“Haemophilia patients have access to excellent medicines and specialised academic laboratories to effectively manage their coagulation disease and prevent bleeding problems,” says Dr Waander van Heerde, former coagulation physiologist from the Radboudumc and co-founder and CSO of Enzyre, together with CEO/CFO Guido Maertens. “However, I want to offer haemophilia patients convenience and reliability and enable them to test their coagulation factor levels at home.”
Enzyre is developing an electronic microfluidic biochip to measure coagulation factor levels in minimum amounts of blood. The haemostasis biochip is the size of a credit card and can easily fit into your pocket. Connecting this device to your smartphone will allow you to comfortably and affordably measure your coagulation levels anywhere and at any time. The haemostasis biochip will be available as a complementary diagnostic tool serving the haemophilia market from 2020.
// "Offer patients convenience and reliability"
As experts in blood withdrawal for coagulation tests, Enzyre is planning the development of a painless blood collection device. Together with an external partner, an existing painless blood collection device will be modified to meet the need for blood coagulation measurements. The whole procedure, blood collection and biomarker detection can thus be performed conveniently, providing a customer friendly experience. According to Maertens, there are opportunities in other markets for the biochip too: “In the criticalcare setting, there’s a huge demand for fast and reliable measurement that provides insight into which coagulation component is affected. The clinician can supply the patient with the appropriate medicine.” Dr Van Heerde adds: “The last market we are aiming to target includes patients on Direct Oral Anti-Coagulants DOACs, especially those with comorbidities who may require additional monitoring to prevent thrombotic complications.”
Enzyre’s CSO Waander van Heerde about Novio Tech Campus: “The Campus is an ideal innovation ecosystem for Enzyre where we are surrounded by the latest developments in healthcare and semiconductors for the development of our miniature biochip. Since arriving on the campus, we’ve built a strong consortium of technology partners to help us develop and manufacture our haemostasis biochip upon market entry.” Waander continues: “There are numerous possibilities to strengthen your entrepreneurial skills on campus. We enjoy the monthly “Meet and Eat” sessions and the “Science Meets Business” meetings where new companies introduce themselves. Both occasions are excellent opportunities for networking and keeping in touch with our newly established partners. The atmosphere is open and relaxed, providing a successful environment in which we can excel.”
// "At the centre of Health and High Tech"
“In mid 2017, Enzyre moved to Novio Tech Campus. “Coming to Novio Tech Campus has enabled us to meet crucial partners from the network organisation Business Cluster Semiconductors (BCSEMI NL) like NXP, Sencio and EPR. At first, we brought a great idea and preliminary data to the campus and started with a sublease for an office and a lab space. A year later, we’ve got seven employees and our own office and laboratory,” says CSO Waander van Heerde. “Being part of this campus allows us to contact these partners regularly and effectively. The campus is an ideal place for starting a business, providing the right mix of technical expertise and commercial attitude.”
