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Advancell procures a license for a UB patent

By 27 de January de 2005November 18th, 2020No Comments
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 27.01.2005

Advancell procures a license for a UB patent

The Universitat de Barcelona (UB; University of Barcelona) has signed a license contract for one of its patents with the enterprise Advanced In Vitro Cell Technologies – , located at the Parc Científic de Barcelona (PCB, Barcelona Science Park). The patent, named "Method of diagnosing changes in the intestinal absorptive surface in an individual", is the result of research carried out by M. Dolores López Tejero and M. Carmen Través Polo, conducted in the LPL-Stress Group at the Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the UB faculty of Biology. The license has been managed by the , a service provided by the Fundació Bosch i Gimpera and the UB.

Registered through the UB Patents Centre, the method determines the capacity of a patient’s small intestinal to absorb the nutrients received through diet, by measuring the Apo A-IV protein, which is found in blood plasma. The absorption capacity of the intestine is determined by the condition of intestinal mucous, which in turn is affected by several clinical manifestations of intestinal atrophy: from food intolerances (such as – celiac disease) to cases of chemotherapy or accidents in which intestinal length is lost (short intestine syndrome).

The agreement establishes a long-term collaboration between the researchers at the UB Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with the aim to develop a commercial diagnostic kit that will allow the product to be put on the market in the next 2 to 3 years.

The importance of this invention lies in the fact that it is an innovative method to detect the conditions of the small intestine through a simple blood analysis, thereby avoiding unpleasant endoscopies.

According to the director of Advancell, Lluís Ruiz, “with this license our company continues to place its stake in the gap between academic research and its possible industrial applications. We are in a position to take on this role because we are a spin-off, we are located at the PCB, we maintain close collaboration with several universities and research institutes and because of our position in the market. Advancell will continue its strategy to include technologies patented in the academic sector in its portfolio and to develop further technologies”.