Spin off companies

Although this is by no means expected from ICREA researchers, it so happens that sometimes they hit on something that shows promise of becoming a powerful new technology, but it seems impossible to develop that further without significant investment of time and money. In these cases, many choose to explore the option of creating a spin-off company dedicated to the concept.

List of spin off companies

  • FUELIUM

    Supported by the Institut de Microelectrònica de Barcelona (IMB-CNM-CSIC) and ICREA.
    Entrepreneur: ICREA Research Professor Neus Sabaté.
    Born in July 2016. 

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    FUELIUM

    fuelium.tech

    FUELIUM SL develops ecofriendly and single use paper batteries that are able to deliver electrical power to a wide variety of portable devices. The mission of the company is to provide a clean and efficient alternative to conventional button cells.

    FUELIUM batteries are made of paper, carbon and small quantities of non-toxic metals and can be fabricated with low-cost reel-to-reel processes. They are activated by the addition of a single drop of an aqueous liquid: water, urine, plasma/serum, saliva, etc…and can deliver power in the range of miliwatts for several hours. These features make them particularly suitable to power in-vitro diagnostics applications (IVD). The company aims to cover the IVD needs by providing power to digital tests in sectors like woman health monitoring, infectious diseases, drugs of abuse, food analysis or environmental control.

    Compared to their competitors, FUELIUM batteries can be tailored to deliver the energy required by a particular application, they do not generate any harmful or toxic waste – what allows them to be disposed in domestic bins without the need of any recycling procedure - and they reduce manufacturing and integration costs of the devices that require power on-board.

    FUELIUM was founded in 2015 due to the know-how accumulated by the Microfuel cells research group led by Prof. Neus Sabaté at the Institut de Microelectrònica de Barcelona (IMB-CNM-CSIC) and the CSIC patent that protects the technology was licensed to the company in 2016. 

  • INBIOMOTION

    Supported by the Institut the Recerca Biomèdica (IRB Barcelona) and ICREA.
    Entrepreneur: ICREA Research Professor Roger Gomis.
    Born in March 2011. 

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    INBIOMOTION

    inbiomotion.com

    Inbiomotion is a personalized medicine company based in Barcelona. It develops biomarkers that predict bone metastasis to improve cancer patients’ quality of life.  

    Inbiomotion’s unique diagnostic assay is based on a highly selective single gene biomarker. It can predict at an early stage a patient’s risk of bone-specific metastases from primary tumors. The selectivity of the lead biomarker has the potential to advance the clinical standard of care using personalized medicine.

  • INNOVEX THERAPEUTICS

    Supported by ICREA, ISGlobal/CRESIB and IGTP.
    Entrepreneur: ICREA Research Professor Hernando A. del Portillo.
    Born in March 2014.

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    INNOVEX THERAPEUTICS

    innovexther.com

    INNOVEX THERAPEUTICS SL is the first Spanish spin-off company devoted to develop Exosomes as new platform for vaccines and diagnostic tools. Cornerstone of the spin-off is the discovery that reticulocyte-derived exosomes (rex) from malaria infections could be used as a new platform and vaccine against this disease. This approach is internationally protected (PCT/ EP2010/070800). Exosomes are 30-100 nm vesicles formed by endocytosis of segments of the plasma membrane. The internalized segment generates multivesicular bodies (MVBs) containing small vesicles that are released as exosomes following fusion of the MVBs with the plasma membrane. The company offers a new proprietary and flexible technological platform based on exosomes for the design, formulation and production of new vaccines and diagnostics. INNOVEX THERAPEUTICS SL was created in March 2014 by Hernando A. del Portillo and Francesc E. Borrás, with an accionary participation of three Research Institutions: ICREA, CRESIB and IGTP. Presently, it consists of two senior researchers, one junior researcher and one technician. The Scientific Advisory board is formed by Drs. Clotilde Théry (Institut Curie, France), Bernd Giebel (University Hospital Essen, Germany), Javier Martínez-Picado (ICREA at IRSICaixa) and Professor Hermann Bujard (University of Heidelberg, Germany). The management consultant is Dr. Carlos de Lecea (Lemus Buhils SL).

    INNOVEX THERAPEUTICS SL´s objective is to contribute to a better health through the development and commercialization of exosomes as new vaccine platforms and diagnostic tools for human and animal health. The company includes in its portfolio balanced projects and takes into consideration that they are not presently covered by the market, the size of the business opportunity, their target amplitude of use, chronicity of the products and competitive price positioning in each segment. Our strategy is to develop three commercialized products within the next three years, when the company expects to have a return of investment. The business plan is adapted to regulatory guidelines of the different products to avoid delay in its economic objectives, and foresees that investments in early studies not only become rapidly profitable but that they also serve as the basis for regulatory applications of the most complex products. The company has obtained free laboratory space for the next three years at IGTP – Campus Can Ruti, where it is presently operating. In addition, the
    company has received a first investment for developing a Proof-of-Concept of a new vaccine and is actually and actively seeking
    new investors. Transfer of the patent to the company was only possible through the generous and “example-to-follow” attitude of the four Institutions originally owning it: ICREA, CRESIB, Fundació Clínic and Fundació Privada CELLEX, which fully and legally supported this transfer. 

  • MICROOMICS

    Supported by the Centre de Regulació Genòmica (CRG) and ICREA.
    Entrepreneur: ICREA Research Professor Toni Gabaldón.
    Born in September 2017.

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    MICROOMICS

    microomics.eu

    Microomics SL its a Biotech spin-off of the CRG (Centre for Genomic Regulation) specialized in microbiome analysis, being the fist biotech in the national territory that  focuses in metagenomics solutions. We are supported by the CRG (Centre for Genomic Regulation)  and allowed to grow within the exciting environment of the Barcelona Biomedicine Research Park (PRBB). Our business strengths rely on high technical expertise and top-notch research facilities, combined with attractive strategic partnerships and academic collaborations. Our mission is to bring advanced scientific expertise to provide practical solutions to customer and the society as an alternative and innovative approach to new and traditional questions in Biomedicine, Health-Care, Energy, Agrifood, including animal and plan breeding, Consumer Goods Industry and Environmental sectors. We transform metagenomic data into knowledge contributing to society through sustainable growth and improved health and wellbeing.

  • Minoryx Therapeutics

    Supported by the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) and ICREA.
    Entrepreneur: ICREA Research Professor Xavier Barril
    Born in October 2011. 

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    Minoryx Therapeutics

    minoryx.com

    Minoryx Therapeutics develops treatments for Inborn Errors of Metabolism, a group of rare diseases of genetic origin affecting 3,700 newborns every year in Europe. Such diseases are life threatening and highly debilitating, usually with neurological manifestations and affect most severely the pediatric population. The social and economic impact of these diseases cannot be overstated and, with 90% of cases lacking curative treatments, there is a high unmet medical need. Minoryx develops new drugs to improve both the quality of life and life expectancy of the patients.

    Minoryx has developed SEE-Tx (Site-directed Enzyme Enhancement Therapy), a technological platform that incorporates computational methods developed in the Barril’s lab at Barcelona University. SEE-Tx enables us to develop a new generation of drugs: the non-competitive pharmacological chaperones, which recover the functionality of mutated proteins, thus attacking the root of the disease. We have discovered non-competitive pharmacological chaperones in a range programs, which are at various stages of preclinical research.

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