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Spinning Innovation

Ascenion’s portfolio companies are currently enjoying considerable success. Established players such as Genomatix and Activaero have secured new funds, preclinical research specialist Encepharm initiated the building of new facilities and newcomers such as Photonion have established excellent starting positions. Common success factors include close connections to industry from the start, and a growth strategy that is not exclusively based on venture capital. Below is a portrait of the newly founded venture.

 
Photonion GmbH at a Glance

Approach:
Mass spectrometry using a novel soft photoionization source (vacuum UV light)

Advantage:
Reduced fragmentation of the compounds to be analyzed
Directly applicable to complex organic mixtures, mostly without prior purification or separation steps 

Application:
Direct analysis of complex organic gases or materials
Online control of manifold industrial processes
Online analysis of patients’ breath and other medical applications

Development Status:
First products marketed

Originating Institution: Helmholtz Zentrum München

Main Inventor:
Professor Ralf Zimmermann

Photonion: Online analysis of cigarette smoke, polymers, coffee roasting and more

Photonion is different. Not only because it has a unique, patent-protected technology that impacts countless industrial processes – from coffee roasting and crude oil processing to plastics production – but also because its scientific founder, Professor Ralf Zimmermann, has been collaborating with industry for years. Once he recognized the commercial potential of know-how and technology, he initiated a professional exchange with some of the most innovative players in the mass spectrometry and online analysis market as well as with leading academic partners.  Resulting collaborations enabled him and his team to explore different applications, improve and validate the technology and, last but not least, to learn about the industry’s mentality and needs.

Over time, and in close coordination with Ascenion and two mid-sized companies, Zimmermann’s long-standing vision of founding a new company has gradually assumed shape. Photonion was set up as a joint venture by Airsense Analytics GmbH, Schwerin, Germany, Tofwerk AG, Thun, Switzerland, and the Helmholtz Association, each of them providing partial seed funding. Andreas Walte and Wolf Münchmeyer, both CEOs of Airsense, initially serve as Photonion’s CEOs, while Zimmermann continues his excellent mass spectrometry research, partly in Munich at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and partly in Rostock at the University and the Joint Mass Spectrometry Centre. However, as consultant he will co-operate closely with Photonion and provide the team with continued access to his expertise and new insights from the academic world.
A further outcome from previous industry co-operations is the signing of two collaboration agreements by Photonion for the development of dedicated mass spectrometry systems to be produced and commercialized by the partners.  ‘These deals provide for a running start,’ Christian Stein, CEO of Ascenion comments. They allow Photonion to generate income, right from the beginning, and to build its reputation in the sector. In a second step, the company will build and market mass spectrometry systems on its own. ‘Photonion is a remarkable example of true teamwork between research, technology transfer and industry, where each side brings in its core competence and takes over a significant portion of workload and risks. It is a role model for putting research results into practice without risk capital,’ Stein concludes.

Meet us at the forthcoming events:

Biotech-NetWorkshop, 24-26 February 2010, Schloss Ringberg (Tegernsee), Germany
www.ascenion.de

BioVaria, 20 April 2010, Munich, Germany
www.BioVaria.org

BIO International Convention, 3-6 May 2010, Chicago, USA
http://convention.bio.org

ASTP 10th anniversary, 27-28 May 2010, Paris, France
www.astp.net

News in Brief:

Helmholtz Zentrum München renews alliance with Ascenion
Ascenion and the Helmholtz Zentrum München have recently agreed to continue their long-term collaboration.more

 
HKI becomes member of the Life-Science Foundation
Following four years of collaboration with Ascenion, the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knöll Institute (HKI) joined Ascenion’s parent holding, the Life-Science Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Research.more

DPZ extends license agreement for its antibody against prions
The DPZ anti-prion antibody has been licensed to the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA, Commissariat à l'énergie atomique) for a further 10 years, to be used as part of an antibody cocktail that is exclusively sublicensed to Bio-Rad.more

NovaTec to commercialize new test for chikungunya fever
A team of researchers from the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNI), a member of the Leibniz Association, and the German Federal Armed Forces has developed a new ELISA for the diagnosis of chikungunya infections. more

Ascenion acquires shares in BITZ
Ascenion now holds equity in BITZ (Braunschweiger Informatik- und Technologie-Zentrum) gGmbH – a joint venture of the Technical University Braunschweig, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the software and consulting company Lineas.more

Ascenion team news
Marsha Schade joined the Munich team in September 2009 to support the Technology Transfer Competence Centre (KTT), the central service unit for technology transfer and communication within the Federal Program of Medical Genome Research.

Isabell Schwenkert joined the Hanover team in September 2009 as technology scout. Together with her colleague Ralf Cordes, she will work with scientists from the Hanover Medical School (MHH).more

Contact us:

Munich:
T +49 89 318814-0
info(at)ascenion.de

Berlin:
T +49 30 9406 230 -1/-4
berlin(at)ascenion.de

Braunschweig:
T +49 531 6181 2090
braunschweig(at)ascenion.de

Hamburg:
T +49 40 22611 278
hamburg(at)ascenion.de

Hanover:
T +49 511 5328 921
hanover(at)ascenion.de

Neuherberg:
T +49 89 3187 2850
neuherberg@ascenion.de

Ascenion GmbH, www.ascenion.de