Developed by University of NSW spin-off company Biosignal, the product aims to counter corrosion of oil and gas pipelines and equipment.

Recent laboratory testing found the anti-biofilm agents could substantially remove corrosion-causing bacterial biofilms that are a major problem for the industry

Biosignal announced yesterday that it would accelerate its efforts to gain regulatory approval for its anti-biofilm compounds.

The company said interim chief executive Professor Peter Steinberg would soon start the registration process for Biosignal’s lead compounds in key international markets.

Regulatory approval of the compounds is necessary before Biosignal can begin commercial sales of the anti-biofilm products.

Prior to this point the company had followed a strategy of partnering with larger companies on the registration of its compounds, Steinberg said.

“While in some instances this approach is suitable for registering formulated products, there is significant advantage in the extra commercial flexibility and negotiating power that comes with having greater control over this key aspect of our product development,” he said.

“One of my first priorities is to rapidly generate data packages for registration of our lead active compounds. This will form the basis for subsequent product registrations of formulations based on our active compounds, undertaken directly by us or with appropriate partners.”

Steinberg told PNN’s sister publication BiotechnologyNews.net that the registration process for industrial compounds typically takes between 18 months and four to five years, depending on the compound and the planned applications.

He said he was unable to predict at this stage how it would take to register Biosignal’s compounds, but expected to gain a clearer idea in the next few months.

The data packages that will form the basis of the company’s initial applications will include general information on the toxicity of the compound, its interaction with the environment and how it degrades in the environment.

The second stage of registration would incorporate more specific information about the product formulation in its intended use.

Biosignal said that the majority of this work for its compounds will be outsourced to Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) accredited independent laboratories.

Microbiologically induced (bacterial) corrosion (MIC) of pipelines, and consequent leaks, occur throughout oil and gas fields, at wellheads, in the gathering system, on oilrigs, on the internal and external surfaces of pipelines, storage tanks and refining facilities, and the process is often responsible for leaks and blowouts.

Corrosion of steel infrastructure is estimated to cost the Australian oil and gas industry about $A675 million per annum in direct and deferred costs, based on corresponding US industry figures.