Awarded €2M grant and completes seed financing to develop high-precision point-of-care Hemophilia Biochip device
NIJMEGEN, Netherlands, April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Enzyre, which is developing breakthrough ambulant diagnostic technology for coagulation testing, announces today the appointment of Dirk Pollet as Chief Executive Officer. It also announces the award of €2M European Fund for Regional Development (EFRO) grant and closing of a successful seed funding round which enables Enzyre to accelerate the development of its unique Hemophilia Biochip technology.
Enzyre's platform technology requires just a small volume of blood and is able to measure up to twelve reactions simultaneously with high sensitivity and specificity, that can be carried out at home, on the road or in a critical care setting, without any laboratory infrastructure. This has the potential for better disease management and to improve the lives of patients living with chronic conditions whilst reducing healthcare costs.
Enzyre, a spin-out from Radboud University Medical Center in The Netherlands, was set up by Guido Maertens and Waander van Heerde, to develop innovative point of care (POC) devices to measure biomarkers in complex solutions. POC diagnostic tools are crucial for cost reduction and offer the flexibility to allow disease management to move to personalized medicine in the home or critical care setting. Enzyre's POC device aims to revolutionize the understanding and diagnosis of multiple thrombotic and hemostatic disorders by providing a real-time picture of a patient's blood coagulation status. The total market size for hemophilia is estimated at €12B per year. The €2M EFRO grant and the seed financing will enable Enzyre to further develop its Hemophilia Biochip and bring its first product to market.
Tolleiv Trimborn, Chairman of Enzyre's Supervisory Board, said: "We are delighted to have Dirk Pollet join the team as CEO. He brings a successful track record and 20 years of experience in the successful development and commercialization of in vitro diagnostics (IVD) and deal-making. We would also like to thank Guido Maertens for his commitment and hard work as founding CEO and we are fully convinced that he will continue to contribute to the success of Enzyre as he embraces his new task as CFO."
Dirk Pollet, newly-appointed CEO of Enzyre, added: "I'm very pleased to join a great team with an outstanding technology that offers tremendous potential to allow patients and healthcare professionals to manage disease in real time. With the seed financing from existing shareholders and business angels, and the €2M EFRO grant,we are now able to accelerate the development and commercialization of our unique POC device to market."
Dirk Pollet has over 25 years in the diagnostics and biotechnology industries. Dirk led Multiplicom NV, a European diagnostics company with state-of-the-art genetic testing technology and products, which was acquired by Agilent Technologies. Before this, Dirk served as Chief Business Officer and Board member of Cellectis SA. Prior to this Dirk spent eight years at Galapagos NV where he held a number of senior positions. He also served as a Business and Product Development Manager at Innogenetics NV playing a major role in the development of innovative diagnostics. Dirk obtained his PhD degree in Biochemistry from the University of Antwerp.
About Enzyre
Enzyre, based in Nijmegen, is a spin out from Radboud University Medical Center in The Netherlands aiming to develop a point-of-carediagnostic device focused on blood coagulation which maximizes flexibility of the user. Enzyre's platform technology is unique as it requires just a small volume of blood and is able to measure up to twelve (12) reactions simultaneously with high sensitivity and specificity without any laboratory infrastructure; at the home, on the road or in a critical care setting. The Hemophilia Biochip is a small single use diagnostic tool with high sensitivity and specificity. It has broad application in several disease settings. This offers enormous benefits to patients in that it can avoid crisis situations driven by changes in coagulation status; provides ease of mind for patients; offers the potential to empower patients to optimize treatment themselves; can be quick turnaround tool in the clinical setting; and can reduce GP consultation visits. For more information please visit www.enzyre.com.
