The NanOX project, a unique system for storing and regenerating organs for transplantation, developed by Polish researchers from NanoGroup, is entering its next phase. Following a successful autotransplantation, the company announced that it would file patent applications and is also preparing to certify the NanOX Recovery Box device.
NanoGroup S.A. is a dynamically developing research and commercial organization specializing in biotechnology. It was established by merging several special purpose vehicles implementing innovative nanotechnology projects developed by world-class specialist, prof. dr hab. inż. Tomasz Ciach. The group currently consists of NanoSanguis S.A., NanoVelos S.A. and NanoThea S.A.
The most advanced project carried out by NanoGroup is the construction of a unique NanOX system for the perfusion of organs collected for transplantation. In mid-July 2024, a team led by prof. dr hab. n. med. Maciej Kosieradzki from the Medical University of Warsaw successfully performed an autotransplantation of a pig kidney. After the organ had no blood circulation for half an hour, it was taken from the animal and then perfused for 12 hours in a fluid developed by researchers from NanoSanguis, one of the companies forming the NanoGroup capital group.
Confirmation of the effectiveness of the NanOX system
This was probably one of the most complex and technologically advanced procedures currently performed in our country as part of preclinical and clinical trials - this is how Prof. Dr. Hab. n. med. Maciej Kosieradzki from the Medical University of Warsaw says about the kidney autotransplantation operation.
From the laboratory to the workshop
Although the successful procedure was one of the milestones included in the group’s strategy for 2023-2025, work on the construction of the NanOX system is ongoing not only in the NanoSanguis laboratory and in the operating room, but also in the workshop.
At the same time, the prototype of the NanOX Recovery Box is being created, i.e. a device for storing and monitoring the vital functions of organs, this time implemented entirely by an external expert. A4BEE, with whom NanoGroup signed an agreement in the first half of 2024, is responsible for this part of the project. After successful tests of the solution, which were planned for September of this year, the plan is to produce a version of the device ready for certification. In the long term, this will allow NanoGroup to acquire an industry partner to conduct further development work and market commercialization of the system.
– NanOX Recovery Box is our proprietary perfusion device, thanks to which we are able to not only maintain the organ in extracorporeal conditions, without blood, but also subject it to regeneration processes, and at the same time monitor and supervise everything on an ongoing basis says prof. dr hab. n. med. Wojciech Lisik from the Medical University of Warsaw, national consultant in the field of clinical transplantology in 2023-2024, a new member of the research team. – The solution developed by NanGroup and NanoSanguis uses a complex model for data analysis, which allows for a better than ever assessment of the condition of the organ before its transplantation into the recipient’s body. This is possible thanks to a significantly larger scope of data collected than before and the performed proteomic studies consisting of qualitative and quantitative analysis of the protein profile and metabolomic studies in the scope of qualitative and quantitative analysis of the profile of small-molecule compounds – explains the expert.
Next milestones
The construction of the NanOX Recovery Box prototype is just one of the milestones that NanoGroup researchers have set for themselves. The next step is to submit a patent application and apply for EU funding under the European Funds for Modern Economy 2021-2027 program. All of this should happen this year.
– We are at an important moment for us as a company. Thanks to the successful autotransplantation, we have confirmed that we are reliable and effective in our actions. This is an important signal for the market, for our business partners and potential investors – says Przemysław Mazurek, president of the management board of the NanoGroup capital group.
The group also plans to continue a long-term blood substitute project, of which the NanOX system is one of the stages. This project has the potential to revolutionize emergency medical services and other areas of human activity. The company also intends to provide services in the field of nanotechnology for medical and pharmaceutical companies, as well as develop its own platform of polysaccharide nanoparticles.
The platform implements two key threads:
- PolEpi project: research and development work at the product scaling stage,
- drug discovery research: development of a scoring model for evaluating drug candidates, which resulted in a list of 20 candidates in the area of oncology with the greatest potential for further research.
We encourage you to visit our website https://nanogroup.eu/ and our profiles on LinkedIn and Facebook, where we regularly publish news about our activities and progress in ongoing projects.
