Finland’s VTT spins off Zora

04 Jul 2007 | News

Spin-out created

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has spun off Zora Biosciences Oy, the only company in the Nordic countries to offer metabolomics services to drug developers. Zora also develops biomarkers, which, for example, make it possible to detect early signs of cardiovascular disease.

Zora’s business model is twofold: the company will provide services to the pharmaceutical industry in the area of metabolomics and associated bioinformatics, while developing prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers for human diseases as well as drug safety and efficacy monitoring.

At present, Zora’s biomarker portfolio includes a one for screening patients susceptible to side effects of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. The company is developing prognostic and diagnostics tools for improved healthcare management of diabetes and coronary artery disease, among other indication areas.

Zora has been funded by VTT, Slovenian private investor Gomar D.D. and Seedcap II Ky, managed by Innofinance Oy .

“Zora has strong potential for rapid business growth and internationalisation, which has attracted a committed investor base for the company,” says Reini Hurme, CEO.


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