12 September 2016

PRESS RELEASE – After several months of productive R&D, MicroBio Solutions is currently completing the market validation stage for its food sanitizer through the development of commercial partnerships, thanks to the first round of funding led by Sherbrooke Innopole and the Accélérateur de création d’entreprises technologiques (ACET – Accelerator for the Creation of Technological Businesses).

Created in 2014, this young business, a spinoff of ACET, has developed a unique technological platform, designed to address food safety challenges. With an international patent pending, this platform is based on the synergetic combination of active molecules.

“This involves a unique, food-grade, disinfectant technology that provides unprecedented levels of effectiveness against a very broad spectrum of bacteria, viruses, and moulds,” emphasized François Daigle, Founding President of MicroBio Solutions. “Contrary to concentrated products currently used in the industry, our technology provides a combination of desirable benefits and features: it is odourless, colourless, tasteless, non-corrosive, biodegradable, and safe for use.”

In addition, the food sanitizer developed using MicroBio Solutions’ technological platform has obtained authorization from Health Canada to be used directly on food and working surfaces in contact with food. The product, BVM BioControl^©, is truly non-toxic – because it is easily metabolized by the human body – and does not represent any workplace health and safety risk. It has a double competitive advantage, because it can sanitize food, work surfaces, and equipment without requiring subsequent rinsing.

At this stage in its start-up, this Sherbrooke business is in the process of creating strategic partnerships with potential clients in the food processing industry for its flagship product, the concentrated sanitizer. “Discussions with major Québec players are progressing well,” indicated the entrepreneur, who also holds a PhD in Microbiology from the Université de Sherbrooke. “The objective for next year is to generate interest in markets concerned with food safety and to develop the technology’s commercial potential.”

To successfully carry out this important phase, MicroBio Solutions has obtained funding from Sherbrooke Innopole, through both the Seed Fund and the ACET Capital Fund. This young business, currently based at the Université de Sherbrooke’s Interdisciplinary Institute for Technological Innovation (3IT), is benefiting from the assistance of both ACET and Sherbrooke Innopole.

To Myriam Bélisle, Counsellor—Cleantech key sector at Sherbrooke Innopole: “MicroBio Solutions is proposing an effective, competitive solution that will benefit health, safety, and the environment. We are pleased to support this company in its market validation, an important step towards commercialization of this product. It is a young business led by a promoter who is determined to launch the results of its research on the market and to share its expertise to improve food biosecurity standards.”

Roger Noël, CEO of ACET and ACET Capital has stated: “ACET Capital is proud to invest in this technology of the future and its promoter. We are confident that the technological solution developed by MicroBio Solutions will have a major impact on the food safety sector. We believe that, with this new funding, MicroBio Solutions will be able to showcase the value of its product and convince businesses working in the food processing field to adopt it.”

The technology developed by MicroBio Solutions is very versatile and can be offered in a range of products (disinfectant, deodorant, cleaner), under various forms (foam, wipes, concentrate), and to several activity sectors in which food safety is involved (food processing, horticulture, agriculture, the commercial sector, and the home).

Source:  MicroBio Solutions, ACET and Sherbrooke Innopole