The team of OWL Genomics, with the Basque
Minister of Health, Rafael Bengoa

The Basque biotechnology company OWL Genomics inaugurated its new headquarters in building 502 of the Technology Park of Bizkaia on 2 December, representing an important step in its expansion strategy. The inaugural ceremony was held in the presence of the Minister for Health and Consumer Affairs of the Basque Government, Rafael Bengoa, as well as other representatives of the Basque administration and of industry.

OWL Genomics is a biotechnology company that was founded in 2002, whose main aim is to identify diagnostic markers and therapy targets in complex diseases of great prevalence, with an initial focus on illnesses of the liver. In particular, the company is a reference point in the diagnosis of steatosis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. These illnesses are linked to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high levels of triglycerides, and in 20% of cases lead to serious liver diseases. As Julián Sánchez, managing director of the company, remarked, “it is estimated that between 2% and 5% of the population has non-alcoholic steatohepatitis”.

OWL Genomics has just launched onto the market the first method for in vitro diagnosis of this illness based on metabolomics, called owl liver, which determines the state of the illness via a simple blood test. It is an effective and non-invasive method that allows doctors to carry out a periodic check-up of patients without the costs and complications of other invasive diagnostic methods such as a hepatic biopsy. Currently, the company is developing diagnostic products for other common diseases.

The new headquarters of OWL Genomics in the Technology Park of Bizkaia has cost over a million euros, has a surface area of more than 600 m2 and, among other facilities, has a large area with state-of-the-art equipment and a modern laboratory for the preparation of samples.

The company has recently reinforced its shareholder base and its capital structure with the entry of the Iñigo Alvarez de Toledo Renal Foundation and an injection of resources by its main shareholders Cross Road Biotech and Seed Capital Bizkaia.

Moreover, OWL Genomics itself is also a shareholder in other Basque companies with activities that centre on biosciences and with technological developments related with metabolomics. It is thus the majority shareholder in MD Renal, which develops tools for the quantitative identification and determination of metabolites and the development of analysis software for metabolomic data. It also participates in Embryomics, a company that identifies the viability of pre-embryos in fertility treatment.