SEED4INNOVATION

ENG. FABIO MANENTI AND DEMIX GROUP COLLABORATE WITH SEED4INNOVATION, THE SCOUTING PROGRAM OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MILAN, CREATED WITH THE UNIMI FOUNDATION, DELOITTE AND BUGNION, DESIGNED TO ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHLY INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS BORN FROM ACADEMIC RESEARCH AND FACILITATE ACCESS TO POTENTIAL INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS. SEED4 INNOVATION CONTRIBUTES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PERMANENT ENVIRONMENT OF CONTAMINATION BETWEEN UNIVERSITIES AND COMPANIES INTERESTED IN ENRICHING THEIR PIPELINE OF INNOVATION PROJECTS. THROUGH OPEN INNOVATION APPROACHES, S4I OFFERS ACCESS TO A CUSTOMER-TAILORED DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS THAT WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE INCUBATION AND ACCELERATION PHASE OF DEMIX INNOVATION LAB, INCREASING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH IN A CONSTANT COMPARISON WITH COMPANY NEEDS. SUBSEQUENTLY DEMIX INTERNATIONAL CONSULTING WILL SUPPORT THE MOST DESERVING PROJECTS IN THE PROMOTION AND MARKET APPROACH PHASE, STRUCTURING THE COMMERCIAL MARKETING PHASE.

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THE PROGRAM'S FEATURES

Stages

The call 4 ideas for the search of the best projects provides three moments of selection. 

After an initial selection of 40 projects, the teams will be evaluated by a jury composed of entrepreneurs who will choose 30. These 30 will continue with the mentoring phase, at the end of which the 10 winning projects will be identified. The winners will move on to the acceleration phase, aimed at verifying their industrial or commercial feasibility.

Services provided

Training meetings are planned for the strengthening of innovative ideas on the evaluation of the idea, on how to make it transferable to the market and communicate it, and on the creation and management of intellectual property.

The teams that, in the various steps, will benefit from the services of empowerment and acceleration will have the opportunity to work on the gaps of their project with the mentors of Fondazione Unimi and the professionals of Deloitte Officine Innovazione and Bugnion.

Winners

Up to 5 of the winning projects will receive funding for the implementation of the project thanks to the University PoC (Proof of Concept) Fund, for a total availability of € 200,000 (Grant Unimi).

The companies affiliated to the program (Corporate Partners) will be able to allocate funding to the projects they consider of interest (Corporate Grant) in relation to the needs identified during the call4ideas.

The projects supported by us

2024 Edition

ULYSSES

The ULYSSES project aims to revolutionize research in structural biology and medicine by developing a universal biotechnology probe for cryo electron microscopy (CryoEM). This technique enables visualization of 3D structures of biological macromolecules, which is essential for understanding cellular processes and developing drugs and vaccines.

ULYSSES addresses the current limitation of CryoEM, which fails to study molecules that are too small (<100 kDa), by proposing an innovative approach: a probe based on the NF-Y protein and DNA, which increases the mass and makes even the smallest samples visible. The project has two main applications:

  1. Universal interactor, which stabilizes and makes visible molecular complexes of interest.
  2. Chimeric probe, which combines NF-Y with other proteins, increasing their mass for visualization.

With this technology, ULYSSES could unlock new possibilities in biomedicine and pharmaceutical research, making CryoEM accessible to a broader spectrum of samples.

The projects supported by us
2023 Edition

INNONP

InnoNp is a project proposing an innovative solution in the field of nanomedicine. 

To date, the main obstacle to the medical application of Nanoparticles (NPs) is the ability of our first line of defense (the mononuclear phagocytic system: MPS) to rapidly and efficiently eliminate NPs from the bloodstream.  Most NPs are captured within minutes (Kupffer cells in the liver are particularly efficient) and prevented from reaching even the vicinity of the target pathological tissue.  

With InnoNP, it is intended to develop new coatings that allow NPs to escape capture and circulate for a long time in the bloodstream (Coating X).

In addition, the inherent toxicity of some inorganic materials (e.g., heavy metals) and their ability to accumulate in tissues have posed a challenge to their transposition.

Thus, the main goal of this project is to synthesize “innocent” NPs that are neither captured by MPS nor accumulated non-specifically in organs and that can be eliminated renally, so as to achieve circulation times suitable for clinical translation and prevent both accumulation and potentially harmful hepatic clearance.

The projects supported by us
2021 Edition

MULTIBIOCOAT

On Monday 13 December 2021, the first operational meeting took place between the new Team Mentor of the UNIMI Foundation, composed of our President Eng. Fabio Manenti, Egle Andreina Rochira from Deloitte and Antonio Alessandrino from Silk Biomaterials, and the research and development staff of ‘University of Milan regarding the innovative MULTIBIOCOAT project, directed by Professor Stefano Farris and relating to the food packaging sector, which was among the winners of the # Seed4Innovation program.

EVO-HAND

On Wednesday 15 December 2021, the first operational meeting took place between the new UNIMI Foundation Mentor Team, composed of our President Fabio Manenti, Anna Tiberi and Nicola Cattarossi, and the research and development staff of the University of Milan. regarding the EVO – HAND project, directed by Professor Riccardo Guidetti, relating to the agri-tech sector, which was among the winners of the # Seed4Innovation program.