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Signing of an agreement for the establishment of a biotechnology company producing implants enabling early detection of biomarkers signalling viral infections

Editors of the portal
11.05.2020

The Management Board of Hemp & Wood S.A. informs that on 10 May 2020 it concluded with the American company Alivecel LLC. Memorandum of Understanding (hereinafter MOU) agreement, on the basis of which the issuer and Alivecel will immediately proceed to determine the conditions of participation in the joint venture (JV) based in Poland.

The aim of the JV will be to offer health monitoring systems in the form of an implant implanted in the hand between the thumb and forefinger. The JV will conduct research (R&D) on the production of living cells to measure and detect proteins produced by SARS and MERS viruses, as well as markers of glucose, insulin, cancer, heart attack and others. In vivo monitoring will take place in real time.

Early detection tests will be developed using synthetic biology and nano- and biotechnology techniques and will focus on monitoring changes in RNA and DNA of users, which may be patients, employees of all types of companies or even the entire population, as well as healthcare systems, users of military facilities and many others.

Once the implant has been developed and properly registered as a medical device, the system is expected to provide users with new options for long-term continuous health monitoring, allowing the transmission of an early warning signal to a mobile application, which in turn can be monitored in real time directly by the users of the system, as well as their doctors or health care institutions, health monitoring agencies or research hospitals.

Markers used in the implant will enable immediate detection of viral outbreaks or other diseases. The technology being developed will be more effective and efficient than sensors currently available on the market, due to, among other things, increased accuracy and expected longer implant function life compared to sensors currently available on the market that require replacement every 30-60 days. The implants eventually offered by the JV will need to be replaced no more often than every 6-12 months or will even last longer. The JV plans to conduct R&D in Poland and the USA in cooperation with American research centers and agencies.

The JV will operate under the direction of Marek Glazer as Technical Director, Gerard Bencen as CEO and President of Hemp & Wood Leszek Borkowski. Ultimately, the JV will license and deliver technology to Alivecel LLC, Hemp & Wood S.A. and to medical and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. As agreed, Alivecel LLC will deal with the commercialization of the technology primarily in the United States, while Hemp & Wood will have exclusive rights to distribute the products in Poland and on European markets.

Hemp & Wood will be the first financial investor in the JV and is expected to raise additional capital from Polish and European institutions such as NCRD or NCN, as well as from American and European Venture Capital investors.

Source: Podpisanie umowy dotyczącej zawiązania spółki biotechnologicznej produkującej implanty umożliwiające wczesne wykrywanie biomarkerów sygnalizujących infekcje wirusowe – Artykuły – Biotechnologia.pl – łączymy wszystkie strony biobiznesu