Samsung is currently accepting applications for a 6-month startup acceleration program for young companies with technology that can enhance or be used with Samsung products. The program, called Samsung Startup Acceleration Program (SAP), will award five startups a $100K grant and provide development support. The program is open to companies based in the US and Canada. Read on to learn more about the program, and be aware that applications close on April 17!

Samsung’s program is a great fit with many startups on SeedSprint. After all, our core mission is to facilitate collaboration between emerging technology and industry. Samsung’s SAP program is an excellent source of both funding and development and expertise for young companies with promising technology to work with an important player in the consumer electronics space.

Our team sat down with Raul Quino, Director of Technology Strategy and Partnerships at Samsung Research America, to learn more about the program.

SeedSprint: How does Samsung SAP fit into the company innovation strategy? Is it supposed to identify completely new technologies that turn into products or to fill in specific gaps?

Raul: Today, the program’s primary goals are to accelerate the launch of specific technologies that complement Samsung technologies. We are looking for technology or solution that can be applied to Mobile, TV, wearable, and future robot products. While we want to work with companies whose technology is in their roadmap, we are also eager to look at innovative products and encourage any company to apply. 

SeedSprint: Who is involved in evaluating submissions for the program? Does Samsung Corporate Ventures get involved, or the R&D departments?

Raul: The selection process is coordinated by Samsung Research America, Samsung Ventures, and Samsung R&D.

SeedSprint: Do you like when submissions detail how they see the fit with Samsung? Do you expect it? 

 Raul: This program was specifically made to work with companies that have a strong fit with Samsung’s products. The fit with Samsung is, in fact, one of the questions we ask companies when applying for the program. 

SeedSprint: If you could snap your fingers and have whatever technology you want – what kinds of tech would come through the accelerator?

Raul: There are too many to name, but some technologies we are excited about include: display technologies for battery, on-device AI, camera technology, computer vision, advanced materials, sensors, battery technology, audio technology, AR, wearables, home robotics, gaming, GreenTech, IoT, social platforms, CSR, and health/fitness.

Interested in Samsung SAP? Applications close on April 17th and can be submitted here. You can also reach out to jump@samsung.com for more information. Best of luck to all who apply!  

The post Interested in Collaborating with Samsung? Applications for new Startup Acceleration Program due April 17! appeared first on seedsprint.

Over the past two decades, innovation districts have changed the landscape of research, culture, and collaboration worldwide. Through innovation districts, under-resourced urban areas, often the vestiges of post-industrial decline, are transformed into vibrant social and economic hubs. Further, academic institutions, startups, and large corporates work in close proximity and are united by the shared goal of open innovation.

Increasingly, innovation districts are engaging their local communities as essential thought and talent partners. These relationships foster systemic linkages between innovation and inclusivity. At SeedSprint, we endeavor to bring this model into the virtual sphere.

Today, there are over 100 innovation districts around the world. In the past, we have highlighted innovation hotspots around the world.

Now, we turn to the continent where it all began: Europe. Here are five innovation districts you need to know.

22@Barcelona: The Birthplace of Modern Innovation Districts

The concept of an innovation district was born in Barcelona, Spain in the year 2000. At that time, 22@Barcelona became the first municipal initiative of its kind. The district was the brainchild of the city council committee, Ajuntament de Barcelona. Since its inception, its goal has been to foster social, urban, and economic development.

Over the past 20 years, 22@Barcelona has successfully transformed El Pablenou, a former cotton mill district close to the city center, into a knowledge center and innovation hub.

Today, 22@Barcelona employs 90,000 people, houses 4,500 new companies, and attracts startups from around the world. The district’s greatest success is its emphasis on creating the social opportunities required for economic and cultural development. Most notably, the district promotes affordable housing, high living and working standards, and accessibility via public transit and walkability. The district also emphasizes the cross-sector collaboration of universities and research institutions, large corporations, startups, and the local community. 

According to the Barcelona & Catalonia Startup Hub’s 2019 report, Barcelona now has over 1,500 startups in more than 40 industries. 22@Barcelona’s success has inspired many cities around the world. Read on to discover some other European innovation districts that have followed suit!

Cumulus Amsterdam: Expanding Beyond Traditional Sectors 

In 2019, Amsterdam’s Cumulus Park emerged as a collaboration between the City of Amsterdam, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS), ING, and ROC College. Located in the Zuidoost neighborhood, the district was historically home to a cadre of medical research institutions.

Today, Cumulus Park offers physical spaces for students and entrepreneurs and myriad networking opportunities. The district is also in the process of opening a business campus.

Silicon Allee: Green Technology Innovation

Berlin’s innovation district, Silicon Allee, began as an online community in 2017. Silicon Allee aims to amplify the city’s technology startup scene as an international hub for open innovation. Mirroring Berlin’s innate sense of community and affordability, its campus includes offices, apartments, restaurants and bars, and event spaces. 

Silicon Allee serves as an “embassy” to Berlin’s blossoming startup scene. It promotes relationship-building between international partners and residents, allowing for open innovation to grow organically. Recently, Silicon Allee has been active in fostering green technology innovation in response to the ongoing climate crisis.

MIND Milan: The Resiliency of the Innovation District Model

In 2015, MIND Milan was established with the goal of boosting the life sciences sector. Fast forward to 2020, and Milan was, unfortunately, severely impacted in the early stages of the pandemic.

In response, the city has turned its innovation district, MIND, into a source of collaboration and social and economic revitalization. The district developed the MIND Reboot Plan for Italy. The plan’s key strategy was to leverage impact investments. These investments re-allocate resource that benefit the local community by combining sustainable economic development with social and scientific innovation.

Kampus Plus Warsaw: The Next Generation of Innovation Districts

Propelled by an economic growth rate that has quadrupled over the last 20 years, Warsaw is now home to Poland’s first innovation district, Kampus Plus. Like districts before it, Kampus Plus brings together universities, R&D, and locals to foster technology, product, and service innovation. 

Kampus Plus uses a “Living Lab” model to put innovations to the test in the very environment where they will be used: the city itself. This method promotes responsive and open innovation that reflects the real needs of the market and the local community.

Connect and Collaborate

To aid your further exploration of Europe’s innovation district scene and which ones may be the right partners for you, we have created a dynamic map. Watch this space to keep up-to-date on the latest additions as Europe continues to be a leader in open innovation.

The post 5 European Innovation Districts You Need to Know appeared first on seedsprint.

As part of the 2020 TechConnect Virtual Summit last month, we attended a session called “Working with Defense Primes.” We had the opportunity to hear from Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program leads at four of the five US-based defense prime contractors: Alf Carroll of Raytheon Technologies, Kevin McGrath of Northrop Grumman, Craig Owens of Lockheed Martin, and Paul Staszak of Boeing. 

If you aren’t familiar with the SBIR/STTR programs, they are competitive awards-based Research and Development (R&D) programs available to US-based small businesses. Through the programs, small businesses have the opportunity to develop and commercialize their technologies. 

The SBIR and STTR programs are coordinated by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and funded by one of eleven federal agencies. Some of these agencies include the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense (DoD). STTR differs from SBIR in that it involves collaborations between small businesses and US-based nonprofit research institutions. The DoD plays a critical role in the programs. In fact, the agency makes up over 40% of the SBIR/STTR budget. 

The benefits of startup-defense prime collaboration

So why work with a defense prime contractor? Small businesses receive all sorts of benefits from partnering with a prime. Some of these benefits include access to subject matter expertise and resources, roadmaps towards commercialization, resources for IP concerns, funding strategy guidance, and support during proposals. 

The collaboration benefits the primes too. Through the partnership, primes build long-term, strategic relationships with small businesses. Additionally, the partnership helps primes to deliver innovative solutions and advanced technologies to their customers. The primes often align innovative small businesses and their technologies to their innovation priorities. This alignment results in the development of more advanced technology that benefits both parties. 

How small businesses can initiate a collaboration with primes

So how does a small business get started on collaborating with the primes? In order to apply for SBIR/STTR funding through the DoD, a small business must meet the qualifications explained here. Most of the primes send out a topic interest list that can give hopefuls an indication of whether their emerging technology is of interest. If your technology is not listed, a small business can usually reach out to each prime to be added. If your technology aligns with one of the primes’ interests, you can fill out an SBIR/STTR form for that prime and email it to their SBIR/STTR department. 

Tips for Successful Collaboration

What is the best way to engage with the defense prime contractors? In the session, the speakers had some important advice for small businesses beginning the process:

1. Be flexible and able to pivot. The primes often will have ideas about how to adjust your technology to fit specific needs.
2. Be persistent about contact. Furthermore, understand where your contact is within these big companies. It is important to find the right person who can advocate for you.
3. Don’t be vague. Come prepared and be concise about where and how your technology will fit in at the prime with whom you are speaking.

We hope we helped to de-mystify the process of working with the US-based defense prime contractors. We wish you luck in advancing your technology through this process!

The post Working with Defense Primes as a US-based Small Business appeared first on seedsprint.

SeedSprint member Insignia Technologies is a young smart packaging company operating from Glasgow’s BioCity site. The company’s technology lets consumers and professional users judge a perishable product’s freshness without any fancy equipment – it’s all in the label.

Insignia’s smart label makes the freshness of perishable food products visible. The company seeks to build industry relationships and expand into Food and Beverage, Cosmetics, and Pharmaceuticals. We got in touch with Dr. Graham Skinner, Insignia’s Head of Product Development, to see what he had to say about SeedSprint’s collaboration platform for emerging technology and industry:

“I got a call from SeedSprint and they told me they thought they had subscribers interested in our company. When I understood who SeedSprint’s subscribers were, I decided to take a look. It was very simple: I signed up. That evening, before I’d even made any changes to our starter profile, I had a message from a large, non-European industrial MNC. That was three weeks ago and we’re now in active discussions with them on application-specific product development. SeedSprint also lets me search for other industry partners. It’s a no-brainer: it’s easy to use, completely free, and it works.”

Are you an emerging technology company looking to connect with industry? SeedSprint is available to startups and research institutions at no cost and is available to industry at a flat annual fee. Join the community!

*Picture Copyright Chris Watt www.chriswatt.com

The post SeedSprint Success Stories: Insignia Technologies appeared first on seedsprint.

The year 2020 has made many commercialization professionals re-evaluate how they communicate and collaborate, and placed new demands on making online methods and forums count. From ensuring better Zoom meetings to developing an entirely new virtual marketing strategy, understanding various online tools and platforms can be daunting.

Tech transfer at universities and other research institutions has been adapting to the rapidly-changing digital ecosystem. But one thing that hasn’t shifted is the need to get important research and technology seen and into the market. 

At SeedSprint, we specialize in making online connections and collaboration between technology providers and corporate research sponsors, licensees, collaboration partners, and investors as simple and straightforward as possible. And our platform is free of charge for TTOs, research departments, and startups. 

So how can you use SeedSprint to your TTO’s advantage?

Upload to SeedSprint and update easily from your TTO’s database

Whether you use a proprietary system, an Excel spreadsheet, your own relational database, or a comprehensive IP management system, our goal is to make it easy for our members to upload and update technology summaries. That way, you can get them in front of potential industry partners – easily and efficiently.

We have an API that can be mapped to the fields of your relational database. And if you use a system such as Inteum’s Technology Publisher, we’ll do the mapping for you either into our API or using your RSS data feed. Both methods are easy and can be implemented in about a day! 

SeedSprint integrates easily with Inteum, helping your office consolidate and manage your IP and marketing strategy. Once uploaded, your NCSs will automatically update along with changes to Inteum’s Technology Publisher.

Learn more about how to create and manage profiles on SeedSprint.

SeedSprint’s industry database helps you connect with new partners

Once your technologies are uploaded, search SeedSprint’s database of corporate profiles to find commercialization partners suited to your technology. Message and send your technology profiles to them to get your technology seen without leaving your desk. You can search by firm name or technical terms. Once you’ve found some good matches, use keywords to direct the message and profile to the right person on the corporate side.

Learn more about how to message prospective industry partners on SeedSprint

Put your whole ecosystem to work: include startup and lab profiles to widen your net

If you think about it, industry is also looking for new partners. One of the best ways to demonstrate why your institution is a good fit is to show how your research and your startups bookend your IP portfolio and make it shine.

You can invite PIs to profile their labs and projects, and invite your spin-outs and startup licensees to profile themselves. Your institution is hyperlinked to any profile affiliated with you, which raises the visibility of your institution’s ecosystem.

Ready to put SeedSprint to work for your institution’s ecosystem? You can learn more here or check out our comprehensive User Manual for TTOs. Happy seedsprint-ing!

The post Use SeedSprint to leverage your TTO’s resources appeared first on seedsprint.

Over seven-thousand people worldwide attended this year’s BIO (Biotechnology Innovation Organization) International Convention from June 8-12, 2020, which was held online for the first time. Our team participated in the historic event and enjoyed catching up with old SeedSprint members, meeting new ones, and attending world-class sessions like a fireside chat with Dr. Fauci(!!) and several sessions led by BIO’s new President and CEO, Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath. 

The week-long event highlighted how global and diverse our community is and the unique perspectives each of us bring to the fields of biotechnology and open innovation. Both at the convention and outside of it, many of us have been engaging in essential public dialogue about equity and the dire need to better support and foster the development of Black, Indigenous, and Latinx members of our community and others who are underrepresented in STEM and open innovation. Many have expressed the need for real change, and we are excited that so many thought leaders in our field—from BIO to AUTM to the Innovation Research Interchange (IRI)—are contributing to the much-needed conversation. We recommend checking out AUTM’s reading list, the IRI’s statement as well as some words from member companies like Michelin and General Electric, and our plan of action for furthering social justice through our work at SeedSprint. 

BIO contributed to the conversation on equity and inclusivity by hosting a series of sessions on these topics during the convention. Our team attended a few of these talks, including “Leading Through Crisis: Speaking Up and Out on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues Impacting our World.” In the session, Black biotechnology company CEOs, allies, and BIO leaders shared their perspectives as pioneers in their fields. They discussed the challenges and victories they’ve encountered along the way and suggested tangible ways for other biotechnology leaders to advance social justice in their organizations. Dr. McMurry-Heath hosted the session and speakers included Dr. Ted Love, president and CEO of Global Blood Therapeutics; Dr. Jeremy Levin, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Ovid Therapeutics; and Dr. Tony Coles, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cerevel Therapeutics. The speakers covered topics including the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on underrepresented populations, what we can do to drive systematic change in our businesses, and the importance of advancing diversity in clinical trials. You can watch the full session (and several others!) here.

We should all be looking for tangible ways to make our workplaces more inclusive, and Dr. Coles spoke to this point. He shared that at his company, the first step he took was to have frank conversations with employees about diversity and inclusion and ask how he and other leaders could help Black, Indigenous, and Latinx employees feel valued and supported at work. He suggested practical steps that biotechnology CEOs can take to advance this mission, like hiring people from diverse backgrounds. He emphasized that diverse representation within the company can build trust not only within the organization itself but also among the communities the company serves. 

Dr. Love echoed Dr. Coles’ sentiment, urging organizations to be intentional about diversity, work to bring the best out in everyone, and keep in mind that since we serve a diverse population, we have to get input from everyone. We can only build a strong team when we include diverse voices and focus on the value employees contribute to the organization, he said. Both Dr. Coles and Dr. Love pointed out that instead of feeling ashamed of what has happened in the past, we should instead put our energy into making tangible improvements in our own organizations and communities. Dr. Levin added that if we fail to live, lead, and act with equity and inclusion in mind, we will eventually lose our way and fail to adequately address the needs of the communities we aim to serve. 

As Dr. Love summarized, we have to move from emotions to actions. Dr. Levin urged us to lead by example by setting high standards for ourselves, proactively and consistently communicating these standards to our teams, and being relentless about having these conversations on a daily basis. He continued by asking the audience to pay special attention to team dynamics, support opportunities for teamwork and team bonding, and be intentional about building a culture of collegiality. 

At SeedSprint, supporting the diverse and international community of inventors and innovators as they take their technology from the lab to the marketplace is at the heart of our mission. We’re thankful for organizations like BIO for helping us advance this mission and we look forward to learning more from BIO and other thought leaders about how we can work together toward achieving greater equity and inclusivity in open innovation and STEM!

The post From the 2020 BIO International Convention: leading with equity and inclusivity in mind appeared first on seedsprint.

Dear SeedSprint community,

Our team has been engaged in challenging and reflective internal conversations about the recent events that have transpired in the US. We are taking this time to listen and learn and share an update on the actions we will take to fight racism, advance social justice, and amplify the voices of BIPOC in science and open innovation.

We stand in solidarity with Black communities and their allies and stand against racism and the marginalization of Black communities, and we affirm the goals of the Black Lives Matter movement. We share the anger and horror over the loss of the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, Dominique Rem’mie Wells, and those of many others over the decades-long failure of justice that underlies the recent events, and we fear for new victims. We understand the immediate need for meaningful and collective action and lasting change and pledge to be part of the solution.

In reflecting on our responsibility as part of the community of inventors and innovators committed to advancing science and technology, we can and must do more. To become a truly anti-racist organization we will educate our team on anti-racist actions to be taken within SeedSprint and in our wider community; commit to recruiting, supporting, and retaining more BIPOC talent; and do a better job of identifying, fostering, and pointing out the work of BIPOC scientists, open innovation professionals, and startup founders in the content we publish.

We are committed to doing this work, and we are taking three initial steps:

1. Starting next week, we will begin a program of dedicating 100 hours of the time of our three most senior team members to identifying, recruiting to our platform, and supporting new deep-tech startups that are led by BIPOC scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs and/or address disparities in BIPOC communities and work to broaden inclusion and access. We will support their development by devoting our expertise in helping them achieve their industry collaboration goals. We commit to providing further information about this initiative by July 17, 2020.
2. We will re-focus our hiring and professional development practices to make sure we are doing all we can to attract, hire, support, and retain BIPOC talent. We commit to updating our hiring and professional development program by July 31, 2020.
3. We will foster and amplify the contributions and perspectives of BIPOC scientists and open innovation professionals on our blog and in other published content, and we will seek to include diverse perspectives in developing our posted content. We commit to making these changes effective immediately.

We will continue to update the SeedSprint community on our progress toward these goals. We are here to listen and welcome questions, recommendations, or additional thoughts you may have to help us achieve the goals we have outlined above. Please reach out to aviva@seedsprint.com to share any ideas you have. We look forward to sharing this journey with all of you and continuing to support you in achieving these important goals to defeat racism, further social justice, and enrich our society by accelerating the movement of innovation from the lab into the marketplace.

The SeedSprint Team

The post A statement of support and plan of action appeared first on seedsprint.

Over the past couple of months, we’ve attended a number of virtual events focused on how open innovation is evolving in response to the health crisis. One of these events, AUTM’s webinar on “TTO Roles during COVID Rapid Response on Campus,” highlighted how TTOs have shifted their attention to COVID-19 therapeutics, diagnostics, and preventive strategies, and to projects that address other problems the virus has brought. To further understand how the health crisis is affecting the technology transfer community, we recently polled our institutional members. Read on to learn what our TTO members had to say! 

When we asked whether you expect changes to the tech transfer landscape beyond the short term, 58% of you said yes and 42% of you said no. We also wanted to hear your thoughts on the specific changes you expect in both the short-term and the long-term. We asked about changes like ‘work from home’ policies, business travel, budget changes, and your use of online tools during this time. Unsurprisingly, over 93% of you expect to be working from home in the near-term, and 62% believe this trend will persist beyond the next few months. As far as business travel, 91% of you say that you don’t expect to travel over the next few months, though 81% expect travel to resume later this year. In the same vein, 54% of you expect delays to the first meeting with prospective corporate partners, but 86% do not expect these changes to continue beyond a few months. During this period where so many of us are working from home, 33% expect to see reduced program offerings for university entrepreneurs, while only 14% expect this trend to persist beyond a few months. While the economic response to the health crisis is underway, reduced budgets are a concern for about half of you, both in the short- and longer-term. 

The majority of you also agree that new methods for identifying and connecting with industry partners and for other key tech transfer activities will become increasingly important. Some examples include heavier reliance on online open innovation tools, video-conferencing replacing in-person meetings, and relying on email more than in the past. 71% expect to use these new methods in the short term, and 61% expect these changes to persist in the long-term. As far as industry collaboration, over 90% of you expect collaborations with new and existing corporate partners to grow in both the short- and long-term. When it comes to patents, 41% of you expect fewer patents to be filed in the next few months, but only 14% expect them to slow down beyond this period. 

As a whole, the open innovation landscape is certainly shifting in response to the health crisis, in some ways, for the better. You can see the full results of our “2020 tech transfer landscape” survey displayed below. As we continue to adjust and come up with creative ways to forge ahead, we are curious to see what open innovation and technology transfer will look like a year or two from now! 

The post Tech transfer in 2020 and beyond appeared first on seedsprint.

Earlier this month, French scientists published a paper in Nature describing a new enzyme that breaks down the common plastic, polyethylene terephthalate (PET, or PETE), faster and more efficiently than any previous candidates. The enzyme was developed through a collaboration between the emerging green chemistry company, Carbios, and the University of Toulouse and is already being touted as “a huge step forward” by scientists not involved in the research. 

If you aren’t familiar with PET, the flexible, translucent plastic makes up many common household products, from disposable plastic water bottles to food containers to beauty product bottles. Estimates say that about 70 tons of PET are produced each year, but only about 30% of it gets turned into new plastic. As a result, PET makes up a big part of plastic pollution.

The PET recycling rate is so low because, when it gets melted, dyes and residues that are part of the plastic packaging remain mixed in, so it becomes difficult to reuse. Instead, it’s usually made into low-grade fibers for carpets, jacket insulation, sleeping bags, and other products where the mixing of additional dyes and residues is not a problem.

So what makes this new enzyme such a good solution for managing plastic pollution? The enzyme is an engineered version of leaf-branch compost cutinase (LLC), which breaks the bonds between PET’s building blocks, terephthalate and ethylene glycol. In a laboratory test, the engineered LLC was able to convert 90% of recycled PET back into its starting materials in only 10 hours. The output is reusable because the enzyme is able to break the bonds linking the two PET components, which returns them to their original form without touching the dyes and other additives in the mix. There is one major limitation, however. Bottles must be ground up and heated before the enzyme is added, so the recycled PET will be more expensive than the original. Still, there is certainly demand for a recycled end product that’s as good as its starting material. Carbios is currently partnered with Pepsi, L’Oréal, Nestlé, and Novozymes to help accelerate development. The company plans to have a demonstration plant completed by the end of next year and begin commercial production by 2025.

Though Carbios’s enzyme is only one of many solutions needed to reduce plastic pollution, it is sure to rescue a significant amount of post-consumer plastic from landfills and oceans. Looking to learn more about the science behind this new enzyme? Check out the original Nature paper or this article from Science Magazine News. Happy reading!

The post Can a novel enzyme help fight plastic pollution? appeared first on seedsprint.

The current public health crisis has changed the way we live and work. With the advent of social distancing, shelter-in-place policies, and telecommuting for those who can do so, life looks a little different these days.

While many of us wake up each morning and “commute” to our home offices or kitchen tables, healthcare workers and essential employees report to the frontlines — among them, scientists, engineers, and technology innovators who report to the lab each day.

And it’s safe to say, scientists, engineers, and innovators have stepped up to the challenge. They are working intently and purposefully to make urgently-needed treatments, vaccines, and critical supplies available — and fast.

In fact, scientific innovation and much-needed collaborations have exploded since Covid-19. It seems that open innovation has never been more in vogue. Here are some of the latest innovations in response to the health crisis that we found inspiring — and we think you will, too.

The race to develop effective treatments and vaccines

Advances in genetic technology over the past 10 to 15 years have provided awesome tools. Within a month of Covid-19’s emergence, researchers sequenced the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the single-stranded RNA virus responsible for the disease. And in just a few weeks, scientists around the world began working on vaccine candidates.

Moderna Therapeutics, in collaboration with the NIH, is pioneering one such effort. Moderna developed a new approach to a vaccine based on their RNA virus technology. The vaccine candidate entered Phase I clinical trials in mid-March. And if all goes well, the candidate will be fast-tracked by the FDA. Many challenges lie ahead for the vaccine to be declared both safe and effective, but experts are hopeful that the Moderna vaccine will reach the global market as early as 2021.

A vaccine is critical for the prevention of Covid-19 infections, but we also need effective treatments. Unfortunately, drug development is a slow process. Like vaccines, new drugs must undergo rigorous testing before reaching patients.

One way to bypass this problem is to re-purpose existing drugs for new uses. Drugs on the market for other indications have already been declared safe by the FDA. Amongst these, Gilead recently entered Phase III clinical trials in the US for the antiviral compound, Remdesivir.

In the past, Remsdesivir has been used to treat Ebola. In the fight against Covid-19, Remsdesivir has already been used as an experimental therapy in over 1,000 cases. The results show some promise, but only time will tell if Remsdesivir can effectively treat the disease.

Preventing community spread with effective screening

Early detection of Covid-19 has been a problem since the beginning of the health crisis. The test that is currently available relies primarily on polymer-chain-reaction (PCR) technology. PCR requires specialized staff, equipment, and many hours to read results.

To overcome this challenge, the Brazilian medtech startup, Hi Technologies, is developing a portable diagnostic system called HiLab. The HiLab system consists of a mini-lab set up and a test kit.

Hi Technologies promises to deliver test results in 15 minutes without the need for specialized staff or a laboratory environment. They plan to begin patient testing in mid-April.

As rapid tests become available, healthcare providers can test more people. With wider testing, we can gain deeper statistical insights into the disease and the crisis as a whole. These insights will also allow us to better flatten the curve to prevent our healthcare systems from becoming saturated. We can’t wait to see what’s next for Hi Technologies and their HiLabs testing system!

A new generation of PPE

Critical medical supplies have been in extremely low supply since the beginning of March. Some of these supplies include protective face masks, face shields, and sanitizers. But innovators around the world are working hard to fight this shortage. They are well on their way to developing better personal protective equipment (PPE), and even new ways of manufacturing it.

At Northwestern University in Chicago, one research team has developed self-sanitizing face masks. Another group started 3D printing face shields.

In Israel, two startup companies, Argaman and Sonovia, have pioneered novel reusable antiviral masks. The masks offer greater sustainability than single-use surgical masks and standard N95 masks, without compromising safety.

From the US to Israel and beyond, new products, designs, and manufacturing methods can help us overcome acute PPE shortages — and may even mark the beginning of the next generation of PPE.

The importance of tracking epidemiological data

Data science and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have dominated the tech world for the past several years. It’s no surprise, then, that these technologies are emerging as key players in the fight against Covid-19.

The Toronto-based startup, BlueDot, is using AI to track the current health crisis, and also to predict new epidemics. Armed with this technology, we can better prepare for infectious diseases and prevent further spread, thus minimizing the impact of these diseases on our communities.

Meanwhile, researchers at MIT and Harvard, in collaboration with major tech companies like Uber and Facebook, have developed an open-source software called Private Kit: Safe Paths. The software detects local infections and alerts users if they have encountered an infected individual. Private Kit: Safe Paths is a game-changer for contact tracing. If we can effectively identify and isolate individuals who have been infected, we can prevent new hotspots from cropping up.

The Covid-19 crisis evolves daily. Luckily, there is no shortage of innovations seeking to help.

Have you come across another inventive solution to the healthcare crisis you’d like to share? Tell us about it in the comments!

The post Technology innovation in the age of the current health crisis appeared first on seedsprint.