This year’s BIO-X recipients presented
Diagnostics that change everyday lives of patients

This year’s recipients of the BIO-X award have presented proposals for innovations that can radically improve the situation of patients in healthcare and the capacity of careproviders to offer better care, as well as to enable better use of patient samples in research and development. A total of three projects have been selected. One of the projects aims to develop a quick test for primary care clinics and emergency wards to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics.

BIO-X is a program that bridges the gap between academic research and industrial product development. This year’s theme is diagnostics.

BIO-X looks for ideas in the research community that can satisfy expressed needs or solve problems in healthcare, drug development, and diagnostics. All of the BIO-X projects selected will now be further developed together with healthcare and/or companies that have shown an interest in this developmental work. Thereby, theoretical research findings can be put to practical use for the benefit of individuals and society in general.

Early diagnosis of bacterial infections
Unnecessary use of antibiotics is creating resistant bacteria that ultimately threaten to eliminate antibiotics as effective drugs. The method used today to identify bacterial infections is not sufficiently accurate. Professor Per Venge and his research team at Uppsala University have found a marker in the blood (HNL) that can distinguish between bacterial and virus infections with a high level of sensitivity and reliability. The project is receiving process support and funding up to SEK 2 million over two years.

Customized chemotherapy for breast cancer
Correct dosage of chemotherapy determines how effective this cancer treatment will be. Today the dosage is determined by the surface area of the patient’s body. A method – originally devised to measure harmful chemicals in people – is now to be used to measure the effect on individual patients of a chemotherapy drug (cyclophosphamide) that is used for breast cancer. Individualized dosage has the potential to save lives and considerably reduce the occurrence of side effects caused by excessively high dosage. Per Rydberg, Ph.D. in environmental chemistry at Stockholm University, will direct the research team that will be working under the aegis of the Karolinska Institute, partly in collaboration with Professor Jonas Bergh, at Karolinska Institutet and its Radiumhemmet (the department for oncology at the Karolinska University Hospital). The project is receiving process support and funding up to SEK 2 million over two years.

More efficient extraction of DNA from biobank samples
Patient samples are an important resource that must be handled securely and efficiently to provide material for as many studies as possible. Associate Professor Tobias Sjöblom at Uppsala University and his research team are going to develop a method for automatic extraction of DNA and RNA from samples, and are receiving BIO-X process support and funding up to SEK 0.5 million for one year to verify that the method works and can be used in biobanks, primarily in Europe.

BIO-X is now creating the conditions for a developmental phase through planning and financing the projects, network contacts, knowledge transfer, and continuous follow-up.  The goal of each project is to develop a proof-of-concept, that is, a proof that the product concept will work in practice.

For further information:
Associate Professor Erik Forsberg, Managing Director, mobile phone: +46 (0)70-350 41 43, erik.forsberg@uppsalabio.se Madeleine Neil, Director of Communication, mobile phone: +46 (0)768-29 77 77, madeleine.neil@uppsalabio.se

About Uppsala BIO

Uppsala BIO finds new pathways to bolster the competitiveness and growth of the life science sector in close collaboration with the industry, the universities, healthcare, and the wider community. Uppsala BIO is part of the Vinnova (Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems) Vinnväxt Program. www.uppsalabio.se