Obesity is a serious and increasing worldwide problem. Inhibition of the appetite-stimulating factors would be a possible treatment for obesity. This discovery provides a target for possible drug intervention for limiting food intake among the obese. Today the hypothesis still holds and three drug companies have been formed.
Periodontitis, or gum disease, is both painful and socially stigmatizing. Anders Johansson and his team identified a plant extract with the ability to neutralize the A. actinomycetemcomitans leucotoxin as a possible solution for a new treatment.
Nordic Biomarker was founded in 2007 by the biochemist Dr Göran Aronsson and the clinical biochemist Dr Gunnar Pohl. Their business idea didn’t directly come from their research at the time at Umeå University, rather from a clear customer need that they identified after their research period. Today, Nordic Biomarker has grown to 20 employees, has a turnover of SEK 40 million with good profitability, and has customers all over the world.
By combining two different methods, Medsens AB is aiming at offering a whole new tool for realtime microdiagnostics during prostate cancer surgery. The company’s instrument is far more accurate that the methods used by clinicians today – which could make surginal procedures much more efficient. The project is based on the work of Olof Lindahl och Kerstin Ramser.
The company has developed a unique and patented probe and method, Onzurf, which can be used to monitor the status of bodily organs from the surface of the organ in question. The probe provides critical life-saving information for patients, and saves resources for the health care sector.
Lipigon is a lipid biology specialist company. It utilizes proprietary and unique know-how and technologies to discover and develop novel therapies for patients with lipid disorders and other cardio-metabolic risk factors.
Fredrik Elgh and Jonathan Gilthorpe identified a novel antiviral activity against the herpes virus that targets the early stages of viral infection. They have explored this further to develop an antiviral drug that can be used to treat herpes virus infections more efficiently and help overcome antiviral resistance.
Eirium AB was founded in 2012 as a spin-off company from Umeå University, Sweden. The vision of the company was to develop novel antiviral therapies to address an unmet medical need – a treatment for immuno-compromised patients. The company is currently on hold.
Tanomed has developed a unique nasal spray to relieve and prevent the progression of the common cold by reinforcing the body’s own defenses. The patented technology is based on Swedish research carried out in cooperation with Umeå University and with business development support from the Umeå Biotech Incubator. The company was sold to Karo Bio AB in spring 2015.
A natural compound-approach for neutralizing exotoxins from various gram-negative pathogens. Gobroxia AB has developed a novel method to treat pathogens causing diseases such as diarrhea, sepsis, tooth loss and whooping cough in humans, as well as bovine respiratory disease in cattle and pneumonia in pigs.