Malta-based venture builder Acceler8 Limited is pleased to announce that it has recently secured a further €350,000 in funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC) for its commercialisation of BIOPURE – a new biopharmaceuticals purification solution using continuous membrane-assisted crystallisation.

This sum was secured through EIC Transition 2022; a European Innovation Council (EIC) funding programme that seeks to facilitate the maturation of novel technologies and their development of a business case.

This innovative solution is expected to lower the production cost of biopharmaceuticals.

The primary benefits of this are two-fold:

  • Consumers may be able to purchase relevant medicines at a reduced price.
  • Medicines that were previously too expensive to manufacture may finally get the opportunity to go to market.

The innovation’s commercialisation plans are primarily targeted towards forming a startup that will manufacture and sell its equipment to biopharmaceutical laboratories and factories. A one-time, relatively low-cost investment has the potential of rendering annual savings amounting up to 15 times the cost of the investment.

The anticipated savings lie in the expected improvements to the biopharmaceutical purification process, which can currently account for up to 60% of biopharmaceuticals manufacturing costs.

“With the help of the EIC, we are able to strengthen our IP portfolio in the Life Sciences domain, and demonstrate the feasibility of the technology to potential clients and investors. It is also exciting that we’ve managed to secure an additional €2 million for the actual technology development.”

– Antti Heikkilä (CEO, Acceler8 Limited)

The BIOPURE consortium is made up of six entities, each of which contribute to the innovation in a unique manner. Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche (CNR) spearheads the technology team and is assisted by five Partners – Universita Della Calabria (UNICAL), Seligenda Membrane Technologies SRL (SEL), Acceler8 Limited (A8), Crowedhelix Partners (CHX) and Centre For Process Innovation Limited LBG (CPI).

UNICAL, SEL, A8, and CHX are focused on bringing the BIOPURE solution to the market, with UNICAL developing the technology further, SEL building the prototypes, A8 developing and testing the business strategy, and CHX creating traction. CPI, on the other hand, is handling the innovation’s engineering needs.

To learn more about BIOPURE, kindly visit the project website.

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EISMEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.