Verázial: the Desafía Program startup providing biometric access and e-signatures for pharma

16.04.2025 12:15, Rita Longobardi

Meet Emilio Gallego, CEO of Verázial. The biometric security-focused startup helps pharmaceutical companies to ensure secure, efficient, and error-free identity management through iris biometric login and biometric electronic signature in their GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) regulated environments. In May, Emilio and the other nine Desafía Team members will participate in a two-week immersive business program across Zurich, Lausanne, and Bern to establish sustainable growth pathways in Switzerland's innovative ecosystem.

Specialized in entrepreneurship and business development in technological areas, Emilio studied telecommunications engineering at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, and an Executive MBA at the European University of Madrid with a final part at Berkeley University in California. He is fluent in Spanish, German, and English. He has used his energy and entrepreneurial spirit to develop 4 companies, and new business areas in other companies. More than 30 years of experience oriented to innovation, most of them in self-founded companies. He is also a trainer and mentor of the European Climate KIC accelerator and in the Climate Launchpad program since 2014 and has also collaborated with other European accelerators. Since 2015 he has been a Professor at 2 Spanish universities in different entrepreneurship courses.

Can you tell us who your product or solution helps, and how?
Verázial ID Pharma offers a secure, efficient, and error-free identity management solution for pharmaceutical companies in GMP-regulated environments. Replacing traditional password authentication, it uses iris biometrics for fast and secure login and electronic signatures, even when employees wear gloves, masks, or goggles. Fully compliant with FDA, EMA, and other regulations, it integrates with any web or Windows-based software, enabling biometric logins and task confirmations across manufacturing systems, logbooks, MES, ERP, and LIMS. This solution ensures regulatory compliance, improves productivity, and reduces IT management burdens.

What market are you addressing and what is the potential of your startup in that market?
We are primarily focused on the pharmaceutical industry, a market estimated at EUR 2.4 billion, where the unequivocal identification of individuals, data integrity, and traceability are mandatory requirements set by international regulatory bodies such as the FDA and EMA. Driven by a strong R&D approach, our solution, Verázial ID Pharma, is the only one in the market that has been specifically developed to meet these needs, which shows our great potential in this market.

What are your team’s key achievements to date?
The development of Verázial ID, maybe one of the 5 best products among the 30 similar products in the market, the only one addressed to the pharma industry and the easiest to integrate with other systems and software. Based on our R&D activities, we have been acknowledged by the Spanish Innovation Body CDTI with the NEOTEC, as the best grant for Spanish startups. And by the international customers, we have in 3 different continents. These achievements reflect our unwavering commitment to innovation, quality, and global expansion.

What do you expect from Desafìa, and how will it help you achieve your vision?
Through Desafía, we aim to build strategic connections that will help us establish a strong presence in the Swiss pharmaceutical industry. We expect to meet potential partners and customers during the programme to achieve this goal.

Why Switzerland represents a great opportunity for you?
Switzerland is one of the world leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, with around 300 manufacturing plants and an annual revenue of USD 135 billion, being the third biggest exporter in the world after USA and Germany. Their companies have manufacturing plants and providers in many other countries. Reaching the Swiss pharma companies is our main goal, but it will also help us sell in other parts of the world.