NEWS An unexpected collaboration between professor Magnus Wolf-Watz at Umeå University and the biotech company Vakona is a prime example of how fundamental research can gain new relevance and impact. By combining academic curiosity with industrial application, the project has led to technological breakthroughs and new research — while also contributing to societal benefit in form of acne treatment.
Magnus Wolf-Watz, professor at the Department of Chemistry at Umeå Univerisiy has a succesful cooperation with the company Vacona.
ImageMattias Petterssonthe project bridges practical application with biological mechanisms
“The greatest value is how the project bridges practical application with biological mechanisms,” says Magnus Wolf Watz, Professor of Biophysical Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry, Umeå University.
The partnership began when Umeå-based Vakona reached out to Magnus to discuss patent issues related to the enzyme BMD. What started as a conversation quickly evolved into a collaboration of growing scope and significance.
Acne arises from several interacting factors. A key cause is an imbalance in the skin’s microbiome. The bacterium Propionibacterium acnes can proliferate and form a protective biofilm, which contributes to the disease and makes antibiotic treatment more difficult.
Vakona’s product is based on research by Dr. Oleg Alexeyev, Department of Medical Biosciences, and is designed as a skincare solution using a naturally occurring bacterial enzyme that breaks down the protective biofilm formed by P. acnes. Their need for structural biology expertise aligned perfectly with Magnus’s research group’s ambition to make a technological leap in cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM), a method that has become central to the project.
For Magnus, whose background is in structural enzymology, the project has been a welcome step toward research with direct societal relevance. Working with an enzyme that could potentially be used in acne treatment makes the research easier to communicate — to both funders and the general public.
“It’s exciting to be able to describe your research in one sentence, we’re developing a therapy for acne. It makes it easier to explain and sparks interest.”
The collaboration has also led to new research funding. Magnus and Oleg Alexeyev were awarded SEK 1.1 million from the Kempe Foundations to fund a two-year postdoctoral position fully dedicated to the Vakona project. Magnus also supervises a PhD student working on the project with support from the university’s structural biology platform.
The project has marked a technical leap for Magnus’s lab, which has traditionally focused on nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Through the collaboration with Vakona, the group has now established Cryo-EM as a new method, opening up significant opportunities for other projects as well.
“This step will be hugely important for us. We already have other collaborations using the technique, including one with KTH, where we hope to publish soon.”
At the same time, the partnership has brought new challenges, particularly around patents and publishing. Balancing corporate interests has influenced research methods, and numerous meetings were needed to find a middle ground between openness and confidentiality.
“You have to align your goals. Industry wants to make money, we want to publish. But we’ve found a good plan for that.”
For Magnus, the project has been both educational and inspiring. It’s his first time collaborating with a company, offering insights into how researchers and businesses can work together and how to navigate the intersection between academic freedom and commercial interests.
“There’s a societal push for these kinds of collaborations. It’s important to understand the basic premises before entering a project.”
He encourages other researchers to seize the opportunity if it arises but to be diligent about discussing patents and publishing from the outset.
“It’s a solid setup. We hope the collaboration leads to a strong publication, that the company secures funding, and can hire people. It’s a win-win.”
The partnership between Umeå University and Vakona illustrates how academic research can contribute to a local innovation ecosystem. Growth in spin-off companies can create new jobs for trained researchers, strengthening both the university’s role and regional development.
“If we can contribute in that way and help create a job market, that’s fantastic.”
The project also demonstrates that research with clear applications can have greater impact both within academia and beyond.
Acne mainly affects teenagers, especially during puberty when hormonal changes increase sebum production.
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"Collaboration with industry" is an article series that highlights the collaborations between Umeå researchers and life science companies. This is the second article in the series, that's written by the News council in life science.
