Work Synopsis:

• Pedro Moreno

  Pedro Moreno is an Industrial Engineer and holds a European PhD degree in Computational Mechanics from the University of Zaragoza (Spain). He has also studied at the University of Compiègne (France) and the University of Oxford (United Kingdom).

  Moreno has received the Third National Career Award in Industrial Engineering from the Ministry of Education and Science (2005), the Exceptional Career Award from the University of Zaragoza, as well as the prizes for best academic Record in industrial engineering and chemical engineering (2005) from the Chair “Mariano López Navarro” of the University of Zaragoza.

  He has also been involved in R&D in the field of biomedical engineering at national and European alevels and has published papers in various journals.
  
  

• Ángel Sampietro

  Angel Sampietro graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Zaragoza (Spain) and holds a degree in dentistry from the University of Valencia (Spain). Since 1991 he has been working in a private orthodontic clinic. He is a Senior Registrar/Medical Consultant in the Department of Craniofacial Deformities at the University Hospital Miguel Servet in Zaragoza.

  He is also an associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Valencia, and collaborates with the Department of Surgery, Gynaecology and Obstetrics at the University of Zaragoza. Sampietro, who has received several awards, regularly gives presentations at conferences and has published a number of medical books and scientific articles.
  
  

• Victor Alastrué

  Victor Alastrue is an industrial engineer and has a European PhD in Computational Mechanics from the University of Zaragoza (Spain). He also studied at the Institut für Mechanik und Regelungstechnik at the University of Siegen (Germany).

  Alastrué received the Special Prize for Best PhD thesis in mechanical engineering from the University of Zaragoza (2009) and has participated in several research projects receiving European as well as national, regional and private funding. He has published in international journals and participated in various conference proceedings.
  
  

  
  
   

Work title: EBERS

EBERS is a young biotech company founded in June 2009 dedicated to the design, manufacture and marketing of laboratory equipment for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

The company is a spin-off of the University of Zaragoza, created to market commercial applications resulting from research carried out by the university. EBERS designs, manufactures and markets bioreactors specifically designed for use in tissue engineering - a branch of regenerative medicine which aims to regenerate in vitro biological substitutes that can replace damaged or lost organs or tissues.

The standard procedure involves removing cells from a patient, seeding them on a three-dimensional substrate which is then placed in a special culture device called a bioreactor. After a few weeks replacement tissue is obtained which can then be implanted in the patient.

Bioreactors are key elements in the regeneration process. They make it possible to cultivate cells on three-dimensional substrates for extended periods, generating the required tissue.

EBERS currently offers bioreactors for the regeneration of bone and blood vessels. In addition to controlling variables such as culture temperature, the equipment also ensures proper distribution of nutrients within the tissue as well as mechanically stimulating the cells in the same way as they are stimulated in the human body. The unique design of this range of bioreactors ensures excellent flexibility because with minimal investment the same equipment can be re-used for the regeneration of different types of tissue.

EBERS, which has already started marketing the equipment on the domestic market, plans to present its products internationally at the World Conference on Regenerative Medicine to be held in late October 2009 in Leipzig (Germany). The aim is to immediately begin selling the bioreactors in Europe and in the short to medium term to gain access to North American and Asian markets.

Origins

EBERS has its origins in research conducted by members of GEMM (Group of Structures and Materials Modeling) from the Institute of Engineering Research of Aragon (I3A), University of Zaragoza. This multidisciplinary group is composed of engineers, physicians and biologists under the direction of Manuel Doblaré. Professor Doblaré is currently Scientific Director of the Center for Biomedical Research Network in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) and recently received the Aragon Research Award for Research Excellence. The group has been working in the field of Biomedical Engineering for more than a decade.

Their research, both basic and applied, focuses on the design of implantable medical devices, the development of software for virtual simulation and surgical planning in various fields of medicine, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

Team sponsors

The two main promotors of the company are Pedro Moreno, CEO and Victor Alastrue, director of R&D. They both completed their doctoral thesis in the GEMM group and turned their backs on an academic career in order to run EBERS. The company continues to maintain close links with the GEMM research group, both in scientific and economic terms. Together they develop new products and technologies while several members are also shareholders of EBERS. Also on the company's promotional team is Angel Sampietro, a dentist and physician who specializes in craniofacial deformities. He is a shareholder and a clinical and medical consultant of EBERS.