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Dual Winner for 2020 Edison Awards

ITRI won two Edison Awards in 2020, one gold for its innovative adhesive solution Celluad™ in Material Sciences & Engineering and one bronze for its bionic knobby magnetic beads manufacturing technology iKNOBEADS in Medical/Dental. This is the first time that ITRI was named a gold winner of Edison Awards and bagged two awards in the same year. ITRI’s strong innovation capacity has put it on par with leading companies such as Abbott, Dow, Boston Scientific, and many other award recipients.

ITRI’s novel adhesive solution helps manufacturers provide formaldehyde-free plywood products.

ITRI’s novel adhesive solution helps manufacturers provide formaldehyde-free plywood products.

Celluad™ shows excellent adhesion and water resistance. iKNOBEADS features a unique spiky structure and can activate and expand T cells to fight cancer cells more effectively. ITRI aims to launch clinical GMP products in the second half of 2020, making iKNOBEADS a new tool in immunotherapies.

Frank Bonafilia, Executive Director of the Edison Awards, commented that the 2020 winners are game-changing innovations standing out among the best new products and services launched in their category. “They illustrate how important the advancement of research and design is to reimagine the fast changing future. The Edison Award honorees serve as global beacons of how positive innovations are changing our world,” he said.

ITRI President Edwin Liu illustrated that ITRI has been developing innovations that tackle global challenges. “Both winning technologies, iKNOBEADS and Celluad™, have their leading edge in the market and are top-notch technologies to enhance human health and environmental sustainability. Moreover, both research teams work closely with the industry to boost commercialization. By answering market demands accurately, we hope to maximize the power of technology and shape a better future for the world,” he stressed.

About the Winning Technologies


Celluad™

Edison Awards 2020 Winner (GOLD)

ITRI’s Celluad™ is a formaldehyde-free wood adhesive using abandoned cellulose derivative as its main raw material and can be applied to plywood, flooring, and lumber core board. Unlike soy protein-based formaldehyde-free wood adhesive, Celluad™ is less expensive and eliminates the issue of competing with food. Moreover, it has no strong odor and will not spoil easily when stored. With its unique formula and modification process, Celluad™ exhibits excellent adhesion and water-resistance. Its hydrophobic resin allows it to resist boiling water for 4 hours, meeting the test requirements of CNS1349 type I (100˚C).

Video of Celluad™

Video of Celluad™.

Celluad™ also shows high process compatibility. There is no need to purchase additional equipment in order to produce plywood from Celluad™. The manufacturing facilities involved in the formaldehyde-free plywood fabrication process match the original ones and the system is easy to use while also free of health hazards. Given the above distinctive features, Celluad™ has been adopted by suppliers to major international furniture retailers.

iKNOBEADS

Edison Awards 2020 Winner (BRONZE)

The iKNOBEADS technology is a breakthrough innovation that focuses on using magnetizing T cells to fight cancer. Featuring a unique spiky structure, iKNOBEADS can activate and expand γδT cells by a factor of 100. Meanwhile, the number of iKNOBEADS required is only one-third that of the magnetic beads currently on the market. Besides saving costs, this technology is advantageous in making dormant T cells come alive, have memory-like functions and kill cancer cells more effectively.

Video of iKNOBEADS.

Video of iKNOBEADS.

The research team is currently focused on therapies for hematological cancers, such as blood cancer, lymphoma, and bone cancer, and it has discussed cooperation with local and foreign medical centers and biotech companies in using iKNOBEADS manufacturing technology as a platform. ITRI aims to launch clinical GMP products in the second half of 2020. In the future, this technology is also expected to be applied to solid tumors, in hopes of benefiting even more patients and providing a new tool for the next generation of immunotherapies.

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