Jul
19 2010

Ongoing Project Aims to Recover Nutritional Value From Seafood and Brewing Waste

Preliminary findings from a UK government funded project focused on extracting value from seafood and beverage processing waste shows the process could potentially recover nutritional components such as glucosamine.
The process involves an ionic liquid (IL) extraction process which selectively recovers targeted high value components under mild conditions. Ionic Liquids are clean, inexpensive solvents whose properties can be tailored for recovery of specific target molecules. Recycling of recovered components for applications in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and chemical markets will deliver both economic and environmental benefits to technology adopters.

C-Tech Innovation, a UK based technology development company, is leading the three year EXCIL project that involves collaboration with key stakeholders including Heineken UK, seafood processor West Coast Sea Products, GlycoMar Ltd.,  the Sea Fish Industry Authority, waste management firm SITA UK and Imperial College London.

The research is being by funded by a UK government agency, the Technology Strategy Board, with the stated objective being to provide a new approach to solving the environmental and financial costs involved in disposal of food and brewing waste through a sustainable and resource efficient method.

EXCIL is a 3 year project which started in October 2009.

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From Issue 11 • Categories: Tags: Aquapreneur, biomaterials, bioprocessing, chitin, chitosan, cosmeceuticals, fish extract, functional ingredients, glycomar, marine extract, marine ingredient, marine ingredients, nutraceutical, Sea Fish Industry Authority, seafood byproducts • No Comments

May
11 2009

Starfish and Sea Worms to Help Develop Stem Cell Research

Marine biotechnology company GlycoMar Ltd has been awarded a £70,000 grant from the Scottish Government’s SMART: SCOTLAND programme to develop new products for growing human stem cells. The process involves the Oban-based company using blood withdrawn from marine invertebrates, including worms and starfish. The products prepared from this blood will then be tested in stem cell culture systems supplied by Roslin Cells in Edinburgh. The SMART: SCOTLAND grant enables GlycoMar to take its technology into the stem cell market for the first time. GlycoMar exploits natural products in marine invertebrates to advance human health. Dr Bavington believes that marine invertebrates are a suitable source to find novel stem cell media supplements. “This is because of their remarkable capacity for continual growth and regeneration throughout their life course, often from their own stem cell reservoirs,” he said. “Starfish, for example can re-grow their limbs.” The use of non-mammalian marine material also means there is a very low risk of cross contamination with pathogens such as BSE. This research and the collaboration between GlycoMar and Roslin Cells highlights the excellence of the research work being undertaken by stem cell community in Scotland and typifies the efforts of the SSCN to bring the relevant experts together in this exciting and constantly developing field.

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From Issue 3 • Categories: Tags: glycomar, marine bioprospecting, marine biotechnology, marine drugs, marine extract, marine polysaccharide • No Comments

May
11 2009

Scottish Marine Biotech Firm and China Firm Link Up

Oban-based GlycoMar and Glasgow-based Scottish Biomedical have signed agreements with Chinese pharmaceutical giant Asiapharm to test and potentially license two of their lead products. The GlycoMar products have potential for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, while the Scottish Biomedical drugs could treat debilitating psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. Scotland’s life sciences industry is one of the most vibrant in Europe – with about 600 organizations employing over 30,000 people. Under the terms of the deal, Asiapharm will carry out trials and further development of the two products. If successful, Asiapharm will license these products for the Chinese market.

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From Issue 3 • Categories: Tags: glycomar, marine drugs, marine natural product, marine polysaccharide • No Comments

Feb
11 2008

GlycoMar secures £260,000 investment

Scottish marine biotechnology company GlycoMar Ltd has recently secured further investment of £260,000 from its investors, as the first stage of a targeted £2.5 M funding round. This will allow the Company to expand and accelerate its drug discovery operations, taking potential marine anti-inflammatory drugs into clinical development.

GlycoMar, which means ‘sweet sea’, is dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialisation of new anti-inflammatory drug candidates based on the glycobiology of marine organisms. The Company makes its products from a wide variety of invertebrate animals, including starfish, shellfish, sponges, and sea squirts, and it has recently started working with seaweed and bacterial products.

Since 2005, GlycoMar’s rapid growth business strategy has seen the company secure major contracts with drug development companies to supply polysaccharide and glycoprotein products as well as in vitro screening services. GlycoMar is in discussions with institutional investors to secure an additional £2.25 M to take its active compounds in to clinical trials.

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From Issue 2 • Categories: Tags: anti-inflammatory, glycomar, invertebrates, seaweed • No Comments

Jan
11 2008

Marine Biotech Company GlycoMar Developing New In House Screening Services

OBAN life science company GlycoMar Ltd has recently announced an additional service has been introduced at its in house screening facility. GlycoMar Managing Director Dr Charlie Bavington set up the Company in 2005, to exploit the potential of sugar-based compounds derived from marine invertebrates. GlycoMar has continued to expand its commercial success since 2005, when it made the headlines by extracting chemicals from starfish slime to combat allergies such as hay fever.

Dr Bavington said ”The addition of further screening assays is part of our on going strategy to develop the screening facility. This will allow us to increase income and provide vital capabilities for our own drug discovery program. The introduction of anti-oxidant assays compliments our already established anti-inflammatory screens.”

GlycoMar’s newly introduced assay is used to screen compounds for their ability to inhibit ROS/RNS production, so acting as an antioxidant and blocking downstream inflammatory events. The assay is a fully quantitative assay offering low – medium throughput. GlycoMar is also developing an in house mixed lymphocyte assay which will be commercially available early 2008.

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From Issue 1 • Categories: Tags: glycomar, marine natural product, marine organism, mucin • No Comments