Valio's Evolus now available in South Korea

Valio's drinking yoghurt that reduces the blood pressure has come ashore in South Korea.

Evolus products are fermented milks rich in bioactive peptides formed from milk protein during controlled fermentation by specific lactic acid bacteria. The peptides have been proven to help control blood pressure.

Valio's South Korean co-partner, Maeil Dairy, has previously launched the health-promoting probiotic Lactobacillus GG strain and lactose-free milk onto the market under licence.

"The opening up of the licensing market in Asia is of importance to Valio," reports Kalle Leporanta, the customer service and marketing manager. "The growth potential is considerable because, for example, about 80-90 per cent of the population suffer from lactose intolerance."

www.valio.com

Plant-derived pharmaceuticals

The Finnish-Belgian biotechnological company Solucel Oy has developed a biotechnological production method that can be used for finding new plant-based pharmaceuticals and improving their production.

Plant-based pharmaceuticals are often plants' own defence mechanisms for looking after their own health. These substances are formed in the plants in their natural surroundings, but in small amounts only.

In the development of a drug, Solucel uses a biotechnological method developed in cooperation with VTT and the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology in Belgium and offering entirely new potential in finding pharmaceuticals and making their production more efficient.

"Less than ten per cent of the world's plants have been studied, so there is still a great deal to be found out," says Kirsi-Marja Oksman-Caldenty, chief research scientist at VTT.

A quarter of the world's pharmaceuticals are derived from nature. For example, the most effective of today's cancer drugs are to be found in the microbe and plant world. Annual sales of plant-based pharmaceuticals total some 33 billion euros.

www.solucel.com

EvoStem helps horses

Evostem Finland Oy develops and makes products based on stem-cell technology that can be used cost-effectively for curing injuries to animals' locomotor organs.

With the EvoStem method the animal's recovery time is the same as in traditional operations but the outcome is better and more certain. The market is extensive because some 46 per cent of horses involved in sport suffer from tendon trouble. Those European countries where horses are popular account on their own for more than 100,000 horses in active use.

Behind the company is a well-known line-up, highly esteemed in its field, which has been carrying out top-grade research into stem-cell technology, veterinary medicine and biomaterials for years.

www.evostem.com

Dry disinfection brings improvement

The DDS dry disinfection of Oy o3systems Ltd, which won the Productive Idea competition in October, cleans a room's air and surfaces and removes odours.

A combination of four physical methods that disinfect powerfully destroys harmful microbes and other impurities. The disinfection agents used by the company are UVC light, negative ions, OH radicals and ozones.

According to tests and surveys commissioned by the company, which specializes in indoor-air technology, the tidal air and surfaces are 90 per cent purer thanks to dry disinfection. The method also destroys microbes such as viruses, bacteria, moulds and their spores.

The Productive Idea competition of the Junior Chamber International Finland, which seeks to promote creative corporate activity, has just been held for the 28th time.

www.o3systems.fi

Molecular medicine research centre under the same roof

The University of Helsinki will be establishing a molecular medicine research centre at Meilahti in Helsinki to study the genetic, environmental and lifestyle background of diseases. The centre will start operating at the beginning of 2007.

The centre will serve as a hub for research into molecular medicine and for research infrastructure in the field. The centre's task is to internationalize research into Finnish national diseases and molecular medicine. The centre will employ 200 leading scientists in the field.

The centre will work in cooperation with molecular medicine research centres that will be established in Sweden and Norway. These centres will also network with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory.

Journey into Space for Finland's most expensive radio

The sensitive and high frequency radio receiver developed for the Planck probe by VTT is complete. The receiver will be used to measure cosmic microwave background radiation originating from the early life of the Universe, determining issues such as its age and structure.

The Planck probe, an undertaking of the European Space Agency (ESA), has a 1.5-metre radio telescope and two receivers, one measuring lower frequencies, the other higher. Finns developed and constructed the most demanding components in the low-frequency receiver. The development was led by VTT, and the Finnish company Elektrobit Microwave was responsible for the construction and testing of the receiver.

The radio receivers are at present being installed in the probe, which will be launched into Space in 2008. The cost of the radio is 8 million euros.

The technology that has been developed can already be used for security checks, detecting vehicles through fog, and telecommunications applications. It is also suitable for high-precision cloud radars and for making astronomical discoveries.

www.vtt.fi

Valio's Evolus helps control blood pressure.