Photo: OffPad

The challenge posed by espionage and hacking in countries such as Iran and China has increased considerably in recent years, and has now become a general problem irrespective of geography and individual states. The financial consequences can be massive. This applies in particular to employees of global businesses and government employees.

More than 70% of all computer crime takes place via the endpoint when people log on to their mobile phone, tablet or laptop via an operating system while they are online. It is now easy for professional hackers to go through the back door and access sensitive data.

The Norwegian company OffPAD’s solution to this problem is simple and user-friendly, and, if it keeps what it promises, it may prevent hacking and espionage in an innovative manner by means of a new type of mobile phone case.

Access control takes place outside the mobile phone’s operating system

OffPAD is an abbreviation of ‘Offline Personal Authentication Device’, which sums up their product: a mobile phone case that provides easy access to sensitive data without a password and PIN code, simply via a biometric fingerprint which provides access to the software you are authorised to use.

See video here.

The company is currently based at Simula’s premises at Fornebu, as well as having engaged 15 encryption experts in secure communication in Rennes in France. The starting point for the collaboration with France is an EU-funded, five-year Eurostars project between the University of Oslo and the National Graduate School of Engineering and Research Center in Rennes.

‘If you want to avoid being hacked, software is not secure enough. You need a hardware element to ensure adequate security. The target group is the B2B market, large enterprises, both public and private, whose employees need to improve access control to the company’s sensitive applications. This is a solution to a massive problem whereby we can help to reduce the attack surface for hackers,’ says Jan-Erik Skaug, CEO of OffPAD.

OffPAD’s potential market is growing rapidly due to continuous security breaches that make companies and states vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

‘Users only see the fingerprint reader and a small display. The encryption keys are inside the card, and the user is identified by means of a multi-factor authentication (MFA),’ says Skaug.

Commercial phase

OffPAD is developing the mobile phone case in close dialogue with security experts in selected Norwegian companies.

‘We learn a lot through the open dialogue we have with these experts on relevant issues,’ says Skaug.

‘We are in a positive process and have set a very exciting course for the time ahead. The solution will initially be available on mobile phones, but, based on wireless communication, it can also be used to secure iPads and laptops. Secure communication will be available in the next version by encrypting the information that is exchanged via voice and text messages and emails on mobile phones,’ says Skaug.

OffPAD was established in 2017 by Skaug and Petter Taugbøl together with Inven2. The mobile phone case and the technology are based on an idea from Professor Audun Jøsang at the Department of Informatics at the University of Oslo, and were developed through a Eurostars project involving academic and industrial partners from Norway and France. Two patents have been granted in the USA and a patent application is in process.

‘We are now working on the design. We have engaged a leading industrial design enterprise in Gothenburg which is currently developing the design of the case adapted for Samsung Galaxy 10 and iPhone X phones. The solution will work irrespective of the model,’ says Skaug.

The goal is for a finished product to be ready in 2019.

‘We are in dialogue with large enterprises and public agencies with respect to testing the solution. The necessary certificates will be obtained in accordance with the requirements set by the authorities. The market potential in the Nordic countries and internationally is huge,’ says Skaug.

OffPAD is also in dialogue with Innovation Norway on a Norwegian Industrial Research and Development (IFU) Contract in cooperation with pilot partners. The company achieved Seal of Excellence status in phase 1 of its Horizon 2020 application, and is now in a phase 2 application process for a major EU grant.

E-health is another exciting market

OffPAD also views the e-health market as very interesting.

‘There is a great deal of potential in digitalisation of the health service, and significant savings can be made by rationalising the day to day work of health professionals. There is still a lot of silo mentality out there. The functionality of earlier prototypes has been tested in relation to this segment,’ says Skaug.

The enterprise has established a competent board and an advisory board comprising competent e-health advisers, and a dialogue is now under way with different interest groups in Norway and abroad.

‘Our solution is highly relevant in relation to patient security and patient data, where we have to satisfy the most stringent security requirements. It is currently a huge problem that health personnel need to access many different systems. They have to log in and out of their laptop to enter them. OffPAD can make this easier by providing access to professional systems by pressing one key without a password and PIN code,’ says Skaug.

Excited about the future

Olav Steinnes of Inven2 is excited about what the future holds for the company, and believes OffPAD can go far.

‘OffPAD will offer a solution to a major security problem. If it succeeds in developing a solution that offers a good level of security and a good user experience, the company can look forward to an exciting future,’ says Olav Steinnes, CFO of Inven2.

‘We have provided capital during the early phase and keenly await the results of the prototype testing by potential users,’ says Steinnes.

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Photo: Shutterstock

SERCA Pharmaceuticals raised NOK 7.9 million this summer through a private placement in which Inven2 and Sarsia Seed were the biggest investors. Combined with funding from the Research Council of Norway’s FORNY programme, the company has now started preparing for clinical trials of its heart attack (myocardial infarction (MI)) treatment.

The start-up company was established in 2018, and entered into a unique agreement with Indian pharmaceuticals company Cadila Pharmaceuticals in January 2019. The agreement concerns the development of new and better treatment for heart attack patients.

The company raised NOK 7.9 million through an issue in summer 2019. The company has also received around NOK 5 million in funding from the Research Council of Norway’s FORNY programme. The main shareholders in SERCA Pharmaceuticals are now Inven2, Sarsia Seed and a number of private investors.

‘We are delighted to have helped get SERCA off the ground quickly following the formation of the company,’ says Ole Kristian Hjelstuen, CEO of Inven2.

‘SERCA Pharmaceuticals is based on ground-breaking Norwegian research. It’s very pleasing to land such a good agreement with a major pharmaceutical company just months after the company was established,’ says Kristin Sandereid, Executive Fund & Business Developer in Inven2.

SERCA Pharmaceuticals is set to develop a pharmacological treatment for damage arising from the treatment of heart attacks.

About SERCA Pharmaceuticals

SERCA Pharmaceuticals AS was established in 2018 on the basis of preclinical research on a potential pharmacological treatment for damage arising from the treatment of heart attacks. The research behind the company has been conducted over the past 20 years by Professor Kjetil Taskén’s research group at the University of Oslo.

General manager of the company is Kjetil Hestdal, former CEO of Photocure for many years, who has experience of taking a product from the preclinical stage to the market.

SERCA Pharmaceuticals is set to develop pharmacological treatment for damage arising from the treatment of heart attacks.

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Photo: Thomas Brun / NTB

In June 2019, Ultimovacs was listed following a successful share issue in which the company raised NOK 370 million. Inven2 helped to establish the company in 2011. The funds will finance the company’s development plan for the universal cancer vaccine UV1.

Investors showed great interest in the listing of Ultimovacs on Oslo Stock Exchange and the issue was oversubscribed, the company wrote in a press release. Major Norwegian and international institutional investors have become new shareholders in the company, including specialised health funds.

There was wide interest in subscribing for Ultimovacs’ shares, and it will have around 1,500 shareholders when listed. The company is valued at NOK 870 million on its stock exchange listing.

‘It is very gratifying for the Norwegian health industry and Ultimovacs that national and international investors have shown such confidence in the company. Given the current uncertainty in the market, it is particularly pleasing to note the great interest from both international investors and small-scale savers. I look forward to following the company in the time ahead,’ says Jonas Einarsson, chair of Ultimovacs’ board and CEO of Radforsk.

Will finance development plan

The funds raised by Ultimovacs in connection with the stock exchange listing will finance the company’s development plan for the universal cancer vaccine UV1. The main project is a large clinical trial to document the effect of the vaccine. In this trial, UV1 will be combined with other immunotherapies in patients with malignant melanoma (a type of skin cancer) at around 30 hospitals in Norway, Europe, the USA and possibly Australia.

Ultimovacs has already run three small-scale clinical trials of the vaccine on patients with lung cancer, prostate cancer and malignant melanoma at the Norwegian Radium Hospital.

‘The cancer vaccine has shown promising clinical signals in the studies we have conducted at the Norwegian Radium Hospital. Based on the results, we have established a development plan to document that our vaccine is effective in cancer patients.

I am delighted that we have now completed a successful listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange. It means that the practical conditions are now in place to put our development plan into action,’ says Øyvind Kongstun Arnesen, CEO of Ultimovacs.

Big day

Ole Kristian Hjelstuen, CEO of Inven2, attended the bell ceremony at Oslo Stock Exchange on 3 June, to mark the company’s listing on the main index.

‘This is a big day for Ultimovacs, and we extend our warm congratulations. Inven2 is proud to have been involved in the company since the start, and looks forward to following its development going forward. The cancer vaccine UV1 can make a great difference to cancer patients across the globe,’ says Hjelstuen. He was board member of the company until very recently.

Further information:

Ultimovacs

Ultimovacs ASA is a Norwegian company that works on developing cancer immunotherapy in the form of a universal cancer vaccine. The company currently has 19 employees and is located in Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park near the Norwegian Radium Hospital in Oslo and in Uppsala in Sweden. Ultimovacs’ biggest owners are Gjelsten Holding AS, Canica AS, the Sundt family, Inven2 AS, Watrium AS and Radforsk.

www.ultimovacs.no

Cancer vaccine UV1

Ultimovacs’ lead product is UV1, a peptide-based vaccine that creates a specific T cell response to the universal cancer antigen telomerase. Telomerase is expressed in cancer cells in 85-90% of all types of cancer. The UV1 cancer vaccine may therefore potentially be effective in patients with most types of cancer.

Clinical development of UV1

Ultimovacs has conducted three different clinical trials of its cancer vaccine UV1 at the Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo University Hospital. The trials have shown that the vaccine is safe to use and have also shown positive signs of clinical benefit in all the trials. Prostate cancer, lung cancer and melanoma patients have participated in these trials. Ultimovacs is also conducting a further clinical trial in the USA for patients with melanoma, where the UV1 cancer vaccine is being combined with pembrolizumab, another immunotherapy.

These trials form the basis for the start of a major randomised trial on melanoma in which UV1 will be tested in combination with two other immunotherapy medications, ipilimumab and nivolumab. More than 150 patients will participate in this clinical trial, which is set to be conducted at 25 to 30 hospitals in the USA, Europe and possibly Australia. Start-up is scheduled for the first quarter 2020 and the trial is expected to be completed in the second half of 2022.

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