An innovative Bulgarian company has developed a molecule for the treatment of various types of coronavirus. This was announced by the Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Sofia Tech Park Kostadin Petkov during the emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers regarding the situation with the flu epidemic and the COVID-19 prevention measures.
“Sofia Tech Park, with all its potential, is involved in working to resolve the problems that arise on a daily basis in relation to the critical situation. We are currently working with innovative companies that have developed a coronavirus treatment molecule and together with the government and venture capital representatives in Europe, we are starting the first steps to support the financing of this product, “said Kostadin Petkov.

The developer company “Mikar 21” is one of the founders of the Biotechnology and Health Cluster Bulgaria, and its managing partner – Dimitar Dimitrov, is the Chairman of the Cluster as well as a member of the Board of the newly created Artificial Intelligence Cluster. The creation of the two clusters is in partnership and with the support of Sofia Tech Park, where regular meetings are held with members of both organizations. During fall 2019, Sofia Tech Park and Biotechnology and Health Cluster Bulgaria applied with a joint project under the Knowledge Exchange Program of the Government of Republic of Korea. The project aims to create a successful public-private framework for support and development of the industry and innovations, based on knowledge in the field of biotechnology and life sciences. The company has been developing the special molecule for 4 years. The small drug molecule protects healthy T cells from viral infection by blocking the predominant Coronavirus subtype from entering those cells. “They have very positive results and feedback from the laboratories where they sent their development for the first certification – two in the US and one in Belgium,” Petkov informed the ministers. According to him, the Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has pledged to assist, through his contacts at European level, to speed up the procedures for testing the formula and to start clinical trials within two months. “The development is entirely Bulgarian and is a pride for the Bulgarian scientific community, for all of us,” Petkov said.
He reminded that by the end of the year the Bulgarian supercomputer, which is part of the EuroHPC supercomputer network and funded by EU and Bulgarian government programs, will be put into operation. “Then we will be able to model and anticipate the consequences of any critical situations, which is one of the goals of these machines” Petkov said. Sofia Tech Prak also works in this direction with the Sofia Municipality under Smart City program.
One of the main functions of Sofia Tech Park is to support and promote the research and development activities of start-ups, small and medium-sized companies. To this end, attracting innovative businesses is part of Sofia Tech Park’s program to develop the ecosystem in Bulgaria.
During the meeting of the Council of Ministers, also presented were innovations of BAS in the field of coronavirus prevention, developed by the institutes of the Academy.

Picture from “24 часа”

Mikar Company won the grand prize in the “24 Hours” competition „The big small”, which is organized with the partnership and the household of Sofia Tech Park. The startup company was honored for its achievements in the creation and patenting of new drug molecules. The company was honored with five prestigious awards last year, including the Best Biotechnology Startup in Europe.