50 Minutes coverage on TB Epidemic, Diagnosis and Fluorobot Innovation on leading Hungarian Radio Channel, Kossuth Rádió

As a further sign of interest from the press in the innovation potential and success of Fluorobot, the reporter of Kossuth Rádió, Ágnes Szalai,  edited a 2 x 25 minutes review of the TB landscape, with special emphasis on Fluorobot, based on  interviews with four stakeholders

• Dr. Gabriella Kádár, Head of Department at Korányi National TB and Pulmonolgy Institute
• Dr. Nóra Szabó, Head of the Hungarian National TB Reference Laboratory, cooperating since the beginning with Consultask team on the Fluorobot project
• Donát Kiss, CEO of Consultask Ltd, the source of the project, and founder of predecessor company ASK previously involved in robotic microscopy projects
• Antal Bélafi, CEO of ASK-M Ltd, the technology partner and future manufacturing partner of Fluorobot, an earlier sister company of ASK Ltd in the 90s, producing cutting edge precision mechanics and optical devices.

As Dr. Ákos Somoskövi, one of the original „parents” of the project from the early 90s, could not be interviewed due to his trip in South East Asia, as a TB expert, his involvement and references to his background were mentioned in the program.

The original archived tracks of the radio broadcast can be listened to (in Hungarian) at the following links: (by clicking on the name of the program at 14.35 „Tér-Idő”)

http://hangtar.radio.hu/kossuth#!#2015-06-08 

http://hangtar.radio.hu/kossuth#!#2015-06-09

Fluorobot featured in leading Hungarian Business Magazine,

The fact that Fluorobot has been successful in the first round of Phase I. Financing of the H2020 SME Instrument has attracted the interest, among others, of the Hungarian Business Press. The weekly business magazine Figyelő, has devoted a full page report, based on an interview with Mr. Donát Kiss, CEO of Consultask Ltd, the initiator of the whole project, several years ago.

As the project was submitted by ConsultASK’s technology partner and future manufacturer, ASK-M and innovation management partner Ateknea Solutions Ltd, it is regarded as a good example of cutting edge Hungarian innovative projects being measured and appreciated by objective international standards in a very crowded race.

In the meantime the successful completion of Phase I. was reported to the EU and accepted, and preparatory work is ongoing for successful submission of Phase II. application.

The whole article can be read (in Hungarian) at the following link:

http://figyelo.hu/cikkek/419311-vegre-levegohoz-jutnak

FLUOROBOT EU Phase II. Application
– submitted by our technology partner, ASK-M –
joins the prestigious “Seal of Excellence” Club!

As we have published it earlier, Fluorobot project has been, and is going to be, submitted to the EU’s new R&D and innovation oriented, H2020 SME Instrument, aiming a financing input from this programme.

We have successfully been selected for the Phase I. application, and have completed that ahead of schedule, within 5 months. Our Final Report has been duly accepted.

As a follow-up, we have submitted the project for Phase II. Application, and have met all thresholds that are necessary to be able to receive funding, based on a short list and the amount of available funds. The proof of this, the Seal of Excellence, has been issued by the EU, after the cutoff.

Unfortunately, or fortunately for the EU innovation scenario, there was such a huge amount of applicants, and as the available funding is limited and pre-decided, in each chapter, only 3 out of 246 (!!) submitted proposals in this chapter, were allocated funding at the last cut-off date of this particular programme.

Nevertheless, those projects which have reached the very demanding threshold levels in all the required aspects, (overall 12/15) (Impact, Excellence and Quality and Efficiency of Implementation), or have even substantially over-performed them (13,63/15 in our case) can run for the next submissions, and there is also a decision by the EU, to increase the funding of this SME Instrument, due to the huge interest. (more then 1900 applications submitted lately).

ASK-M , together with Consultask and Ateknea Solutions, conform to the commitment, has completed and submitted the final report of the Phase I. of the EU H2020 SME Instrument, Clinical Validaton topic, where it has been selected for funding.

As the project is in the Technology Readiness Level required by the EU Call, we did not require the available 6 months time to accomplish and document this Phase, but have prepared all required documentation within 3 months. The report has been submitted in January, according to the originally voluntarily suggested deadline.

The report has been approved, the second (final) instalment of the funding is under processing, and the Team is preparing for submission for Phase II.

Due to the maturity of the project and the experience behind the current status, this is probably going to be one of the first Phase II submissions, following successful completion of Phase I. This is conform to the intention of the EU, completing the 3 Phases in succession, despite the possibility to apply directly for Phase II. We sincerely hope, that this circumstances, and mainly the scientific, technological and business potential merits of the project, together with the professionalism of our partners, will lead to a successful Phase II application.

ASK-M, the technology partner of Consultask, assisted by Ateknea Solutions in the project management, has signed the H2020 SME Instrument Phase I. grant agreement, following it being selected in the first Phase I. funding round, for the Fluorobot – robotic TB screening microscope – project.

As the Technology Readiness Level of the Fluorobot project is well advanced, we have committed to submitting the report without using the maximum available timeframe, before the end of the year.

We sincerely hope that the successful completion of the Phase I deliverable, a feasibility study preparing the clinical validation in Phase II., will be followed by a successful application for the further phases of this, very useful and necessary, SME Instrument of the EU H2020.

FLUOROBOT, selected for funding for Phase I. of the H2020 SME Instrument of the EU, featured in 1 hour broadcast of Hungarian radio, economic program.

The members of the Fluorobot team, participating in the project submitted and accepted in Phase I. of he EU’s new H2020 SME Instrument, PHC12 call, were the guests of a regular 1 hour morning program, specialized on economic issues, on Jazzy radio, the 9th of September. ASK-M Ltd, the company offered funding was represented by Antal Bélafi Managing Director, ConsultASK Ltd, the initiator of the project, by Donát Kiss Managing Director, while the innovation management partner Ateknea Solutions by Attila Wootsch, Regional Director.

You can listen to the full broadcast (in Hungarian) from here.

Fluorobot, the world’s only dedicated robotic microscope for TB screening, managed by Consultask in collaboration with technology partner ASK-M Ltd and Ateknea Solutions, has been selected for H2020 SME EU Funding, in first round of calls.

The Fluorobot development project, now reaching mature stages, ready for independent evaluation, is among the 155 projects selected by the EU, within its  H2020 SME Instrument PHC12 Program, awarded funding for Phase I. Successful completion of Phase I. will allow the participants to submit a proposal for carrying out the validation studies in Phase II.

An unexpectedly high number of proposals (2666) have been submitted to this new H2020 SME instrument, directly accessible for innovative SMEs, where the first cut-off date of PHC12 Program Call was mid June.

In-line with EU objectives, the decision and the process of concluding the contract are considerably speeded up. Of the 2602 projects that met the formal requirements, 155 were preselected to be offered financing in the totality of 11 topics. It is worthwhile to note, that Fluorobot is the only Biomarker and Medical Device project that  passed threshold, from the new member states. In this topic, only 11 countries have submitted successful proposals, 10 being EU member states.

It is a particular honor for us, and a very important feedback concerning the importance and credibility of the project, that Fluorobot is among the mere 24 projects in this chapter, reaching the required threshold and qualified feasible for funding.

Hungary has submitted 166 proposals, and 3 were accepted for financing, 1 in this Program, 1 in the Food and 1 in the Low Carbon program. The only Hungarian Diagnostic project that was successful is Fluorobot, submitted by our technology partner ASK-M, in collaboration with our partner Ateknea Solutions, highly experienced in innovation management and EU funded projects.

As the EU has commented this first decision of the SME instrument, the reason for being very selective was that only the “champions of innovation” can succeed.

On the occasion of this remarkable success, we would like to thank all the contributors of the project for the hard work during these past years, especially our technology partner ASK-M, and our innovation management partner Ateknea Solutions. We welcome that in the new 7 years budget period, the EU has introduced such accessible and fast moving instruments for R&D and Innovation funding, as this SME Instrument. We believe the best return we can promise is introducing Fluorobot on the market soon!