MC2 Biotek is a

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

company established in 2006,scandinavianlifesciences.com">http://www.scandinavianlifesciences.com/scan/db/detail.php?c=6086651k$SnIwjnCXFFLQ with offices in Denmark and external labs in the United Kingdom. MC2 is a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

, comprising three smaller Biotechnology companies with their own biotechnology technologies: DrugMode (DK), Zadec (DK), and Drug Delivery Solutions (UK). DrugMode specializes in

3D cell culture 3-D, 3D, or 3d may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Relating to three-dimensionality * Three-dimensional space ** 3D computer graphics, computer graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data ** 3D film, a ...

, and is based out of the

University of Southern Denmark The University of Southern Denmark ( da, Syddansk Universitet, lit=South Danish University, abbr. SDU) is a university in Denmark that has campuses located in Southern Denmark and on Zealand. The university offers a number of joint programmes i ...

at Odense. Zadec focuses on

Diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

and

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficien ...

, and has developed an oral anti-diabetes drug, RX-1, which is currently in

clinical trials Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...

. Drug Delivery Solutions works in the field of

dermatology Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A List of dermatologists, dermatologist ...

and

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a med ...

, developing topical drugs such as a cream to treat

psoriasis Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by raised areas of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to complet ...

Technology

Drug Delivery Solutions Limited, the

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Lea ...

daughter company of MC2 biotech, has developed a new method for

drug formulation Pharmaceutical formulation, in pharmaceutics, is the process in which different chemical substances, including the active drug, are combined to produce a final medicinal product. The word ''formulation'' is often used in a way that includes dosage ...

and delivery. This biliquid foam technology was patented as polyaphron dispersions (PAD) containing a complex internal phase, which are made as droplets of oil or multiphase liquid in an aqueous (or other

hydrogen-bonding In chemistry, a hydrogen bond (or H-bond) is a primarily electrostatic force of attraction between a hydrogen (H) atom which is covalently bound to a more electronegative "donor" atom or group (Dn), and another electronegative atom bearing a ...

liquid) phase. Oil-soluble drug molecules can be dissolved within the oil phase, and drug delivery can be influenced by modifying the materials used in each phase.Childs, A., Alfred, D. (2011). EP171804 B1. Great Britain. European Patent Register A 2008 PAD patent claims that this foam-like

emulsion An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (unmixable or unblendable) owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Althou ...

is stable with up to at least 70% dispersed oil phase and at most 3%

surfactant Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or interfacial tension between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, fo ...

. This PAD drug delivery system can allow for extended release drug delivery in enteral

route of administration A route of administration in pharmacology and toxicology is the way by which a drug, fluid, poison, or other substance is taken into the body. Routes of administration are generally classified by the location at which the substance is applied. ...

, or it can be formulated to be administered as a wound dressing. Manufacturing using this technology is simple and low cost compared to gastroretentive dosage forms (GRDF) in the prior art. MC2 Biotek’s PAD technology has been applied commercially in

and

. MC2 Biotek is collaborating with a group of South African researchers led by Dr. Johan Louw at the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Professor Lizette Joubert at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) to research traditional

rooibos Rooibos ( ; , meaning "red bush"), or ''Aspalathus linearis'', is a broom-like member of the plant family Fabaceae that grows in South Africa's fynbos biome. The leaves are used to make a herbal tea that is called rooibos (especially in So ...

and

honeybush ''Cyclopia'', the honeybush, or heuningbos in Afrikaans, is a genus of some 20 species of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its description was published by the French botanist Étienne Pierre Ventenat in 18 ...

teas for their anti-

diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

and anti-

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...

properties. One collaborative study showed that aqueous hot water honeybush extract when administered orally to

type-2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, ...

rat models, promoted normoglycemia and improved other type-2 diabetes associated problems. MC2 Biotek has also developed a 3D ProtoTissue™ Bioreactor, which allows cells from an immortal human

hepatocyte A hepatocyte is a cell of the main parenchymal tissue of the liver. Hepatocytes make up 80% of the liver's mass. These cells are involved in: * Protein synthesis * Protein storage * Transformation of carbohydrates * Synthesis of cholesterol, ...

line to grow into 3D spheroids. 3D tissue cultures

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology and ...

have been shown to be much more representative of

in vivo Studies that are ''in vivo'' (Latin for "within the living"; often not italicized in English) are those in which the effects of various biological entities are tested on whole, living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, and ...

tissue than traditionally used 2D tissue cultures in vitro are. MC2 Biotek proposes that these 3D hepatocyte cultures be used in drug trials to evaluate

toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expos ...

and

metabolism Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run c ...

, because results would be more reflective of drug toxicology and metabolism in vivo than current 2D cell culture methods are.Determination of Drug Toxicity Using 3D Spheroids Constructed From an Immortal Human Hepatocyte Cell Line. Fey, Stephen J (06/2012). "Determination of drug toxicity using 3D spheroids constructed from an immortal human hepatocyte cell line". Toxicological sciences (1096-6080), 127 (2), p. 403. DOI: 10.1093/toxsci/kfs122

References

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External links

Official website
Biotechnology companies of Denmark Life science companies based in Copenhagen Companies based in Rudersdal Municipality Danish companies established in 2006