Symcel secures Phase I Horizon 2020 grant
Initial €50,000 Phase I grant will fund full feasibility study of calScreener
Symcel, the company behind a cell-based assay tool for real-time cellular bioenergetic measurements, calScreener, has secured Horizon 2020 Phase I funding to prepare the company for the planned commercialisation of its technology. The €50,000 Phase 1 grant will fund a full feasibility study.
calScreener, a calorimetry based diagnostic tool, addresses the industry’s inability to conduct antimicrobial susceptibility testing in key clinical fields, including biofilm infection, owing to the non-existence to date of effective assay and monitoring technologies available to the market.
Symcel’s technology and approach meets these unmet diagnostic needs head on. It provides clinicians dealing with bacterial infections with accurate and fast tests that determine whether an antibiotic should be used in the patient, the type of antibiotic to use and the choice of therapy to apply.
Magnus Jannsson, Chief Scientific Officer at Symcel, commented: 'Key industry benefits of calScreener include the fact that it is a high sensitivity, easy to use calorimeter that ensures the fast delivery of reliable information on the type of bacteria involved in infections, enabling a quick choice of individualised patient therapy for hard to diagnose infections. Consequently, once fully commercialised, we believe that our technology is set to have a transformational impact within the healthcare sector.'
The feasibility study, which forms Phase I of the Bacterial Analysis and Diagnostics through Growth and Energy in Real-time (BADGER) project, comprises a comprehensive strategic review of Symcel, business model visioning and the development of an effective business plan.
Christer Wallin, CEO of Symcel, commented: 'We are delighted to have been awarded this Phase I Horizon 2020 grant and look forward to creating the business plan that will guide our upcoming validation and exploitation efforts.
'By validating and commercialising calScreener as a diagnostics tool, the BADGER project will make an important contribution towards fighting antimicrobial resistance in Europe, whilst increasing the level of antibiotic stewardship.'
Gregor Novak, Project Adviser at Horizon 2020, commented: 'Let me first congratulate Symcel on being selected for the SME Instrument Phase I. They are among the companies with the most innovative ideas in the world.'