W2*
NovoArc – we replace injections with pills!
Prof. Oliver Spadiut, Vienna University of Technology; Dr Julian Quehenberger, Vienna University of Technology; Dr David Wurm, Vienna University of Technology
Vienna University of Technology
Challenge
Many people are afraid of needles. However, due to degradation in the stomach and low bioavailability, many drugs cannot be administered orally but have to be injected. To avoid degradation, current pills contain unwanted chemical additives to protect the drug in the stomach and deliver it to the intestine where it is absorbed.
Conventional liposomes (with a current market value of 2.2 billion Euros) are made of phospholipid-esters. Despite the vast applications of these liposomes, their greatest disadvantage is their instability towards acidic pH values and enzymes, preventing their use in oral drug delivery.
Technology
We provide a novel, purely biological coating based on super-stable lipids from Sulfolobus, a species of archaea growing in volcanic springs under extremely acidic conditions. The vesicles formed by these lipids protect the drugs in the stomach, deliver them to the intestinal mucosa, and increases their bioavailability, thus making oral drug delivery more efficient, free of unwanted chemicals, and available to a wide range of active ingredients.
Our innovative formulation is produced by the extremophilic microorganism and boosts storage stability and shelf life.
Please follow the link below for a detailed description of the technology: www.youtube.com/watch;
Commercial Opportunity
We plan to found the TU Wien spin-off company NovoArc GmbH in October 2021, which will provide the whole value chain of this technology from production of special lipids, extraction and purification, formulation, and packing of the drug, as well as testing the formulated product and delivery to the customer.
Additionally to the pharmaceutical market, our lipids are highly demanded in the following industries:
· Cosmetics
· Food and beverages
· Agriculture
· Coatings
· Biosensors
Development Status
The development of the core technology has been successfully finished. Currently, we are packing and testing several pharmaceutical compounds as well as neutraceuticals.
Patent Situation
patent WO2020/187526 A1 was filed
Further Reading
