The CBQF Interactive Session will feature Tony Eisenhut, Co-Founder and CEO of KensaGroup, which includes NOVASTERILIS, who will present solutions and opportunities associated with the use of supercritical CO₂ to enhance product performance and strengthen commercial outcomes.
Entitled “From the Clinic to the Kitchen: Solutions and Opportunities to Improve Products Performance and Commercial Outcome with Supercritical CO₂ Corporate Partnerships”, the session will take place on 12 September 2025, from 14:00 to 15:30, at the Carvalho Guerra Auditorium.
Abstract
The processing of biomaterials and natural-based compounds is critical in applications that go from regenerative medicine to the food industry. Yet, translating scientific discovery into commercial success requires more than technical validation. It demands alignment with market, regulatory, and manufacturing needs. This presentation highlights best practices through case studies involving NovaSterilis Inc. and several partners.
NovaSterilis maintains active collaborations with the academia, hospitals and several agencies, focused on aligning scientific innovation with commercial goals. Key lessons from this collaboration include:
- Early Relationship Building: Strong academic, industrial, and regulatory partnerships enable smoother transitions from research to market.
- Value of Complementary Expertise: Academia drives innovation; industry provides insight into scalability, compliance, and market readiness.
- Market-Driven Innovation: Understanding gaps (clinical or others) and reimbursement landscapes early helps shape commercially viable solutions.
- Process Innovation as Differentiator: scCO₂ processing offers sterility and bioactivity preservation, setting products apart.
- Regulatory Foresight: Designing studies with approval pathways in mind accelerates time-to-market.
- Iterative Development: Clinician/costumers feedback ensures usability and effectiveness.
The presented case studies exemplify how integrated collaborations, supported by innovative technologies like scCO₂, can streamline the translation of biomaterials and natural-based compounds into safe and impactful products.
Agenda
14:00 – 15:30 | Interactive Session
Keynote:
- Tony Eisenhut: From the Clinic to the Kitchen: Solutions and Opportunities to Improve Products Performance and Commercial Outcome with Supercritical CO₂ Corporate Partnerships
Invited panelists:
- Manuela Pintado (Director of CBQF)
- Ana Leite Oliveira (BBT Group - CBQF)
- Joana Caldeira (Fetalix)
- Hermínio Sousa (Universidade de Coimbra)
- Marta Duarte (PhD student at CBQF)
Biographic Sketch
Tony co-founded KensaGroup, which conceptualizes, creates, and operates university-derived startups. He has served as the CEO since inception in 2000. KensaGroup builds its chemistry-based startups around the concept that disruptive companies only flourish if operational excellence, market knowledge and scientific rigor exist in an ecosystem that uniquely amplifies these driving forces. KensaGroup’s market focus has been on the chemical, medical device, and regenerative medicine industries. Tony has led the launch of eight of KensaGroup’s startups (2-shutdown, 2- operating, 4-successful exits).
Since graduating from Cornell University in 1988, he has had multiple leadership experiences including Executive Chairman of a specialty chemistry company, CEO of a medical device manufacturer, as well as Vice President of a multi-billion dollar food retailer (Aldi). Tony has led NovaSterilis since conceptualizing the technology/market/business opportunity when it was a research project in the Langer lab at MIT to negotiating and signing multiple million dollar development contracts through its sale in 2020.
Tony has served on several corporate boards including iFyber, LLC, Novomer, Inc., NovaSterilis, Inc., and Cayuga Lake National Bank. He served as an advisor to New York State's NextGen program, a board member to the Center for Life Science Enterprise at Cornell University, and on the Board of Directors of Cayuga Health Systems.
Tony has multiple peer-reviewed publications and 10 issued patents on the use of supercritical carbon dioxide in the medical device and regenerative medicine and therapeutics industries.