Issue link: https://htpgraphics.uberflip.com/i/433487
The main commercialisation activity is through development to licence to the UK's number one contact lens solution supplier, which is in the top 100 growing companies in the UK and already had links to the University. The first product is likely to be a contact lens solution with a novel disinfectant which will be the first to be launched in at least 20 years and will have key advantages over previous formulations, most of whose disinfectants date from the 1950s. It will also be the world's first anti-microbial peptide commercialised for broad clinical applications. The world's first anti-microbial coated lens is also being developed. University collaboration as a core strategy has been 'in the genes' of Ai2 since its inception. Ai2 moved to the Core Technology Facility (CTF) in the University's Innovation Centre, UMIC, in 2011. The CTF is a key part of the high-tech company support in the Manchester area, providing state-of-the-art 'grow-on' space for biotechnology and hitech start-ups or SMEs. Further scientific collaborations with the University and with other universities are ongoing for next generation products in different application areas, such as oral care. www.a-i-2.com Ai2 has signed a development and licensing agreement with UK-based Sauflon Pharmaceuticals. Sauflon specialises in a variety of eye-related products and is interested in Ai2's antibacterial peptide technology. The contract will see Ai2's peptides being developed for use in a number of Sauflon's ophthalmic products, including contact lenses and contact lens cleaning solutions. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 ■ TALENT ■ CULTURE PLACE ■ HISTORY ■ SUPPORT ■ OPEN/INDUSTRY ORIENTATION ■ GLOBAL LINKS ■ RESEARCH Why Manchester? Chart illustrates the factors that influenced Ai2 17