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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Glyco-DeCon (Decontamination by glycosylation based wipes)

Teaser

Summary

Problem
Since the disease progression for many biothreat agents is relatively rapid and potentially has catastrophic consequences, effective treatment becomes increasingly difficult with time. Currently available decontamination and containment strategies include chemical and radiation based procedures. Many of these methods are highly toxic to people, can lead to secondary contamination and these technologies inhibit the downstream processing of forensic evidence due to their destructive nature.

Importance to Society
Current methods of decontamination are harsh and toxic to be used on human skin or for prophylaxis.2 Such aggressive decontamination techniques present serious drawbacks: - have unpleasantly strong irritating odor which can cause nausea, tearing, headache, and shortness of breath - can easily be absorbed through skin and are capable of causing damage to skin, lungs and eyes - require specialized equipment and controlled storage conditions, can be used only with proper ventilation control - working solutions have short shelf-life so fresh solution must be made regularly (high environmental burden) and waste generated must be collected for hazardous disposal

Objectives
(1) Bring the Glyco-DeCon product to the bio-decontamination market in two yearsâ€™ time
(2) Maintain profitability by following a lean business model and controlling the costs in both production and operations while ensuring the highest quality product
(3) Improve market share and growth of the company over the following two years

Work performed

In the current Feasibility Study several aspects of bringing the Glyco-DeCon kits into market were considered. Market research was conducted to understand needs, potential customers and volumes required. Production process and components were analysed to introduce all the required modifications and to assess throughputs of manufacturing lines with the costs associated. Regulatory aspects and other barriers were reviewed and discussed with CBRN personnel and first responders. Finally, patent landscape analysis was performed for Europe and the US markets to verify the latest IP concerns and to develop IP strategy for the company for the closest period.
In this Feasibility Report industry engagement and market validation steps undertaken were described. Commercialization routes and regulatory roadmap were reviewed for better understanding of the industry requirements. System components assessment and costs analysis was performed and IP landscape was reviewed while patent application was postponed after careful consideration.

Final results

Aquila BioScienceâ€™s R&D department is continually investigating the affinity of pathogens for novel sugar structures and sugar binding proteins. Furthermore Aquila BioScience is actively researching natural sources of anti-viral and anti-bacterial compounds from fungi, algae and plants. Newly identified compounds with highly effective neutralizing or toxic properties against pathogens can be incorporated into the product. In addition, different methods of delivering and applying the product will be continuously investigated depending on the need of the customer. For decontamination of large-sized equipment/vehicles the cloth can be additionally supplemented with non-corrosive bactericidal agents and used as covers or sticky floor mats for tyres/shoes.