IDIBELL and IQS license a technology to enhance a new tracheal stent the spin-off Tractivus

Last June 1st a patent license agreement was signed between IQS-IQS, IDIBELL-Institut Bellvitge Biomedical Research and TRACTIVUS, spin-off of IQS and IDIBELL. Tractivus, a spin-off resulting from the collaboration between GEMAT (Materials Engineering Group), IDIBELL and IQS aims to optimize and validate the product so as to initiate the appropriate regulatory path to market access.

The signature event was attended the event by IDIBELL’s director, Dr. Jaume Reventós, Dr. Pedro Regull, CEO of IQS, and by Joan Gilabert, CEO and cofounder of the TRACTIVUS spin-off. Dr. Salvador Borrós, professor of IQS School of Management and promoter of the Tractivus team, composed of Joan Gilabert, Dr. Victor Ramos and Robert Texidó, all co-founders of the start-up was also there. Dr. Antoni Rosell Gratacós, head of Respiratory Endoscopy Section of the University Hospital of Bellvitge and IDIBELL principal investigator on this project at IDIBELL, could not attend.

Dr. Jaume Reventós stressed the importance of "Dr. Borrós being sensitive to the issues raised by Dr. Rosell on cases of posttraumatic tracheal stenosis, both benign and malignant." Also, Dr. Pedro Regull highlighted "the potential of the relationship between a university such as IQS technical school, which is always looking for the applicability of its research, and a hospital such as Bellvitge, that is able to identify patient priorities better than anyone".

Stents or prostheses consist of expansible tubes of different materials used to aid healing or relieve an obstruction within a conduit, channel or blood vessel. Specifically, in the field of tracheal stents, solving major post-implantation problems, such as bacterial colonization, the formation of granulation tissue, migration and acute pain are still an unresolved challenge. This situation leads to doctors and patients demanding a new generation of devices with different properties that are able to prevent infection, improve the treatment of various diseases such as restenosis, and optimize the design of the stent to prevent migration and bleeding.

In this context appears Tractivus, a spin-off arising from two research groups, GEMAT (IQS, TECNIO center) and IDIBELL (CERCA center, Bellvitge University Hospital). Tractivus is a technology-based company founded in Barcelona in 2015, which aims to revolutionize the stents available today to provide a solution to an unmet clinical need in order to improve the quality of life of patients and avoid extra costs for the healthcare system.

Under this institutional umbrella, there is not only scientific support, but also support related to business management. Tractivus receives help from and the area of innovation and business development IDIBELL. Both units promote scientific and technical entrepreneurship and are supportive in the development of the business plan, protection of intellectual property, access to talent and identifying funding sources for R + D projects.

Tractivus is currently developing an innovative technology that can provide any kind of material with bioactive surfaces such as antibacterial properties (with a 95% reduction of bacterial colonization) and the ability to release drugs (with a 80% reduction of stenotic tissue). In addition, Tractivus has developed a process by which a silicone medical device is obtained by 3D technology. The company wants to apply this antibacterial, antiproliferative and personalized technology on other implantable medical devices, like other non-vascular stents and any type of medical device used to treat other diseases that need antibacterial properties, drug delivery and/or high customization.

The Tractivus team is formed by Joan Gilabert (IQS chemist), Robert Texidó (IQS Engineer), Salvador Borrós (Professor of IQS, URL and scientific director of GEMAT), Victor Ramos (IQS Engineer, doctor of pharmacology and professor of IQS, URL), Mario Lopez (IQS chemist) and Guillermo Reyes (IQS professor and scientific director of GEPI). In addition, Tractivus also includes a team of physicians and biologists from Bellvitge Hospital and IDIBELL: Rosa Maria Lopez (endoscopist, Bellvitge University Hospital), Ana Montes (biologist, IDIBELL), Noèlia Cuberos (Bellvitge University Hospital) and Antoni Rosell (Head of the Respiratory Endoscopy Service of the Bellvitge Hospital).

Tractivus, as a project of GEMAT (IQS) and IDIBELL, made a valuation report and was awarded the Llavor 2014 aid (Generalitat de Catalunya European Regional Development Fund) in order to validate the business idea at a technology production level and facilitate their subsequent implementation through the development of the first prototype to test their activity through an experimental treatment. With this help, Tractivus has participated in the program of entrepreneurship and acceleration of start-ups, I-CORPS, at the National Science Foundation (US government), held for three months between San Francisco (UC Berkeley) and Barcelona. This program has been organized by the FCRI (Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation, Generalitat de Catalunya) and its objective has been the development of a market study on the feasibility of the product through different interviews with the actors involved in the chain value (patients, doctors, hospital managers, insurers, distributors, CMO and CRO) in order to validate market needs and obtain a viable product.

Also, Tractivus has participated in the 7th edition of the BioEmprenedor XXI program, organized by Biocat (Generalitat de Catalunya), Barcelona Activa (Barcelona City Council) and La Caixa. During the six months of the program a business plan was developed together with tutors, mentors, investors and eventually the project was validated and awarded 2nd finalist best business plan of 2014.

Besides other awards and distinctions referred the business idea, Tractivus technology has also been recognized in the ECBIP 2015 congress (European Congress for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology) with the Chris Bollinger Award for the best technology and development in the field of tracheal stents.

Tractivus major challenges for the next four years are the marketing of its first antibacterial product and the establishment of a 3D printing system for custom silicon devices.

Image: From left to right, Dr. Jaume Raventós, director of IDIBELL, Dr. Pere Regull, CEO of IQS, and Joan Gilabert, CEO and cofounder of TRACTIVUS, moments after signing the license agreement