Consortium Partners

People

Company partners

Afekta Technologies
Afekta Technologies is a Finnish start-up company specialized in analyzing small molecules from biological samples with a modern technology called metabolomics. Metabolomics is a versatile tool that can be used to analyze biological samples: extracellular vehicles, food, tissue samples, blood, hair, cellular cultures – you name it, we can analyze it! We provide metabolomics services for both industry and academia, wherever there is need for untargeted, wide-scale analysis of metabolites from any kind of sample.
 
Biobank of Eastern Finland
The Biobank of Eastern Finland (BBEF) is a hospital biobank located at the Kuopio University Hospital. Our purpose is to collect and enable access to samples and related data from consent givers throughout Eastern Finland, a genetically unique isolated population, forming an invaluable asset for health research. Biobanks enlarge their assortment to meet forthcoming requirements with high quality material and services. We aim to define the qualifications for optimal vesicle related biobank resources and furthermore expand this to become a national service. This will make Finnish biobanks more appealing to researchers not only in Finland but also internationally. 

BioNavis
BioNavis Ltd is a Finnish manufacturer of measurement instruments. The instruments are routinely used for measurements of molecular interactions, nanoparticle and nanolayer characterization. The Multi-Parametric Surface Plasmon Resonance technology is scientifically proven in hundreds of publications on traditional affinity and kinetics studies as well as on thickness and refractive index determination studies of organic and inorganic materials. More recently, there are exciting publications on exosome sizing, subpopulation concentration from unpurified samples, exosome targeting and label-free measurements of exosome uptake by living cells. The aim is now to provide QC tools for this emerging field.
 
FinnAdvance
Finnadvance is a microtechnology and 3D biology solution company based in Oulu, Finland. Finnadvance is developing microfluidic organ-on-chips for pharmaceutical drug research and development. Our current focus is on developing blood-brain-barrier and vasculature on chips. 

Finnish Red Cross Blood Service
FRCBS is a non-profit organisation of professionals working together with the mission: “Creating Potential for Saving Life”. The FRCBS operates in blood collection, processing and producing blood derived product for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry. FRCBS provides tissue typing services and maintains registry of potential stem cell donors being part of the global network of national registries, and constantly develops cell-based therapies such as immune cell therapy and therapeutic cell -derived EVs. In the EVE Ecosystem, FRCBS will study novel use of those parts of blood that are not currently fully used focusing on blood cell derived EVs as novel therapeutics and as reference material.
 
Kaivogen
Kaivogen is a Finnish SME currently producing and selling protein coated microtiter plates, fluorescence reagents and buffer solutions. Kaivogen also provides customized plate coating service, labelling service for proteins, and customized reagent production services. Our main customers are IVD companies (OEM manufacturing of components for IVD assays and kits), followed closely by research foundations and academic research groups. Kaivogen is ISO9001 and ISO13485 certified. Within EVE consortium Kaivogen’s interest is in utilizing Kaivogen’s Upcon-technology as a research tool in the field of extra-cellular vesicles.
 
Orion Pharma
Orion is a globally operating Finnish pharmaceutical company – a builder of well-being. Orion develops, manufactures and markets human and veterinary pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. The company is continuously developing new drugs and treatment methods. The core therapy areas of Orion's pharmaceutical R&D are central nervous system (CNS) disorders, oncology, Finnish heritage rare diseases and respiratory diseases for which Orion develops inhaled Easyhaler® pulmonary drugs. Orion's net sales in 2019 amounted to EUR 1,051 million and the company had about 3,300 employees at the end of the year. Orion's A and B shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.

Timegate Instruments
Timegate Instruments Ltd was established in 2014 in Oulu, Finland. The company develops, manufactures, and commercializes time-gated Raman spectrometers based on patented Raman technology. The innovation is based on years of research at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Oulu University, from which Timegate has continued development to create an instrument for fast and easy material analysis aimed for different industries.

UPM-Kymmene
UPM Biomedicals is a leader in sustainable bio-based products, providing innovative tools and technology to Life Science and Clinical professionals to advance healthcare globally. Our products prepared from Birch wood pulp have been proven to be highly biocompatible with human cells and tissues. Current products include; GrowDex® hydrogel range for 3D cell culture with >150 assay protocols available, and GrowInk™ bioink range for 3D bioprinting suitable for use with any printer for applications such as tissue engineering. Our latest innovation FibDex® is an advanced one-time application wound dressing designed for efficient healing, patient comfort providing improved vascularity and skin quality.

Research Organisations

Tampere University
At Tampere University the research is conducted by the Supramolecular Chemistry of Bio- and Nanomaterials team. The team is lead by Elina Vuorimaa-Laukkanen and the other members are post doc Ekaterina Lisitsyna and PhD students Kaisa Rautaniemi and Iida Haapalehto. The team is developing and implementing in situ methods for studying the interactions of extra cellular vesicles (EV) with live cells based on fluorescence lifetime microscopy (FLIM) and EVs labelled with environmentally sensitive fluorescent probes. We aim to develop novel ready-to-apply methods for studying EV – live cell interactions and the mechanisms EV-based of drug delivery process. 

University of Eastern Finland
Three health science research groups from the University of Eastern Finland are involved in the EVE project, which benefits from UEF research groups' expertise in vesicle biology, stem cell techniques and translational neuroscience and cancer research.
The aims of the UEF teams are to:
- use EVs as therapeutic vehicles and for biomarker discovery in neurodegenerative diseases
- set up a pipeline for EV-based biomarker discovery for cancer therapy resistance and tumor-stroma crosstalk
- develop a novel stem cell based model for the blood-brain barrier that is suitable especially for EV research

University of Helsinki
University of Helsinki is one of the world's leading multidisciplinary universities, featuring in the top 50–100 in university rankings. Three research groups of the University of Helsinki will contribute to the research in the EVE consortium, all groups complementing each other with their own focus area in the EVs or EV-related method development.
- Extracellular Vesicle research group lead by Adjunct Professor Pia Siljander
- Pharmaceutical Biophysics research group lead by Adjunct Professor Tapani Viitala
- Biopharmaceutics research group lead by Professor Marjo Yliperttula / Professor Timo Laaksonen

VTT
Biosensors Team at VTT is led by Research Team Leader Leena Hakalahti, PhD in Biochemistry. The team belongs to "Knowledge Intensive Products and Services" – business field at VTT and is closely connected to Printocent Infrastructure. Main objectives of the multidisciplinary group are development, fabrication and integration of diagnostic and analytical platforms, assay development and antibody discovery. In this project VTT will develop tools for EV characterization, isolation and detection. VTT will develop functional tools, including microfluidics, antibodies and sensing surfaces, which together with advanced optical measurement instruments will offer means for sensitive and specific characterization and detection of EVs.