Technoparks, created to bring together universities and industrialists, act as a locomotive in the development of new products while bringing science and production together.
One of them is Ankara University Technocity. There have been three major developments in the technocity recently that will reduce dependence on foreign countries, particularly in the area of healthcare. These developments will both shorten delivery times and speed up treatment processes.
They made collagen from beef tendons
Collagen, a protein that occurs naturally in the human body and forms bones, cartilage, fibers and joints, is used both for healing burns and wounds and for cosmetic rejuvenation.
Collagen has been mainly imported from abroad due to increasing interest in recent years. Now Ankara University Teknokent has started producing collagen from beef tendons.
“We managed to produce it in both dry and liquid form.”
Medbiotech's head of research and development, biologist Zeynep Yurtkuran Çeterez, said that collagen is necessary for the regeneration of skin and connective tissue and explained how it is produced.
“Collagen was primarily known as a dietary supplement. We have managed to create a form of it that is absorbed through the skin. Collagen produced as food is called hydrolyzed collagen. We produce what we call bioactive collagen, a structure that can maintain the cytoskeletal shape in its natural form. It therefore acts as a structural framework and ensures rapid healing of open wounds. Patients hospitalized with chronic wounds must spend a third of the year in the hospital. Since wound closure times are shortened by collagen, the opening of secondary wounds is prevented. We produce the raw materials ourselves and use them to make wound dressings. We have managed to produce it in both powder and dressing form, which we call dry, and gel and spray form, which we call liquid. Our powder and concealing products are used in surgical procedures. For example; When closing large wounds and burns, skin is taken from other parts of the body and transplanted. “Because bioactive collagen acts as a direct cover, it ensures blood flow and wound closure.”
It will also allay the “Halal” concern
Since collagen is derived from animals, there have been concerns about “halal” products from abroad.
Çeterez said: “In fact, it can be obtained from many different sources. Pork, chicken, fish. Here we only get beef tendons. We also don't use leather. We use collagen types 1-3. The reason we chose beef tendon; “Firstly, it is halal, secondly, it carries the lowest risk of disease,” he says.
There won't be a long wait
Another product purchased mainly abroad was the “medium” in which cell proliferation was carried out. This kit is used to produce and multiply cells derived from humans or other living beings. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, its importance in vaccine development studies has been better understood.
Another important point is stem cell treatments. In cases where stem cell treatment is required, a small number of cells taken from the individual must be propagated and reintroduced. The medium required for this was brought from abroad and a waiting period of 6-8 weeks was required. Teknokent-based company Bioen managed to produce local media.
Cell proliferation kit
Bioen Engineering Production Manager Muhammed Sifatullah, who developed the kit, provided the following information:
“After COVID, the company started producing cell culture media to reduce dependence on foreign countries. We managed to develop 12 kinds of products. Media is used in treatments such as stem cells and cancer. The delivery time was, if you were lucky, 6 weeks and they came from abroad. Now the cost has been reduced by half and it will be available quickly. “If we put a thousand cells in these kits, we can get 1-2 million cells within 3 days.”
Detection of latent SMA carriers
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) has become a disease that has gained a lot of attention in recent years, especially on social media. There was also a development regarding this disease in Technocity.
Alparslan Koçubez, R&D planning and production manager at REFGEN, said that previously there were many imports in the field of molecular diagnostics, but they aimed to increase domestic and national production.
“We were the first in the world to do it”
Koçubez explained that significant progress has been made through their work in developing solutions for the diagnosis of SMA, COVID, respiratory pathogens and rare diseases of genetic origin:
“With a project supported by TUBITAK, we have developed for the first time a sequencing kit to detect the hidden carrier we call 2+0. We successfully completed it last month. To date, there has been no new generation sequencing kit for SMA, which we call NGS. We can say that we were the first in the world to do it. But there were international manufacturers of PCR-based, polymer chain-based diagnostic kits all over the world. We believe we add value.”
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