ANID, the National Agency for Research and Development, has revealed the list of IDeA I+D 2025 funded projects, which facilitate the co-financing of applied R&D initiatives with a significant scientific basis, aimed at creating technologies that can transform into new products, processes, or services.
Among the funded initiatives is the project entitled “Development of Antiparasitic Nanoformulations to mitigate infestations by Caligus rogercresseyi in Salmon Farming,” led by Dr. Yorley Duarte from Universidad Andrés Bello, in collaboration with Dr. Cristian Gallardo-Escárate, academic at Universidad de Concepción and Deputy Director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Aquaculture Research (INCAR). This project is supported by Salmones Antártica S.A. and Tecnovax Chile SpA.
For this project, a new protein and two compounds that have never been used before in treatments will be incorporated into various nanoformulations (microscopic systems designed to optimize drug delivery), hereby increasing the treatment’s effectiveness and minimizing parasite resistance to frequently utilized medications. Furthermore, this initiative seeks to diminish environmental impact by enabling the medication to adhere more effectively to the parasite and to be released in a regulated manner, which means fewer active ingredients are required, resulting in reduced chemical waste in water and the marine environment.
The project is scheduled to last for 24 months (2025–2027) and aims to produce a ready-to-test industrial formula, either in liquid or powder form, for immersion baths by the end of the project period.
