Tech Transfer Atelier 2
by Orange Grove
powered by Science-2-Business
Tech Transfer Atelier 2 took place from December 2025 until June 2026 and was the 2nd cycle of the"Tech Transfer Atelier" acceleration program of Orange Grove, which has been designed and is carried out by Science-2-Business | the Hive, upon assignment by Orange Grove.
Beneficiaries & Tech Transfer Cases
Empowering ABCURED (DUTH Spin-Off) and its LPancreas diagnostic technology
The Tech Transfer Case
Τhe Tech Transfer Case on ABCURED Spin-off was a case of (a) Spin-off operational and investability readiness and of (b) Uni-Spin-off framework efficiency. The case consisted of 2 segments: (a) Practical assistance to the Spin-off team: contributing to its operational maturity and its investment readiness (b) Assisting TTO & Spin-off in setting up a more efficient framework for IP management & Uni-Spin-off relationship in view of investment
The Tech Transfer Atelier team provided strategic guidance & hands-on support throughout a critical phase of its business operation and fundraising
Technology commercialised by Spin-off & Intellectual Property
Technology
ABCURED was established as a DUTH spin-off to develop the LPancreas diagnostic product, an innovative precision diagnostic solution for diabetes, by commercializing the LPancreas technology, the first patented - internationally protected - application of an innovative biomedical discovery and diagnostics platform co-developed by Professor Ekaterini Alexiou Chatzaki.
The platform is a next-generation precision diagnostics technology that integrates in vitro biomarker analysis, in silico analysis of biological data, artificial intelligence, and clinical validation to develop and deploy personalized diagnostic solutions.LPancreas – i.e. The technology under exploitation by the Spin-off - is the platform's first patented application, addressing diabetes.
LPancreas will establish the foundation for futurediagnostic applications in other disease areas through the platform.
Patent
The technology under commercialisation has international IP protection, with patents and patent applications in the USPTO, the EPO and other jurisdictions
Beneficiaries (Professors, Researchers) Institution & TTO
Core Beneficiary Professor & additional support to other beneficiaries
The core beneficiary was Katerina Alexiou-Chatzaki, Professor of Pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine of the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), who is the initiator, co-founder & CEO of ABCURED Spin-off and inventor of the innovative technology commercialised by the Spin-off (as described below).
Another beneficiary of the programme has also been the legal advisor of the Spin-off, who participated in most of the activities.
Additionally, the programme provided consultations to Theodosis Theodosiou, co-founder and DUTH Researcher and to DUTH Assistant Professor Makrina Karaglani, co-inventor and Spin-off collaborator.
Tech Transfer Professional
The Head of the Technology Transfer Office, Anastasia Berberoglou benefitted from the support of the Tech Transfer Atelier in the area of IP management, Uni-Spin-off framework efficiency and relationship management with investors and other stakeholders.
The contribution of Tech Transfer Atelier
Areas of Support
Working closely with the founder and CEO, the founding team and the University’s Technology Transfer Office (TTO), the Tech Transfer Atelier support covered:
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strategic decision-making,
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governance and founder alignment,
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negotiation capability development,
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refinement of the Go-to-Market strategy,
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team empowerment
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investor readiness, including preparation of the investment pitch and facilitation of discussions with venture capital funds, as well as
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management of intellectual property issues &
advisory support or adjustments to the spin-off agreement during the investment process.
Additional benefits for the TTO of DUTH
Beyond the immediate progress of the company, the Atelier also generated substantial capacity-building benefits for the University's Technology Transfer Office. Through learning-by-doing and active participation in a real spin-off investment case, the TTO strengthened its practical capabilities in:
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supporting complex university spin-offs,
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the relevant intellectual property management,
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stakeholder coordination, legal and contractual negotiations & interactions with investors and
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the facilitation of multi-party decision-making processes.
This experience further reinforced the Office's ability to support future technology commercialisation and spin-off development cases.
Benefits & Impact
for Beneficiaries and Spin-off
The programme helped transform the company's approach from addressing isolated operational challenges to a more coherent business operation and refine its investment strategy.
In particular, the TT Atelier programme:
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Contributed to strengthening the founder's strategic leadership, reactivating decision-making processes within the company,
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Helped the Founder and the TTO to clarify and re-define the key elements of the commercialisation strategy,
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Helped improve the company's preparedness for investor discussions, managing (and reducing) legal and investment risks, and
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Facilitated constructive collaboration
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Between Professor Chatzaki and the Technology Transfer Office & university legal counsel as well as
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Among the Spin-off, the TTO and the potential investors.
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Through this integrated support, ABCureD significantly strengthened its business operations and investment readiness during a pivotal stage of its development
The overall contribution
Overall, the ABCURED case demonstrated the value of an integrated technology transfer support model that extends beyond traditional advisory services. The Tech Transfer Atelier contributed not only to the advancement of a single spin-off, but also to strengthening the institutional capacity required to support the successful commercialisation of research-based innovation by combining: (a) technology transfer,, (b) business development & venture-building support, (c) stakeholder facilitation and (d) investment readiness support into a coordinated intervention.
Reinforcing readiness for IP exploitation activities on BACTRO-HIT antimicrobial technology
The Tech Transfer Case
BACTRO-HIT is a patented technology in the field of antimicrobial resistance, based on a patent co-owned by the Hellenic Pasteur Institut (HPI) and the NCSR “Demokritos” (NCSRD). The Tech Transfer Case on BACTRO-HIT was a case of capacity building, advisory & practical support on:
1. consolidating the HPI approach on the exploitation strategy for the co-owned Patent, 2. enhancing the readiness of the HPI Researcher & tech transfer officer (TTO) for potential negotiation with prospective licensee/assignee and 3. reinforcing the HPI Researcher & TTO capacity to manage effectively coordination with the patent co-owner, NCSRD.
Technology -Invention
Patent & Inventors
Technology- Invention
BACTRO-HIT (IDACYD): a patented therapeutic technology which addresses the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), by restoring the effectiveness of antibiotics against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria producing metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs), enzymes that can render important β-lactam antibiotics ineffective. By overcoming bacterial resistance mechanisms, the technology enables existing antibiotics to regain their activity against otherwise highly resistant pathogens
Patent & Inventors
The BACTRO-HIT patent (IDACYD) is owned jointly by HPI and NCSRD. Dr Vivi Miriagkou is a co-inventors of BACTRO-HIT, jointly with another 4 researchers: a researcher & former research associate ofHPI and a research director and former research associate NCSRD.
Beneficiary (Researcher)
Institution & TTO
Beneficiary Researcher - Inventor
Dr. Vivi Miriagou is a Research Director and Head of the Laboratory of Bacteriology at the Hellenic Pasteur Institute (HPI), internationally recognized for her expertise in molecular microbiology, antimicrobial resistance, and DNA-based diagnostic methods.
Tech Transfer Professional
Dr. Dimitra Toubanaki, Tech Transfer Lead of HPI participated actively and benefited from the support of the Tech Transfer Atelier.
The contribution of Tech Transfer Atelier
Objectives & Form of Support
Objectives
The Tech Transfer Atelier aimed at advising and empowering the HPI Researchera & TTO in the activation and acceleration of an already established commercialization discussion for potential license or assignment of Bactro-HIT. Moreover, the support aimed at improving the effectiveness of coordination with the co-owner of the patent, NCSR “Demokritos” and its TTO.
Form of Support
The TT Atelier team provided strategic guidance to the HPI Researcher & TTO, prepared documentation and offered hands-on organizational support. Guidance & support was provided to both the beneficiary researcher-inventor as well to the tech transfer officer adapted to their specific concerns and needs in handling specific challenges of the ongoing exploitation case.
The support focused on (a) assessing the negotiation dynamics and available exploitation routes, (b) identifying potential structure of possible licensing or assignment scenarios and (c) preparing concrete tools such as draft emails, a Term Sheet/Collaboration Outline. In parallel, alternative exploitation options were explored, including potential licensing or co-development discussions with scale up company in the antimicrobial resistance field.
Moreover, the support provided advice on aligning the two Greek patent co-owners around a common approach
Additional benefits for the TTO of HPI
Beyond our impact on the progress of the Bactro-HIT case, the Atelier also delivered a significant capacity-building benefit for the TTO: Through learning-by-doing, the technology transfer officer gained practical experience in:
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stakeholder management,
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negotiation, persuasion, handling disagreements,
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interpreting counterpart behaviour, and
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turning informal discussions into structured negotiation frameworks.
Thus, we contributed in strengthening overall the Institute’s ability to manage similar complex technology transfer cases more effectively in the future.
Results & Benefits for the Tech Transfer Case & the Researcher-Inventor
The TT Atelier support helped move the HPI Researcher & TTO from a waiting position to a more proactive and structured exploitation approach, empowering the Researcher for future collaborations.
Additionally, the program contributed to creating a first written basis for the HPI for potential use on future negotiations. Moreover, the TT Atelier provided hands-on advice to HPI Researcher & TTO when the patent co-owners made a coordinated effort to re-activate discussions with the prospective licensee/assignee. The patent co-owners -with an aligned strategic approach- managed to re-activate the TTO of the prospective licensee/assignee, instigating an initial reaction after considerable idle time, which revealed maturity and uncertainties of the proposed exploitation route.dditionally, by providing advice to the HPI in the alignment discussions between two patent co-owners, the TT Atelier contributed to more effective institutional collaboration, required for the next steps of the exploitation.
Tech Transfer Atelier
An overview
🔬 6 innovative tech transfer ventures were supported
👩🔬 8 researchers & 5 tech transfer professionals
🎯 86 one-on-one & group sessions delivered
💼 82 hours of targeted coaching & 42 hours of asynchronous support
by 10 Science-2-Business coaches.