The story behind Lipum

Lipum AB (publ) was originally founded based on a discovery made by scientists at Umeå University. The history of the innovation goes back to the 1970s when Olle Hernell, Prof. of Pediatrics and his group was studying breast milk and the role of a lipase in the milk supporting efficient digestion of the milk fat in breastfed infants, an enzyme they gave the name Bile Salt-Stimulated Lipase (BSSL). Later they discovered that the BSSL protein was also present in the bloodstream, which indicated that the BSSL protein might have other functions.

Prof. Hernell and his team soon revealed that BSSL also plays an important role in inflammation and is present in human granulocytes, a type of white blood cells. This novel and unexpected finding redirected the main focus of their research to investigating and explaining the role of BSSL in inflammatory processes. Mounting scientific successes signaled the medical potential of the discovery which led Prof. Hernell and his close associates Ass. Prof. Susanne Lindquist and Prof. Lennart Lundberg to founding Lipum in 2010.

Prof. Olle Hernell tells the story about the discovery which led to the company Lipum.