17 October 2025
Bilbao Campus
Deusto and SAMIRA DTx, a technology company specialising in healthcare and a pioneer in the design and development of Digital Therapies (DTx), have signed a strategic collaboration agreement to develop innovative solutions that improve the care and quality of life of people with chronic diseases. The initiative reinforces the University's commitment to knowledge transfer and the application of academic research to real societal challenges.
The alliance brings together Deusto’s scientific and technological expertise with the disruptive vision of Ismael Maceira, CEO and co-founder of SAMIRA DTx, a 16-year-old digital and tech native. An example of young leadership, he has demonstrated that talent and vision know no age, as his personal experience as a long COVID patient led him to discover the potential of technology in healthcare. Alongside him as co-founder, Dr Carlos Escobar, a cardiologist and researcher at Hospital La Paz and coordinator of the Scientific Committee for Digital Therapies in Spain, brings the medical rigour needed to ensure that each digital therapy meets the highest standards of safety and efficacy.
"We are facing a historic moment: the opportunity to integrate science, technology and humanity in the same direction," said Ismael Maceira. "Our collaboration with the University of Deusto will accelerate the development of digital therapies that not only relieve symptoms but also empower patients and transform their healthcare experience,” he added.
The agreement also includes applied research projects and the development of digital intervention models to improve the lives of patients with chronic conditions, thereby putting knowledge transfer between academia and industry into practice. In this regard, as Dr Carlos Escobar explained, this collaboration is “an example of open innovation and of how academia and industry can work hand in hand to drive real innovation in the field of digital health”. In his opinion, "digital therapies are already the present and the future of medicine, and Deusto is an ideal strategic partner for this challenge".
