pSivida silicon for diagnostics
revealed it has designs on the drug delivery market, has created a
wholly owned spin-off diagnostics company, AION Diagnostics.
pSivida has seed-funded AION through an investment of A$1.2 million (€698,000) and has licensed diagnostic and sensor applications of its Bio Silicon platform technology to the new firm.
BioSilicon takes the form of nanostructured porous silicon that can be machined into powders, microspheres, or just about any other structure whilst retaining its ability to carry and release active components.
Development of diagnostics within pSivida has demonstrated significant potential for products using the biodegradable, optical, semiconductor and micro-machining properties of BioSilicon, the firm said. By adopting the biocompatible and biodegradable properties of BioSilicon, AION plans to develop diagnostic products that will provide real-time continuous measurement of diagnostic markers.
The move to spin-out diagnostics will enable a separate team to focus on leveraging the technological opportunities in BioSilicon to develop and commercialise a diagnostics product portfolio, while pSivida and its staff remain focused on the core areas of slow-release drug delivery and brachytherapy.
The company has just started clinical development of a a brachytherapy (short range intratumoural radiotherapy) for liver cancer.
