ZIK-B-Cube spin-off
Pioneering denovoMATRIX technology for biomaterial coating of cell culture plasticware wins innovation award
Central German Metropolitan Region/UJ
Almost invisible, yet revolutionary: a novel technology for the biomaterial coating of cell culture plasticware. With its innovation “denovoMATRIX,” the Dresden-based startup of the same name is giving a whole new impetus to research into stem cells and potential treatments. Researchers from TU Dresden received the 2018 Clusterpreis Life Sciences award as part of the IQ-Innovationspreis Mitteldeutschland central Germany innovation prize for their work on this new development.
“We did not expect such a great response,” says denovoMATRIX director Dejan Husman. “Winning the IQ-Innovationspreis Mitteldeutschland has definitely helped us attract investors. Currently, we are at an advanced stage of negotiations.” Husman is clearly delighted with the Clusterpreis Life Sciences prize, which is sponsored by Serumwerk Bernburg AG and KPMG AG and is worth 7500 euros.
He and his team at the B-Cube Center for Innovation (ZIK-B-Cube) at TU Dresden received the award for a novel technology for the biomaterial coating of cell culture plasticware. “The properties of human stem cells mean they have great potential for fighting diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease and diabetes. However, to reproduce them in the lab, you need to coat the surface of the plasticware with biomaterial,” says Husman, describing his research approach. The extract required for the coating was previously obtained from tumor cells in mice, but its properties varied widely and it was not suitable for clinical applications because of its animal origin. denovoMATRIX makes it possible to combine the components of the biomaterial on a modular basis in the laboratory. The key components include sugar molecules and peptides, which, for example, act as signaling molecules for growth, differentiation, and the cohesion of cells. “For the first time, we are able to produce a biomaterial with components that are precisely chemically defined, and which replicates the natural environment of cells in the body as closely as possible. This allows the cultivation of stem cells with a higher reproduction rate and better properties,” explains the award-winner. Since the new type of coating makes cells behave in the laboratory as they do in the human body, research findings are more meaningful. The modular design means that the innovation can be extended to cover other cell types.
In August of this year, denovoMATRIX GmbH was set up as a spin-off of ZIK-B-Cube and is now marketing its innovation throughout Europe. “After the IQ-Innovationswettbewerb Mitteldeutschland pitch, we had our first product on the market: screenMATRIX, a research tool for scientists. We now sell our innovation in France, Ireland, and Switzerland. In 2019, we plan to launch our second product, myMATRIX,” Husman tells us, adding, “In Central Germany, we are talking to many opinion leaders and have numerous partners. However, as our market is fairly small, we are also focusing on international sales.” The team from Dresden, which has been researching the innovation since 2012, is hoping for global customers. “Our dream is for laboratories around the world to use our coatings, accelerating the application of cell therapy,” Husman tells us.
Submissions for the next IQ-Innovationspreis can be made from December 3, 2018.
www.iq-mitteldeutschland.de
More information about the startup “denovoMATRIX” is available at
https://www.denovomatrix.com.
This article appeared in the Dresdner Universitätsjournal (university newspaper, UJ) 17/2018 of October 30, 2018. The complete issue is available as a free PDF download here. Printed copies and PDF files of the university newspaper can be ordered from doreen.liesch@tu-dresden.de. More information can be found at universitaetsjournal.de.