Issue 7 2020

delivery of immuno-active drugs. For such drugs in particular, aside from the improved convenience (“no needles”), also the efficacy and/ or safety of some auto-immune therapies might be improved, so the benefit of the technology is double. The new drug delivery approach from BioLingus may lead to substantial health-economic benefits. While most innovations make products more expensive, the BioLingus technology might make the products more affordable, which is an additional benefit of the technology. So it would allow for some of these products not only to be affordable for patients in “rich countries” with good healthcare systems, but also for third world countries. Hence this “technical innovation” also holds the promise of becoming a “social innovation”. This would make not only the patients happy, but also the “payors”, such as governments reimbursing these products. Company: BioLingus Contact: Yves Decadt Web Address: www.biolingus.ch Dec19052 Inspired By Nature Nature always finds a better way. For the team at BioLingus, it’s simply a matter of working out what it is. For this biotech team, natural solutions could revolutionise the delivery of drugs. It has led to amazing success in Corporate Vision’s Corporate Excellence Awards, where the company has been named as Europe’s Leading Biotechnology Specialists, 2020. We take a closer look to find out more about this innovative company. The team at BioLingus wants to change the world. Privately owned and based in Switzerland, the team have pioneered exciting new technologies that allows development of non-invasive delivery of biological drugs (“non-invasive” meaning in this case “without injection”). Currently, the team is leveraging its technology to develop the oral (sublingual) delivery of peptides and proteins for chronic diseases, such as diabetes and auto-immune disorders. Many patients with such disease (e.g. certain diabetes patients) have to take injections every day for the rest of their life. With the BioLingus drug delivery innovation, these patients would not have to take these daily injections anymore, but could take a daily pill under the tongue instead, i.e. “sublingual”. At the heart of the process, is a natural approach that sets the firm apart from its competitors. Taking inspiration from how the seeds of plants stabilize sensitive biological materials, the team has created a way in which to preserve and stabilize proteins for a long time. BioLingus’ technology mimics the behavior of these plant seeds, using advanced techniques to stabilize biological molecules for a long time. Recently, the team also has worked on a ‘liquid’ formation instead of a pill, allowing to better “individualize” doses. Sublingual administration of drugs involves placing the newly developed drugs under the tongue, where it can be diffused into the bloodstream or in the lymphatic circulation. While not so common as the traditional “oral” administration, sublingual administration is particularly beneficial for biological drugs. It also brings the benefit of being ideal for the The new drug delivery approach from BioLingus may lead to substantial health- economic benefits. While most innovations make products more expensive, the BioLingus technology might make the products more affordable, which is an additional benefit of the technology.