Success Stories
In April, the first spin-off company of the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University called MilkyWay be well was established. The company as such was founded in 2021 by the husband and wife team of Martin and Barbora Bořil. Martin's last work experience brought him to doc. PhDr. Miroslav Světlák, PhD., the head of the Institute of Medical Psychology and Psychosomatics at the MED MUNI. Their shared enthusiasm for improving mental health led to the creation of an innovative mobile app designed for cancer patients and their mental health. Thanks to their collaboration, the aforementioned spin-off company was created, which aims to improve mental health through eHealth tools implemented in the work environment to prevent mental illness.
Analysis of types of cell death for experimental drug development
The aim of the Proof of Concept project, whose main researcher is RNDr. Jan Balvan, Ph.D. from the Department of Pathophysiology of the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University and which was supported this year within the TA CR GAMA 2 programme, is the development of a robust method enabling automatic detection and resolution of cell death subtypes based on their phase dynamics captured by holographic microscopy. This method has a high potential for cytotoxicity and biocompatibility testing in the development of new drugs and materials. You can find the interview with Dr. Balvan here.
Analysis of epidemiological situations
In 2020, the Proof of Concept project of prof. RNDr. Ladislav Dušek, Ph.D. from the Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses called Online platform for real-time monitoring, analysis and management of epidemic situations. The output is a web application Monitoring, analysis and management of epidemic situations (MAMES, https://mames.iba.muni.cz). It enables the general public to model the development of the COVID-19 epidemic in real time and thus responds to the current need for the rapid availability of adequate information related to the spread of the disease.
Development of oncological drugs
An intensive programme of development of oncological drugs based on the know-how co-developed by LF MU under a license agreement with Artios Pharma Ltd. is underway. The research is focused on inhibition of nucleases by patented compounds developed in the laboratories of the scientific teams of doc. Kamil Paruch and doc. Lumír Krejčí from the Faculty of Science and Faculty of Medicine of MU. Artios Pharma Ltd. announced a three-year research collaboration with Merck KGaA in 2020 to discover and develop several new cancer drugs.
Evaluation of the effect of stress
Under the leadership of prof. MUDr. Julie Dobrovolná, Ph.D., a new MU spin-off company called Entrant s.r.o. was established, focused on the evaluation of the impact of stress on humans in various situations, especially in fields where stress plays a key role. The device that will be developed may help soldiers, pilots and astronauts in the future. The technology received the support of the space incubator ESA.BIC Brno.
In vitro system for preclinical embryotoxicity testing
Within the framework of the TA ČR project GAMA 2 Proof of Concept by PharmDr. Zuzana Holubcová, Ph.D. (from the Institute of Histology and Emryology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University) called MUNI-BLAST, an in-vitro system based on 3D structures resembling human embryos at the blastocyst stage (so-called blastoids) will be developed and tested, which has the potential to eliminate false-negative results and the need to use a large number of laboratory animals.
New biotechnology for milk production
The technology of milk production in mammary gland organoids will be verified and upscaled within the Proof of Concept project by Mgr. Zuzana Koledová, Ph.D. from the Institute of Histology and Emryology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University. The MUNI-MILK project was supported by the TA ČR GAMA 2 programme. The technology targets the new, emerging market of food created by biotechnology.
All activities in this field were implemented with the support of the Technology Transfer Office.
💡 Outputs in 2022
- patent granted AU „Substituted aminothiazoles as inhibitors of nucleases“
- patent granted US „4-(1H-imidazol-5-yl)-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridines for use in the treatment of leukaemias, lymphomas and solid tumors“
- patent granted KR „(4-(1H-imidazol-5-yl)-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridines for use in the treatment of leukaemias, lymphomas and solid tumo
- patent granted CA „4-(1H-imidazol-5-yl)-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridines for use in the treatment of leukaemias, lymphomas and solid tumors“
- patent granted JP „(Substituted propanamides as inhibitors of nucleases)
- patent granted US „Substituted propanamides as inhibitors of nucleases“
- patent granted CZ „Způsob přípravy konjugátů s řízenou rychlostí uvolňování léčiva s nosiči protinádorového léčiva na bázi selektivně oxidovaných polysacharidů“
- patent granted EP „4—(1h— imidazol— 5— yl) -1h-pyrrolo [2, 3-b] pyridines for use in the treatment of leukaemias, lymphomas and solid tumors“
- patent granted JP „(4-(1H-imidazol-5-yl)-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridines for use in the treatment of leukaemias, lymphomas and slid tumors)
Contact
Ing. Karolína Kašparová
Technology transfer manager, Office for Research and Quality
| Phone: | +420 549 49 3782 |
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| E‑mail: |
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Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash, Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash, Photo by Kristopher Allison on Unsplash, Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash