More than 70% of all hospital infections are caused by medical devices, such as catheters, infusion lines and implants. Groningen-based biotech startup Bioprex Medical has developed an innovative antibacterial coating to tackle this problem at the source.
The first preclinical results are promising and thanks to a new round of funding from Pharma Connect Capital and the NOM, the startup can continue the development of their patented coating. In the coming year, Bioprex will focus on preclinical evaluation of the coating and expanding collaborations with medical device and implant manufacturers.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, more than 4 million patients in Europe contract bacterial infections every year, often caused by medical devices and implants. "In Europe alone, about 90,000 people die each year from such infections. Treating them costs the health care system 7 billion euros annually," said Van Ramshorst. "It's a big problem that will only increase in the future. With our coating, we are tackling the problem at the source."
Prevention is better than cure
The need is high because treating bacterial infections is becoming increasingly difficult. This is because various bacteria are increasingly resistant to antibiotics, such as MRSA bacteria in hospitals. "Bacteria form a biofilm when they attach themselves to a surface," Van Ramshorst explains. "This is a protective layer that shields them from our immune system. Even antibiotics have difficulty penetrating this biofilm."
So as the age-old adage goes, prevention is better than cure. And that is exactly what Bioprex is doing. "Our coating uses quaternary ammonium compounds that kill bacteria when they try to adhere to the surface," Van Ramshorst said. "This coating can be used for various medical devices and implants, such as orthopedic pins and screws used to fix bone fractures, as well as catheters and permanent implants.
Spin-off
Bioprex Medicalwas founded two years ago as a spin-off from the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials at the University of Groningen, but the idea of the coating has been around for more than 20 years. "Our CTO, Ton Loontjens, was already working on this idea at DSM at the time, but the technology was still too much in its infancy at that time," says Van Ramshorst. "About ten years ago Ton met co-founder Pieter André de la Porte, director of Zorg Innovaties Nederland, who was strongly interested in the commercial applications of the coating. Besides his job at DSM, Ton got an appointment as a professor at the RUG, where he worked with students and PhD students to further develop the concept, with the idea of eventually bringing the coating to the market through a spin-off."
Last year, Bioprex completed the first in vivo evaluations. "This allowed us to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the coating in living cells," says Van Ramshorst. "That yielded promising results. This year we are focusing on further preclinical evaluations, looking at long-term safety and efficacy, among other things."
Funding
Bioprex found funding from the NOM, among others. "The social value of this coating is enormous," says Tristan Dikkers, investment manager of the NOM. "The NOM, together with Triade and RUG Ventures, was also involved in the first funding round so that Bioprex could develop a proof-of-concept. The first preclinical results were promising, so we saw enough potential to participate in this funding round as well. Moreover, it was great to see how Jurr has developed as an entrepreneur in such a short time."
The Northern Netherlands investment fund Pharma Connect Capital also joined the second round of funding. "Bioprex has a promising concept with this antibacterial coating, so we are therefore happy to help the company take the next step," said Jan Hendriks, fund manager of Pharma Connect Capital. "In addition, I see a strong team behind this concept, which gives us a lot of confidence."
Lessons learned
This second round of funding will allow Bioprex to take important steps, but for a biotech startup, things sometimes move slower than desired. "Innovation in Life Sciences takes a long time, and we have experienced that firsthand," says Van Ramshorst. "As an entrepreneur you want to move forward quickly, but in the medical sector you have to back everything up with solid evidence. For an early-stage startup with a new technology, it is difficult to raise funding. Especially in Europe. That's why we are grateful to have the support of parties like the NOM, Triade, RUG Ventures and Pharma Connect Capital in this early phase."
Bioprex also participated in NOM's Investor Readiness Program. "That was very valuable for us," says Van Ramshorst. "We are working toward a larger investment round and this program gave us a good overview of what is needed for that. We now have a much better idea of how investors look at our proposition."
Collaborations with manufacturers
In addition to further testing and working toward another round of investment, Bioprex is focusing this year on expanding collaborations with medical device manufacturers. "Medical device manufacturers are often looking for plug-and-play solutions that are easy to integrate into their production process. This is why we are developing our coating as a platform technology that is widely applicable to different types of medical devices and implants." Currently, Bioprex's focus is on applying the coating to orthopedic pins and screws used to fix bone fractures. Eventually, they will also develop the coating for other medical devices, such as catheters and permanent implants. "Our goal is to prevent as many infections as possible," he said.