Oxygen is essential for life, also in every cell. Without it, cellular function deteriorates. Through intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia training, cellular adaptation mechanisms are activated that promote mitochondrial renewal. In practice, this translates into greater energy efficiency and better cellular performance.
Intermittent hypoxia is one of the treatments offered by Monarka Clinic, which focuses on integrative medicine and neurolongevity from its own methodology that combines conventional medicine with integrative and precision medicine protocols. Treatments range from those specialized in pain management to prevention and humanistic psychology. All with one goal: to treat the person as a whole, not just the symptoms of a disease. And it is that, sometimes, physical symptoms have unexpected origins, even emotional ones.
From this perspective, neuroscience and longevity specialist Estela Lladó-Carbó; neurosurgeon Mireia Illueca, humanistic psychologist Montse Escobar and Daniel Muigg as financial director, joined forces to articulate a methodology that combines advanced diagnosis, neuroscience, functional medicine, metabolic optimization and personalized protocols, in order to advance towards comprehensive and sustained health over time. To do so, it also starts from the concept of slow medicine: "The first difference that becomes evident is listening: during visits, the patient's current situation is unfolded, and everything that has led them to this vital moment," highlights Muigg.
The clinic, opened in June on Paseo de Gràcia, has closed its first semester of activity with 1,500 people attended and meeting the billing objectives foreseen by the company —which declines to detail the figure—. Now, it aims to reach ten million euros in five years, through a plan of national and international openings. For the launch of its first center, the project had an investment of two million euros, in an operation in which names from elite sports were protagonists: it added Pep Guardiola as one of the main investors and shareholders of the clinic, along with former footballers Jonathan Soriano and Thiago Alcántara, now a member of Barça's technical staff.
Beyond the symptoms
Although Monarka Clinic opened its doors in June, its four co-founders have known each other for a long time in the professional field. In many conversations, the idea crystallized that the traditional approach to medicine has loose ends: it focuses on treating symptoms, rather than on the roots and causes of diseases.From this conviction, in the summer of 2024, they began to outline what an integrative clinic should be, "where the person is approached in a much more global way," and not just looking at what is studied in isolation. "It's not looking at the heart, the brain, a specific element: it's understanding that everything is interconnected"; and offering the space for the patient to have a team aligned with this way of looking at things at their disposal.
This perspective includes joint analysis and shared information, as Muigg highlights. All focused on the same objective: "To view the body as an integral system. When you find the true origin of an ailment, we see real changes in people." Muigg emphasizes this concept: "For the clinic, they are not patients, they are people." And in it, they acquire an extra responsibility: "When you enter a consultation as a patient, you already give up part of the power, because you go to the doctor to be cured. In reality, a large part of our health is in our hands, and the great responsible is each one in themselves."
Personalization with a view to longevity
From this angle, the clinic prioritizes personalization, as Muigg emphasizes. "And there are lines that touch between this much more personalized medicine and high-performance sports." It is in this context that Guardiola joined the project. The coach's first point of contact with what would be the Monarka team was when he underwent back surgery by Illueca. When the concept of the clinic took shape and they proposed it to him, "he decided to trust Monarka," Muigg highlights. Then Soriano and Alcántara joined: the three together account for about 15% of the project's capital, while the rest of the shareholding is distributed among the founding partners and participations from their environment.Now, Monarka is working to formalize its methodology, as a preliminary step to opening in new cities: "There is no calendar, but in 2026 we propose to open another center," highlights Muigg. In fact, they are in talks to explore opening in cities like Madrid and Bilbao, with an eye not only on the rest of Spain, but also on Europe. "We always have Northern Europe very present. We are holding conversations, and there is a lot of interest," highlights the co-founder —of Austrian origin, precisely— about the clinic's expansion, in a process that adds to Barcelona's positioning in the international health ecosystem.
This expansive vision will not only have repercussions on the number of clinics, but also on the growth of the one in Barcelona. The center has 25 professionals, "and they are growing quite continuously, but organically." Again, from this conviction that everything is interconnected, the clinic will incorporate interrelated services. "We saw that many of the problems were linked to the quality of rest, and we have created a Sleep Unit." They have also incorporated an otolaryngologist and a cardiovascular unit, "one of the main risk factors we all have," according to Muigg, who details that prices are in line with those usual in private medicine.
"We are always thinking about the Monarka methodology, and how to maximize prevention and healing from this comprehensive vision," concludes Muigg. All with one purpose: to accompany patients —or people— in transformation processes. Monarka itself is already a declaration of intent: "The monarch butterfly is the longest-lived in the world. From caterpillar to butterfly, a tremendous transformation process occurs." It is this metamorphosis that they want to reflect in those who come to their methodology, through a vision that sees the body as a whole and the patient as an active and responsible agent of health.