BIOinFOOD, a daughter company of Unicamp, was selected in the Economic Innovation Subsidy Program, launched by Finep, an innovation and research funder of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications (MCTIC). In partnership with Unicamp's Genomics and BioEnergy Laboratory (LGE), the startup will develop the prototype of the new rapid test model that uses yeast to diagnose Covid-19, called CoronaYeast.
The startup was one of the 59 classified in the notice launched in May, competing with large pharmaceutical and technology companies, in a universe of 300 entries. The public selection granted up to 120 million reais in non-refundable resources (money that does not need to be returned) from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT) to promote innovative solutions focused on combating the pandemic.
At the beginning of the month, BIOinFOOD – which until then worked with customized yeasts for the baking, animal nutrition and beverage industries – had the amount of 500 thousand reais approved. She has up to 12 months to transform the scientific concept of the biosensor, created and patented at Unicamp, into a commercial product. In return, the company must invest a minimum percentage of 10% of the approved amount. The partnership with the university was signed with the support of Inova in a non-exclusive licensing agreement.
To face the challenge, the team made up of three former students went through the InovAtiva program, the largest startup accelerator in Latin America, run by the Ministry of Economy. “We were born to work in the food and beverage area, but our expertise in modifying yeasts is not limited to that, because the microorganism is the same, the genetic manipulation techniques are the same, what changes is just the application”, explains Osmar Carvalho Netto, co-founder of BIOinFOOD.
The startup, created in 2018, will hire two more scientists to work exclusively on the development of the device that will initially be produced using 3D printers; and finalizes the assembly of its own laboratory at the High Technology Pole II in Campinas, also financed with public resources from Fapesp's Innovative Research in Small Businesses Program (PIPE).
For the coordinator of the Genomics and BioEnergy Laboratory Gonçalo Amarante Guimarães Pereira, Brazil is a great producer of science, but it still needs to advance to be an important player in innovation, as it is not enough to create technologies, it is necessary to transform them into products for the Marketplace. The solution, according to him, is to develop a concept, as other universities abroad are already doing. In these cases, teachers become involved in the formation of new spin-off companies, which will be units for the development of an idea into a product. “It’s a disruption, we’re talking about an idea protected by patent”, explains the professor.
The professor reinforces that the maturation of this type of disruptive technology in cooperation with a startup is only possible because there has already been public investment in permanent material, such as the construction of laboratories and the acquisition of high-tech equipment. In the case of this partnership, the Unicamp structure, with the task force against Covid-19, will be used for the first pilot-scale tests. This way, researchers are able to collect information to improve the device, at the same time as the biosensor is formatted.
The presence of seed investment – such as Finep – is also another factor highlighted by Gonçalo to expand the possibility of transforming a technology into innovation, as it allows other stages of development to be reached to increase the interest of larger investors. In the case of this specific technology, the professor explains that a large beer company has already shown interest in yeast production and two other potential investors have also signaled that they are open to dialogue.
The next steps of the partnership
Unicamp researchers will be responsible for creating the new strain, based on the most common yeast family, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, used in the production of bread, beer and ethanol. The inventors of the patent Fellipe da Silveira Bezerra de Mello and Carla Maneira da Silva explain that they will include a reporter gene in the microorganism that changes color when it comes into contact with the coronavirus. The idea is that people can safely take the test at home, if necessary several times a week, by collecting saliva samples and also to detect contamination on surfaces.
The main advantage of the biosensor over the current RT-PCR test is the low production cost of the input. Under ideal conditions, these microorganisms multiply quickly. Furthermore, the new kit has autonomy in relation to the use of reagents. “It's like a pregnancy test you buy at the pharmacy, you don't need anything additional to make a diagnosis”, compares Osmar.
The value has not yet been estimated, but the expectation is that the biosensor will be up to 100 times cheaper. If the theory is confirmed in the coming months, the process could be made more flexible to detect other diseases. “It is a technological platform without competition from the point of view of cost and simplicity, yet we are talking about a million-dollar market because, unfortunately, this will not be our last virus”, concludes Gonçalo.
Matter originally published on the Innovation Agency website.
