Mission

Industry Segment / Product

2 products under development. They both derive from our core technology, tissue engineering: one is a diagnostic line in the field of autoimmune diseases and the second is relative to the use of in vitro produced autotransplants of bone for maxillo-facial and dental surgery.
Marketwise, it is estimated that the screening of scleroderma in the western countries (EU, US, Japan) should range from 80 to 100 million people, while that of small bone fragments ranges between 1 and 2 % of the population.

Competitive advantage

For the autologus bone, VBC wants to create competitive advantages by its “package” of automated equipment, protocols, practices and standards and standardised procedures. Further benefits of the VBC’s technology are given by a slightly invasive operation, which does not require expensive, prolonged hospitalisation for both cell sampling and transplantation.
For the scleroderma test, the competitive advantage consists in the unique knowledge of the molecular mechanism and in maintaining the production of the key reagent in-house.

Market opportunity

In both areas there is a real market opportunities because the clinical needs are already well defined and neither one is satisfactorily met: patients, clinicians, industries are desperately looking for a better solution than what is available today.

Management team

CEO: Francesco Curcio, is professor of Molecular Pathology (since 1992) and Vice-Director of Regenerative Medicine Centre at the University of Udine, Director of the Diagnosis and Molecular and Cellular Therapies Unit at the Hospital of Udine and Director of Cellular Culture Service at the M.A.T.I. Centre of the Italian Minister of Research. He has been Visiting Scientist at National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, MD), guest research at European Molecular Biology Laboratory (Heidelberg), Senior Director of human transplantation program, somatic cell therapy at VivoRx and CSO at Human Cell Therapies, LLC. He has experience in cell culture, cloning and characterisation (stem cell, thyroid epithelium, pancreatic insulae, cartilage and liver), mechanisms of cellular differentiation, intra and inter-specific hybridisation, development of hardware for in vitro cellular culture to be used in human diagnostics and therapies. He is author of more than 40 scientific papers and 12 patents.

CTO: Luca Dobetti, is a former R&D pharmaceutical site director, with long experience in pharmaceutical and drug delivery companies (Vectorpharma, Italfarmaco, Chiesi Farmaceutici, Eurand). He has been visiting scientist at the University of Kentucky. He has extensively worked in worldwide development contracts for many pharmaceutical companies and in product development, working together with Business Development in the contacts with customers. In almost twenty years of career, he has been Head of different Pharmaceutical Development Laboratories and Site Manager at Eurand. He is author of 10 patents. He has experience in enhancing the economic values of the results coming from the research by combining the skills of product development with those of business development and finance for innovation. He is Grant request Reviewer at the European Commission on nanotechnology-based targeted drug delivery. He is a Qualified Pharma Director.

CFO: Michele D’Agnolo, is director of SAED, accounting, tax and payroll service’s company, ISO 9000 certified, and founding partner of Intuitus, the first Italian training and consulting group for professional services to firms. He is a member of the Italian Register of Chartered Accountants, and board member of the statutory auditors. He has been a fellow at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in London. As a chartered accountant, he has experience in financial accounting, tax and business law compliance area (Italian and international), and in management consulting, in particular for SMEs. He has extensively worked in the area of Quality and ISO 9000 for firms, being president and member in the Chartered Accountants quality workgroup of North East Italy and National Council, respectively. He is author of articles and books on quality and tax and accounting firms organisation.

VP Marketing & Sales: Italo Figura, is Executive Director in COSMO-TEC, consulting company in diagnostics for strategic marketing and R&D strategies. He has been CEO in Alpahgenics Diaco (R&D and production of diagnostic tests in molecular biology). He has been Head of marketing and sales in primary company in diagnostics (CAM Diagnostics, Medgenix, Amersham). He has experience in diagnostics and medical devices relative to strategic marketing, sales, R&D strategies, regulatory.