Medella Health is developing contact lenses that continuously detect blood glucose levels to better manage diabetes and improve the quality of life for diabetic patients. Patients have a difficult time monitoring and maintaining their blood glucose levels because current systems are invasive, discontinuous and do not generate the continuous feedback necessary for patients to take immediate action.

The aim of the project is to develop molecules capable of treating cancer. Currently, chemotherapeutics used in the clinic kill cancer as well as healthy cells; this broad mechanism of action results in high toxicity to the patient. In contrast, our approach is to generate a targeted therapeutic that will work against STAT5, a specific protein which is overexpressed in breast cancer. This approach will limit the toxicity associated with currently used treatments.

Aptamers are short strands of nucleic acids with high affinity and specificity for their targets. Advantages of using aptamers, relative to antibodies, include their smaller size, ease of synthesis, and lack of immunogenicity. Therefore, aptamers technology can be a novel cancer therapy strategy. The goals of our research program are to develop aptamers that catch and release circulating tumor cells and block receptors involve in cancer stem cell pathways.

Manufacturing of consistently high quality products is the commitment of pharmaceutical industry. To achieve this, new products must be thoroughly tested and the results meet government-approved product specifications. Improving existing and adopting improved analytical technologies for product testing ensure the production of safe and effective products. This is particularly critical for the manufacturing of biologic products which, relative to small molecular drugs, have a larger size, are more complex in structure and are thus more difficult to characterize.

Pyrimidines are a key and increasingly popular part of many biologically and pharmaceutically important components. This project will endeavor to develop a new and efficacious synthesis of versions of these molecules which would otherwise be difficult to produce. A key part of the revenue stream for Snieckus Innovations is the sale of molecules such as these for use as building blocks in the chemical industry – most usually in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical sciences.

Carbohydrate active enzymes are used widely in the commercial sector and in industries ranging from food processing to biofuel generation. Of these enzymes, the class known as glycoside phosphorylases has seemingly been overlooked by industry even given their noted advantages over related classes currently in use. Given the fact that a limited number of these enzymes have been identified, we think this presents a timely niche opportunity to develop a commercially available suite of these enzymes in collaboration with MetaMixis.

Mutations in the enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GBA1) are the most common genetic risk factor for development of Parkinson’s disease (PD). PD is characterized by the buildup of abnormal protein deposits in the brain, followed by progressive loss of neurons and behavioural symptoms. Numerous studies have noted a correlation between reduced GBA1 activity and increased levels of these abnormal protein deposits in the brain, but the relationship remains poorly understood.

Our research is focused on finding new ways to combat the spread of Hospital acquired infections (HAI’s) in hospitals and other institutional work places. Our research combines a new non-leaching chemical nanotechnology that forms a protective barrier to difficult surfaces and kills bacteria on contact. The nanocoatings are water based and fix readily to surfaces such as plastic by exposure to low UV radiation. These transparent nanocoatings are invisible to the naked eye but act as sentinels and avoid the formation of harmful bacterial colonies

We will develop a fiber-optical sensor system that can be applied to monitor pipelines. By recording the response of a fiber-optic transducer to ultrasound that is generated on the wall of a pipeline we can measure the flow velocity of the fluid inside the pipeline. Similar measurements are presently conducted by pipeline operators using piezo-electric transducers, but their sensitivity is not high enough to locate small leaks or pipeline deposits through a change in flow rate. In addition the ultrasound measurements will let us accurately determine the identity of the pipeline content.