QuoNova

XL TechGroup established its fifth portfolio company - QuoNova LLC - in December 2006.

Designed to commercialize proprietary Quorum Sensing Blocker (“QSB”) technology, QuoNova's platform has applications in controlling bacterial biofilm growth in multiple multibillion dollar markets. Commercial opportunities lie in the development and licensing of products in the consumer (e.g. oral care) and industrial (e.g. water purification) sectors, as well as anti-biofilm coatings for medical devices and therapeutics (e.g. chronic lung infections), and there are further applications in the healthcare, consumer and industrial environments. This disruptive technology has already been extensively evaluated in model systems where evidence of its utility for multiple applications has been shown.

The QSB technology consists of substances that modulate the communication system known as quorum sensing, used by bacteria to initiate colonization and transfer from planktonic to communal forms (biofilms). Bacterial biofilms are harmful in many situations in healthcare such as chronic lung and other infections, wound healing, surgical implants and dental plaque, in contamination of surfaces in the home, and in food, industrial and hospital settings as well as in the water, power and oil industries.

Biofilm inhibitors have potential as consumer healthcare products, particularly in oral and optical care, and as therapeutics in infection, while avoiding the development of bacterial drug resistance. In addition, they can be incorporated on surfaces and in substrates for application in wound dressings, medical devices, consumer white goods, water purification and pipeline corrosion control.

The breadth of QuoNova's technology has put the company in a leading position to achieve a breakthrough in addressing the ever increasing need for safer, more effective agents in the global fight against infection and the damage caused by bacterial biofilms.

XL TechGroup and QuoNova are already in discussions with a number of global multinational strategic partners and potential end users.

A new website for QuoNova is under development.