“With our procedure, we have actually already observed a substantial improvement in the dissolution behavior of badly water-soluble active components. We are delighted that we will now be able– thanks to the validation financing– to additional develop the technology,” says Prof. Thommes, who has headed the Chair of Solids Process Engineering at the Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering since 2014. In the first instance, the brand-new procedure is intended for pharmaceutical applications, however it can also be utilized in food technology or plant security.
PROvendis GmbH signed up the intellectual property rights on behalf of TU Dortmund University. The patent was granted in the US in May 2025, and the innovation is likewise safeguarded in Europe. “As we enter the market, we are seeing that our broad portfolio of intellectual property rights is an important factor for the successful acquisition of financing,” says Professor Thommes. His melt electrostatic precipitator was already acknowledged in the regional funding competitors “NRW Patent Recognition 2020”, and the team was granted the first EUR200,000 to more raise the precipitator’s Innovation Preparedness Level.
Assistance from the outset
TU Dortmund University supports inventions like this from the start. For example, the university’s Section Legal Matters checks whether a new advancement infringes any third-party rights. PROvendis assesses the chances of success of obtaining copyright rights and handles both their registration and maintenance. TU Dortmund University pays incurred for the IPR. Together with PROvendis, the university also helps to determine funding programs suitable for financing additional development work. The group at the Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer (CET) encourages and supports the scientists on a continuous basis throughout all these steps and the process as a whole.
About the VIP+ financing program
The funding program “Recognition of the Technological and Social Development Potential of Scientific Research Study– VIP+” of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space invites researchers to take the initial step towards producing financial worth or applying their research study findings in societal contexts. Validation forms the bridge between idea and useful implementation in the understanding and innovation transfer procedure. The goal of the recognition phase is to analyze, show and examine the innovation potential of research outcomes and develop possible areas of application.
Contact for queries: