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PARTNERSHIP

Biofin Laboratories is available to enter in partnership with University and company to develop serious projects. The main aspect that Biofin can supply in the cooperation are:

• Strain selection and improvement.
• Basic research on the process.
• Process implementation and development.
• Industrial scale up.
• Cost analysis.
• Feasibility study.
• Basic engineering.

An example of past cooperation was the TFO project Biofin Laboratories cooperated with CNR (Italian National Research Centre) of Bologna in the TFO (Triplex Forming Oligonucleotide) project.

TFOs are short sequence of mononucleotide able to interact with DNA; TFO with a specific sequence allows the formation of triplex influencing the transcription of the gene involved. Triplex formation is possible in purine rich sequences, which are particularly present in gene regulatory regions.
Due to the strong influence on DNA transcription, TFO can be applied to develop new anticancer therapies.
DNA trascription influence due to the direct interaction of TFOs on tumoral cell DNA in correspondence of particular purine rich sequences needs triplex with high stability. To strengthen the triplex is possible to utilizes TFOs-anthracycline conjugate. The triplex containing TFOs-anthracycline conjugate has higher stability and deeper anticancer action.

Professors F. Arcamone, U. Negri and M.L. Capobianco leaded the TFO project.

Biofin Laboratories improved the fermentation technology producing daunomycin, the anthracycline involved in the project.

Actual running cooperations are:

» Dermagenesis Bio-engineering of leather: structure design, Biosyntesis - Towards zero emission production.

In order to the reduce the environmental impact and the animal utilization in the leather industry, this project, financed by the European Community, develops a process to obtain leather from mammalian cells, in particular bovine cells.
Biofin Laboratories and Naples University cooperate in the selection of optimized cell lines, development of a production process and the implementation of the industrial scale-up.

The cooperation is settled in a CONSORTIUM AGREEMENT involving "Industrial Association and Groupings (IAGs)" and "Small and Medium Enterprises Core Group (SMEs Core Group)".

» Lombard project on antitumor agents The main targets of this project are:

• improvement of the fermentation technology producing daunomycin;
• implementation of enzymatic technologies for the synthesis of doxorubicin and epirubicin, replacing the chemical ones.

The anthracyclines chemical production involve utilization of big amount of solvents with low yield.
The implementation of enzymatic technologies to convert daunomycin C in doxorubicin and epirubicin shall involve:

• decreased utilization of solvents, with following lower environmental impact, improved safety and reduced health hazard for the technicians involved in the production.
• Increasing yield.
• Production cost reduction.

Biofin Laboratories is the leader of this project, involving the following partner:

• Naxospharma Srl.
• HS Digital Srl.
• Solaris Biotechnology Srl.
• CNR (Italian National Research Centre, Molecular Engineering Institute).

» Biogas, pig waste treatment Padania plain, the Po river basin in the Northern part of Italy, breeds millions pigs for the pork products industry.
One of the main problem in the swine industry is the strong environmental impact of their waste.
The big volume of this waste and the reduced possibility of utilization like fertilizer involve the need of a solution.

Two aspects allow to be optimist about a solution:

• the volume waste is almost stable during all the year, with limited variability;
• this waste is almost completely biodegradable.

The Biofin Laboratories experience allows to develop study on the biodegradation of the swine waste, with production of energy and biogas, a gas mixture alternative to natural gas and methane.

The research of solutions about this problem is running, with in situ practical tests and application of the basic procedures involved in fermentation and biotechnology.

Biofin Laboratories cooperates in this project with other two Italian companies, Bioenergia and Primeco.

Biofin Laboratories has continuous and friendly cooperation with Solaris Biotechnology, producer of bioreactors, recovery equipments, gas analyzer and in general all equipments involved in biotechnology.