Description of the institution

 

IUCT is a high-tech company for industrial technological innovation aimed at developing, implementing and promoting new technologies in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and environmental fields. The research activity is focused on Biotechnology. Drug discovery, Drug development and Sustainable Chemistry with a special focus on design of safer chemicals.

Currently, IUCT is engaged in several R&D projects financially supported National programmes as well as the UE under the FP6 (e.g. FP6-IP-SME-SOLVSAFE Contract No 011771-2) or EUROSTAR (E!4400 DISC-SCREEN) and EUREKA (E! 7593 2G-BIOFUEL). IUCT is also carrying out more than 40 R&D projects by third parties under contract research.

IUCT  is considered a reference in sustainable chemistry in Spain, being the Spanish Chapter of the Green Chemistry Institute of the ACS and also one of the founding fathers of the Biobased Industry Consortium that are currently preparing a Public Private Partnership on Bioeconomy.

 IUCT Pipeline: IUCT has a large pipeline of products, processes and technologies, developed in all the areas of IUCT during the past 10 years protected by several patents and industrial secrecy I the fields of biotechnology, Drug discovery, Drug development and Green Chemistry.

The business activity within IUCT is based on the technology transfer and the development of R&D project under contract. Although IUCT has not capabilities for production, several agreement with other chemical and pharmaceutical companies make possible industrial production.

The Development of the IUCT R&D project has led to the approval of 18 patents and 6 more under writing.

Role in the project

General coordination. IUCT will be involved in the purification of glycerol (WP1, task 1.4)) and development of Glycerol acetal esters as new Biofuels (WP2, task 2.6 and task 2.7) surfactants (WP3, task 3.1 and 3.2)

Key personnel

Dr. Josep Castells: Chemist. CEO and General Manager of IUCT,S.A. Doctorate in Organic Synthesis and Post-Doc at Univ. of California, Berkeley. Leader of more than 7 projects supported by Spanish Ministry, one Eureka Project and one Craft project. More than 10 international publication, 12 Patents, 15 communications and presentations in congresses. The fields of specialisation combinatorial are chemistry green chemistry and synthesis of natural products. He has coordinated the development of many chemical and pharmaceutical industry.

Dr. Rafael Montilla Arévalo: PhD on Pharmacy. Porfessor in microbiology, University of Barcelona from 1990 to 2001. Associate research on biotechnology, University of Maryland, 1994. Currently Director of the Industrial Biotechnogy Department of IUCT. He has more than 20 publications and 5 patents at IUCT.

Dr. Roberto Horcajada: Chemist. International Project Coordinator: BcC at Alcalá University (Spain), PhD at Queen Mary, University of London (UK), Post-Doc at Kyoto University (Japan). More than 6 articles and 10 communications. He is in charge of the day-by-day coordination of FP projects (e.g. FP6-IP SOLVSAFE Contract No 011774).