Bioemission Technology Solutions - BIOEMTECH

Company Profile

BIOEMTECH aims to bridge the gap between ex vivo studies and in vivo molecular imaging, by providing cost-effective solutions in terms of instrumentation and services. The company was established in 2013 when it ranked 1st in a National Innovation Contest. In 2017 it was a finalist in the top 10 of Hellenic Entrepreneurship Award, among 1260 participants. BIOEMTECH is a multidisciplinary team with strong background in biomedical engineering, medical physics, radiochemistry, nanomedicine and small animal handling. The company designs and develops low cost molecular imaging systems and provides imaging services.

Our services focus on the in vivo imaging of different types of biomolecules (peptides, antibodies, etc) and nanoparticles (magnetic, liposomes, silver, gold, selenium), as well as use of in vivo imaging in different applications, such as oncology, cardiology, regenerative medicine and more. We own unique systems on national level for mouse and rat imaging: a) a microCT with 50um resolution, for detailed anatomical information, b) a microSPECT with 600um resolution, for detailed functional studies and c) a microPET/SPECT/CT for multimodal studies. Through strategic collaborations, we enrich our imaging portfolio by including optical imaging and MRI.

BIOEMTECH has introduced a new generation of benchtop imaging systems, named “eyes”, for in-vivo imaging of radiolabeled biomolecules and nanoparticles. The systems fill in the gap between ex-vivo biodistributions and advanced tomographic imaging. They have a 5x10 cm² field of view, allowing whole-body mice imaging studies and they support static and fast dynamic whole-body mice imaging studies; “β-eye” allows for the imaging of biomolecules labelled with PET isotopes and “γ-eye” allows for the imaging of biomolecules labelled with SPECT isotopes.

BIOEMTECH already participates in six funded Horizon 2020 projects, has been awarded a support project for SMEs and two ESPA Research & Innovation projects. The company is an active member of international consortia and COST networks. BIOEMTECH participates in outreach events and it organizes training events and workshop, mainly for young researchers.

Target Partners & Collaborations

Our targets are:

• Collaboration for R & D projects, with Universities and Research Institutes.
• Provision of imaging services for Academic and Industrial Partners
• Extend our network for providing imaging services worldwide
• Identify new markets for our products.
• Networking between members and information on Technology Transfer issues.
• Distribution, Marketing & Sales
• Contact investors for raising funding to speed up company activities

Technologies / Services offered or sought

Our services

Our services include characterization of biomolecules and nanoparticles, functionalization, radiolabelling, ex vivo biodistribution and in vivo imaging with SPECT, CT and PET. Besides our imaging systems, BIOEMTECH owns an Individually Ventilated Cages system for animal hosting to support a full study in-house. On a contract basis the company can undertake part of a study or perform an entire protocol, including both in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo study. Similar tasks can be undertaken in terms of joint research projects.

The company provides imaging services to both private and academic clients, who are working on pharma, medical and biotechnology research. Besides small animals it is possible to image specimens i.e. bones, teeth, muscles etc. Recently we extended our imaging applications in the field of plant imaging using radioisotopes. Additional services include the design and construction of medical prototypes, as well as advanced data analysis.

Our products

Our main products are unique benchtop imaging systems that can transform a small lab desk into an in vivo imaging lab. Currently we provide β-eye for planar imaging of PET isotopes and γ-eye for planar imaging of SPECT isotopes, while a third system χ-eye for x-ray imaging is being designed.

The clients of our products are primarily academic, research and industrial groups working with small animals and use radioisotopes to label different compounds. In case they work with ex-vivo biodistributions, our products provide a low cost option for them to enter in the field of in vivo imaging and reduce the time, cost and number of animals associated with each study. Even if they host high end imaging systems, our products are robust, flexible tools for screening and quality control, thus increasing the throughput and accuracy of performed studies.

Technology and R&D

Current R&D activities

The company participates at the moment in 6 H2020 projects and two National Research and Innovation projects:

H2020 projects

1. B2B – Modeling spontaneous Breast cancer metastasis TO the Bone with a first-of-its-kind 3D device that recapitulates physiological tissue-level complexity. (H2020-FETOPEN-1-2016-2017)

2. nTrack: development of a safe, scalable and highly sensitive multimodal cell nano-imaging agent ready for monitoring, longitudinal and quantitative discrimination of living stem cells in humans (H2020-NMBP-15-2017)

3. POLYTHEA: Design and photo-optimization of Photosensitizer for Human Health and Food security applications or “how light can save lives (H2020-MSCA-ITN-EJD-2017)

4. CUPIDO: Cardio Ultra efficient nano Particles for Inhalation of Drug products (Η2020-NMBP-2016)

5. ERROR apEdiatRicdosimetRy personalized platfORm (H2020-MSCA-RISE-2015)

6. VIVOIMAG: Multimodal imaging of the in vivo fate of bone transplants (H2020-MSCA-RISE-2015)

National projects

1. Navigate: Design and development of a hybrid imaging platform for supporting the development of methodologies and protocols in the pharmaceutical research (ESPA: Τ1ΕΔΚ-01159)

2. BreastCaRANKL: Development of an innovative mouse model of RANKL-induced breast cancer and integration of cutting-edge technologies for the establishment of a preclinical platform for drug evaluation (ESPA: Τ1ΕΔΚ-02829)

New R&D directions

1. The development of imaging tools and methods for efficient study of nanoparticles, with emphasis in Theragnostic applications.

2. The study of Gold Nanoparticles as efficient contrast agents and therapeutic tools in radiotherapy.

3. The use of radioisotopic imaging for monitoring the fate of nanoparticles in plants, as tools for efficient delivery of fertilizers in agriculture and other biotechnology domains.

Clients & Collaborations (NATIONAL)

Collaborations in Greece

The collaborations in Greek (through official projects or collaborations) include, but are not limited to:

• BSRC “Alexander Fleming”
• ELPEN S.A.
• National Center for Scientific Research Demokritos
• National Kapodistrian University of Athens
• University of Patras
• University of West Attica
• VIDAVO S.A.

Clients & Collaborations (INTERNATIONAL)

The international collaborations (through official projects or collaborations) include, but are not limited to:

• Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (BE)
• CERN (CH)
• Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES)
• Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IT)
• Delft University of Technology (NL)
• Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (UK)
• Leitat (ES)
• MOLECUBES (BE)
• Polytechnic University of Valencia (ES)
• Sanofi (FR)
• Université de Bretagne Occidentale (FR)
• University of Leeds (UK)
• University of Mons (BE)