The two companies, representatives of diagnosis solutions based on metabolomic technology, have signed a collaboration agreement to strengthen R&D in the sector. The Basque biotechnology firm OWL will contribute know-how in the creation of non-invasive diagnosis solutions for Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH). The goal is to encourage the use of metabolomic technology in the research and development of appropriate tools to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of different conditions.
The increasing role of metabolomics in R&D for diagnosis and personalised medicine systems based on this technology has led Basque Health Cluster member OWL and BIOSFER, two of the best examples of this type of biotechnology to sign a collaboration agreement with a view to reinforcing research in this sector via projects that bring together the expertise of both companies. The agreement, signed in November 2020 will help both OWL and BIOSFER to identify opportunities, generate specific proposals and find the best suited funding to ensure the success of these projects, which will be of benefit both to society and to the biotechnology industry. Both companies have ample experience in metabolomics for use in a range of fields: the development of new biomarkers to allow diagnostic products to be developed or to promote innovative platforms for studies and clinical trials in the pharmaceutical industry.
“Our joint goal is to encourage the use of metabolomic technology in the research and development of appropriate tools to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of different conditions,” explained Pablo Ortiz, CSO of OWL. Moving forward, OWL and BIOSFER will work together on the identification of strategic research and development projects that will use the platforms of at least one of them, providing the human and technical resources necessary for this development. The Basque biotechnology firm OWL will contribute its know-how in creation of non-invasive diagnosis solutions for patients with Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), a perfect complement to the cardiometabolic health experience of the Catalan company Biosfer Teslab. “The potential results that can be obtained from this collaboration could result in a new tool for clinical diagnosis, but could also be used to create a solution for value applications such as R&D, clinical trials for the pharmaceutical industry, research centres, CROs or similar,” added Pablo Ortiz. The agreement, which will remain force for as long as there are projects underway, is part of OWL’s collaboration strategy with research centres such as CIC bioGUNE or Biodonostia and private companies.
About BIOSFER
BIOSFER is a benchmark biotechnology firm in the in vitro diagnosis sector that provides analysis services for the study and monitoring of metabolic abnormalities through high-performance NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) technology. It was created in 2013 as a spin-off of the Metabolomic Platform at the Rovira y Virgili University (URV) and the Pere i Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV), to develop an advanced lipoprotein-Liposcale test currently in use in clinical practice in order to expand knowledge of an improve cardiovascular health. The company’s background has allowed the analysis of biological matrices to be professionalised with NMR, the development of bio-computing tools and make progress in automatic learning technology (Artificial Intelligence) for identifying metabolic patterns or marks associated with certain illnesses.
About OWL
OWL is a worldwide provider of metabolomic services for the pharmaceutical industry whose main focus is supporting clinical trials for liver conditions and other highly prevalent illnesses, as well as research into situations where metabolomics play a key role, including the monitoring of pharmacological treatments and the discovery of biomarkers. Since its creation in 2002, this Basque company has been working with numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for NASH, as well as research organisations around the world in hepatic medicine thanks to its exclusive metabolomic analysis platform. It is also part of two international consortia (LITMUS and NIMBLE) created to discover reliable non-invasive systems to replace liver biopsies in the diagnosis and prognosis of NASH.