The Dutch medical device company SJJ Solutions, the Department of Ophthalmology at Oslo University Hospital and the Laboratory of Adaptive Immunity and Homeostasis of both Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, have entered an industry development agreement.
The industry development agreement has been negotiated and signed by Inven2, one of Norway´s largest technology transfer office, on behalf of the scientists and clinicians at Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo.
The collaboration has resulted in a prototype of a tailor-made syringe optimised for eye injections. The syringe and needle safely deliver a small dose of medicine into the eye. In particular, as silicone oil deposition in the eye is a known side effect of many syringes currently in use, the novel syringe is silicone oil-free.
Kristin Sandereid, Business Developer, Inven2 commented:
“We are very pleased having formed this partnership tailored to the business area of interest for SJJ Solutions. We are looking forward to working together with the company, the researchers and clinicians at Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo to provide the support necessary for further development of this innovative syringe”.
The syringe is primarily being developed to treat patients with chronic eye diseases such as wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD). Wet AMD is a common eye disease leading to severe loss of visual acuity if untreated. Today, wet AMD can be treated with anti-VEGF-inhibitors injected directly into the eyes of the patients, and 4-12 injections are usually needed per year.
Professor Morten C. Moe, Head of Research at Division for Head, Neck and Reconstructive surgery at Oslo University Hospital commented:
“The syringe the team has developed provides ophthalmologists with an optimal tool for treating patients needing regular eye injections. At our Department of Ophthalmology, we give approximately 30.000 anti-VEGF injections to 4000 patients each year. This number will increase as the population gets older”.
Jasper Schootstra, CEO SJJ Solutions added:
“World-wide around 20 million people are diagnosed with wet-AMD, and current projections suggest that this number will increase to 28 million in 2040. Anti-VEGF medication can be very expensive. Since each patient needs up to 12 injections per year, the economic burden these medicines place on healthcare systems around the world is enormous.
While the developed product(s) will enable safer delivery of medicines into the eye it will also enable the user to deal in a more efficient manner with the amount of medication available and therefore enable more cost-effective procedures as well.
All in all, it’s great for a company like ours to have found a partner which can supplement our strengths by providing top of the class in-depth scientifically sound data and research.”
A prototype of the syringe has been produced, and researchers at The Laboratory of Adaptive Immunity and Homeostasis are currently documenting that the syringe possesses optimal features for storage and shelf-life with and without anti-VEGF inhibitors. When the syringe is documented safe and effective, it will be put in production.
Head of The Laboratory of Adaptive Immunity and Homeostasis at Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, Jan Terje Andersen, commented,
“We are very excited to be part of this industry collaboration with SJJ Solutions together with Morten Moe, Magne Sivertsen, Øystein Jørstad and the rest of their colleagues at the Department of Ophthalmology. It is great that our in-depth research and knowledge about antibodies can provide this much needed product with the required quality measures and documentation.”
Contact information:
Ole Kristian Hjelstuen, CEO Inven2
o.k.hjelstuen@inven2.com, +47 908 24 724
Jasper Schootstra, CEO SJJ Solutions
jschootstra@sjjsolutions.com, +31 (0)6 247 118 51
About Inven2
Inven2 is Norway’s largest technology transfer company, responsible for assessing and commercialising innovative research conducted by more than 6000 researchers and clinicians working at the University of Oslo, Oslo University Hospital and the health trusts under South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority.
Since 2010, Inven2 have received 2072 ideas which we have turned into a total of 388 licensing deals and 55 companies with a total worth of NOK 12 billion. This value creation has led to MNOK 345 being brought back to inventors, new research and innovation.
Inven2 is also responsible for the contract agreements between industry and hospitals and following up the financial aspects of the agreements. Inven2 carries out this work on behalf of all hospitals in the South-Eastern Norway health region, as well as the University Hospital of Northern Norway. We are involved in almost 85% of all new clinical trials in Norway.
For more information: www.inven2.com
Department of Ophthalmology
Department of Ophthalmology, Division for Head, Neck and Reconstructive surgery at Oslo University Hospital is Norway’s largest eye clinic and a large ophthalmology department even in European terms. The Department has competence in all major ophthalmological fields and several national functions.
The Departments main research objective is to improve current treatment and to develop new therapeutic options for selected eye disorders. Clinical research is in focus with a large patient population and an interdisciplinary staff with a wide range of expertise, as well as translational research – clinically relevant laboratory research at Center of Eye Research. Morten C. Moe is Division Head of Research.
For more information:
https://www.ous-research.no/ophthalmology/
About SJJ Soloutions
SJJ Solutions is a Dutch company founded in 2018. Main objective of SJJ Solutions is to become a respected partner for hospitals and compounding pharmacists around the world through innovation of medical devices and by providing tools to make preparation and compounding safer and more efficient.
SJJ Solutions has created, developed and launched the Zero Residual™ Concept, which is a dedicated solution when it comes to small dosage treatments (i.e. 0.05 to 0.2ml). It enables the user to dose very accurately, maintain control throughout the procedure, without compromising on safety in different aspects.
Besides the development of the new generation syringe in collaboration with researchers and clinicians at Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, SJJ Solutions is also developing tools such as the Zero Residual™ FillAssist.
For more information:
About The Laboratory of Adaptive Immunity and Homeostasis
The research group is studying the cellular processes and molecular interplay underlying the functions of the two most abundant proteins in blood, albumin and IgG. By combining structural and biophysical approaches with cellular and in vivo studies, the laboratory is using this in-depth knowledge to design novel albumin and antibody molecules with improved functions.
The laboratory is highly innovative and is the research group at the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital with most registered innovations at Inven2. The laboratory is extensively collaborating with biotech and pharmaceutical companies.
For more information:
www.ous-research.no/andersen
www.facebook.com/AndersenLaboratory