CM:  The ‘insalata fior di zucca’. And the Ćatovića restaurant, in Montenegro.

TB: A place in the world.

CM: Fujiyama, in Japan.

TB: Where would you invest 100k? 

CM: In my company.

TB: If you weren’t an entrepreneur… 

CM: I would invest in a sailboat and in the stock market.

TB: What does Tech Barcelona mean to you?

CM: It’s the best startup association I know. If the working environment or the location are already fantastic, the Tech Barcelona team is even more so. They understand the needs of startups and their difficulties, accompany you, learn about your project, include you in their network of contacts and companies, and give you all the visibility and support you need.