Promising innovations recognised

At UU Innovation, the university's breadth and wealth of ideas become evident. This department supports the evaluation and development of new solutions derived from research and education across the university. Each year, several development projects reach crucial milestones that enhance their potential to progress to the market. UU Innovation honors these projects with the Attractive Innovation Project award.

"It is important to highlight innovation projects from the university and celebrate their successes, which may involve reaching a first customer, securing investment, or finding a partner to further develop the idea towards the market. The individuals behind these projects deserve all the attention and encouragement," says Malin Graffner Nordberg, Head of UU Innovation.

Four attractive innovation projects

This year, four projects have been recognised as Attractive Innovation Projects, ranging from a smart solution that facilitates ground surveys in challenging environments to innovations aimed at improving human health.

"The projects address diverse needs and challenges, with some already on the market and others still in development. What they share is having received some form of validation for their solutions, which is crucial for further development," says Malin Graffner Nordberg.

These are the projects:

SeisMove

To enhance seismic surveys in challenging settings such as cities, tunnels, and mines, Professor Alireza Malehmir and his team from the Department of Earth Sciences have developed a seismic landstreamer registered under the SeisMove trademark. Their innovative solution features numerous sensors mounted on sleds, which can be connected and towed, for instance, behind a vehicle, often a seismic source. This development addresses the increasing demand for precise ground surveys in urban environments. The landstreamer has been tested in various infrastructure projects, including tunneling, CO2 storage, and mining environments. The results indicate significant potential, attracting substantial global interest and leading to commercial sales.

Phenaros Pharmaceuticals AB

Jordi Carreras Puigvert and Ola Spjuth, from the Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, have devised a screening method for potential drugs. By integrating artificial intelligence with phenomics, which involves large-scale morphological profiling, and automation, this approach can furnish crucial insights into the promise of new drug candidates from an early stage. Consequently, it holds the promise of accelerating the identification and advancement of genuinely promising drug candidates for pharmaceutical companies, thereby saving valuable time and resources. The research team has established Phenaros Pharmaceuticals AB, which secured its initial investment through Connect Uppsala's network and also achieved its first sale. With the objective of expediting and ensuring the safety of drug development, the team is actively exploring the most viable routes to market.

Lea Cares

Lea Cares is commercialising an innovative technology that enables the release of the minerals silicon and calcium locally, resulting in increased collagen growth that can contribute to stronger hair, skin and nails. The company's first product is a nail oil, which was launched in 2023. More cosmetic products are in development and the company also sees opportunities for more application areas. Earlier this year, Lea Cares received a patent for its bioactive mineral technology in Europe and has received seed investment through Linnéa Capital and attracted angel capital. The inventors of the technology, and founders of Lea Cares, are Viktoria Engqvist, Master of Science in Pharmacy, and Håkan Engqvist, Professor of Applied Materials Science at Uppsala University.

AVulotion AB

In Sweden, nearly 18,000 people are affected by acute myocardial infarction (AMI) each year, with almost 6,000 of these cases being STEMI—a condition typically involving a complete blockage of a coronary artery. Unfortunately, the current standard treatment for STEMI can cause additional damage to heart tissue, increasing the risk of complications such as heart failure. In close cooperation between research and clinical practice, Sergey Rodin, Karl-Henrik Grinnemo and Oscar Simonson at the Department of Surgical Sciences have developed a concept for generating extracellular vesicles (CARMEV) that are immunomodulatory and have proven effective in preventing heart failure after myocardial infarction and in other severe inflammatory conditions. This makes CARMEV the first biological product capable of preventing damage caused by the treatment of AMI. With support from an investment by UU Invest AB, the team founded the company AVulotion to scale up the production of CARMEV in collaboration with NorthX Biologics. Their goal is to create a standard medication for the treatment of patients with myocardial infarction.

Sara Gredemark