FCM was the unit that licensed the most technologies in 2019. There were seven licenses: five relating to the CranFlow software, by professor Vera Lúcia Gil da Silva Lopes, and two linked to Suture Thread technology, by professors Joaquim Murray Bustorff and Ângela Cristina Malheiros Luzo.
“This achievement represents one of the most fundamental changes for the country in terms of development. We have always had a very bold scientific production in Brazil, but it did not establish much dialogue with the other side. Along this path, we continue to work on abstract research, evolving concepts, but we are also working on short and medium-term demands, meeting other important needs”, assesses the coordinator of the FCM Research Commission, professor Andrei Sposito.
A fact that further exposed the importance of stimulating research and development, in Sposito's view, was the COVID-19 pandemic. “Science tends to go unnoticed by society, especially because it is something very technical and distant from people’s reality. But it is moments like these that highlight how relevant doing science is. A process that is traditionally slower and more detailed now faces the challenge of doing something fast, harmonious and orchestrated at a global level. Hence the importance of a strong scientific framework,” he says.
The innovation numbers
The Faculty of Medical Sciences currently has 108 active applications at INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property), including 72 patent registrations and 36 computer programs. Among the technological domains, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Technology stand out as the most prominent. The average time between request and concession is around 11 years, according to the Intellectual Property department at Inova Unicamp.
According to Sposito, another strong feature of FCM is its collaborative projects. In addition to having technologies developed in partnership with other units of Unicamp itself, Unesp, with three co-owned patents, and Unioeste, with five, were the institutions that stood out in these interactions. “I would even highlight the task force against COVID-19 carried out within the university, with the creation of multidisciplinary groups, involving not only FCM, but many other units at Unicamp”, he adds.
“This result is a consequence of the investments that have been made to develop and carry out research over the last 25 years. There has been significant growth in fundraising for research, implementation and expansion of laboratories, publications and, more recently, patents”, says the Director of FCM, professor Luiz Carlos Zeferino.
Contact with the market for better training
The benefits of research applied to real needs also extend to the more solid training of students involved in these activities. “Professionals leave here who value science, who know how to identify opportunities and who develop logical thinking to solve problems”, says Sposito.
An example of this is FCM's PhD student, Bruno Bosch Volpe, who worked alongside professors Joaquim Murray Bustorff and Ângela Cristina Malheiros Luzo on the project that led to the suture thread patent. The technology is applicable to treatments and processes of healing and tissue recovery, both in humans and animals, without fibrosis.
“I got very involved with the project and observed that what started in the scope of research found ways to succeed and help many people. It became a personal purpose to offer something more effective and cheaper to the healthcare system”, says Volpe.
In practical terms, the technology, which is currently awaiting clinical processes, represents a major advance in patient recovery. In the case of Crohn's disease, an infection in the digestive system that affects more than 150 thousand Brazilians every year, the healing process takes 7 to 10 days, reducing the patient's hospital stay and also improving the quality of life after surgery. .
“For us, it is a great pride to be able to contribute to the development of a relevant and Brazilian technology”, reinforces Professor Ângela.
As the project progressed, opportunities to transform it into a business advanced in parallel. In 2015, the technology was chosen by a group of undergraduate students to participate in the Unicamp Challenge, a business model competition for Unicamp patents, led by the University's Innovation Agency. At the time, Bruno Volpe acted as an academic mentor for the students, helping them understand the technology and its applications. “In the beginning, I was very young. I had no business bias or understanding of this entire process. It was then that I realized that the research did have the potential to be a product of Brazilian innovation”, he recalls.
He then decided it was time to bet. The doctoral student decided to undertake, founding IBB – Inovações em Biomateriais, alongside partners Álvaro Cesar Vieira de Oliveira and Roberto Mountran de Oliveira, and the company was responsible for the two licensing of Sutura technology last year.
“We are confident in what we have been working on and the potential for applying the technology. We also see the importance of remaining close to the university to continue the development process”, concludes Volpe.
With the same purpose of making a difference, professor Vera Lúcia Gil da Silva Lopes worked on the development of CranFlow, a tool for managing a database on craniofacial anomalies.
Brazil is considered a world reference in the treatment of craniofacial anomalies, with excellent public hospitals carrying out this work. However, according to the professor, the country is faced with difficulty in accessing diagnostic evaluation and genetic counseling for families, which consists of checking the probability of genetic disease.
Developed with the collaboration of professor Isabela Lopes Monlleó, from the Federal University of Alagoas and fellows Roberta Aquino, Elaine Lustosa-Mendes and Maria Fernanda Bittar, three years were dedicated to the technology between design, development, implementation and testing phase. Today, the software is licensed free of charge for six locations and there are still four in the pipeline. “Of these, five are highly complex hospitals for treating craniofacial anomalies”, he reveals.
At the moment, around 1,6 families are registered in the system. Of these families, around 650 were able to be assisted for genetic investigation and counseling. With clinical data and segments, CranFlow will be able to support public policies in this area. “And, in the future, provide approaches based on evidence specific to the Brazilian population, including regionalized ones.”
“The university and the Faculty of Medical Sciences seek to return the resources invested in different contexts, not only in education, but also in new knowledge and technologies that are not always clear to the community, but have a positive impact on our daily lives”, concludes the teacher.
