Biosensor to detect coeliac disease in a few minutes

Celifast was created by the researchers Ona Illa, Jean-Didier Marechal and M. Isabel Pividori, of the Department of Chemistry, and Jofre Ferrer of the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, and it was among the winning projects in 2013 of the Generating Ideas Programme at the UAB. Now it has won the Valortec competition run by ACCIÓ, the agency for business competitiveness of the Government of Catalonia (Generalitat), in the category of technology-based startup companies. This competition aims to encourage Catalan researchers to develop products and services with commercial potential.

Celifast is a biosensor that detects coeliac disease rapidly and simply by analysing patients' blood at their own specialist's surgery. It works in a similar way to a glucometer and can also track the progress of the illness, periodically analysing the level of patients' coeliac disease, as well as evaluating their immediate family. It is currently estimated that 1% of the population are coeliac.

According to the researcher Maria Isabel Pividori, “typically, to tell if a person is coeliac it is necessary to use specialist laboratories and take a biopsy: our aim is to be able to avoid this in future, as the procedure can be problematic, especially with children". Celifast is a "non-invasive" test, with a 100% success rate in initial laboratory tests, based on the analysis of a blood biomarker", she explains.

The project has been underway since 2013, and now the research team – made up of chemists, biochemists and an expert in business management – is beginning the clinical validation stage. “We are now at the clinical validation stage and we are working with ACCIÓ to find the best way to commercialise this technology", adds Dr Pividori.

Related news The winning projects in the Generating Ideas Programme, 2013