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The EIC Accelerator is a funding programme under Horizon Europe that offers support to start-ups and SMEs that have an innovative product, service or business model that could create new markets or disrupt existing ones in Europe and even worldwide,

On December 20th, 2022 FOx BIOSYSTEMS was awarded an EIC accelerator grant for their ambitious project to bring to market a combined quantification and isolation application for extracellular vesicles (EVs) unlocking their great potential in diagnostic applications.

The EIC grant will enable FOx BIOSYSTEMS to launch a collection of EV applications on their system to the market in 2024, three years sooner than previously planned. This will cover an array of application-specific sensors, protocols, and workflow support with immediate potential impact on ongoing and new research programs.

* Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EIC. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

MeBioS logo

The MeBioS (Mechatronics, Biostatistics and Sensors) division at the University of Leuven in Belgium first began investigating fiber-optic biosensing based on surface plasmon resonance in 2006 and named it FO-SPR. The technology quickly attracted national and international funding, along with winning first place in the Battle of Talents competition for young entrepreneurs in Belgium.

FOx BIOSYSTEMS was founded in 2017 by Filip Delport and Jeroen Lammertyn as a spin-off from MeBioS and still maintains close collaborations with MeBioS scientists.

CONSENSE  

The CONSENSE project forms part of the European Commission’s Innovative Training Networks that support joint research training and/or postdoctoral programs. It has been created to stimulate the development of new sensor technologies that can measure a range of biomolecules in blood, with the aim of creating truly personalized medicine and improving patient outcomes.

This approach requires an interdisciplinary (molecular engineering, sensing technology, clinical applications) and intersectoral (academic, hospital, industry) approach by sufficiently high-quality groups, which will be provided by this collaboration. In addition, CONSENSE will secure the competitiveness of European higher education as well as the European medical technology industry, which is an important and innovative sector with high impact for the future.

FOx BIOSYSTEMS will use this funding to investigate the potential of the fiber-optic based surface plasmon resonance technology for continuous immune monitoring of patients in critical care settings. This will be of great benefit in the emerging field of novel cancer immunotherapies since it will allow the early detection and timely treatment of severe complications such as cytokine release syndrome.

Historic Collaborations & Projects 

FOx BIOSYSTEMS partner VLAIO logo

VLAIO  

FOx BIOSYSTEMS has been awarded a grant from VLAIO,  the Flemish Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, to stimulate innovation, transformation and growth. The goal is to reduce production costs, while maintaining the technologically superior accuracy currently only provided by the FO-SPR technology. Using this funding, FOx BIOSYSTEMS aims to create more efficient production processes that will also improve the quality of the probes.

FOx BIOSYSTEMS partner Interegg2 logo

CrossRoads2  

The CrossRoads2 project aims to promote cross-border cooperation between innovation companies from Flanders and the South of the Netherlands.

FOx BIOSYSTEMS was awarded funding for a collaboration with two Dutch companies: Unitron Group BV and Stimulus, to develop the FO-SPR technology into a robust instrument suitable for both research and industrial applications. This resulted in a higher-throughput automated device with independent parallel measurements in microtiter plates. The flexible assay setup was maintained to allow specialized, complex and generic tests, including the ‘host cell protein’ test that measures the concentration of broken cell fragments from a bioreactor.

FOx BIOSYSTEMS partner Link2Innovate logo

Link2Innovate  

Link2Innovate is a framework project from the European Interreg Flanders-Netherlands program. This program aims to promote cross border collaborations between Flanders and the Netherlands for smart, green and inclusive growth.

Many customers in the life science market need a combination of robust and sensitive sensors with a highly automated and specific biological test. These needs can be accommodated by implementation on the FOx BIOSYSTEMS instrument.

Through the Link2Innovate project, we developed our ​instrument for industrial users and gathered their feedback about possible applications and partnerships. This was done in collaboration with Unitron Group, which has a very extensive knowledge of developing new sensors and quality control tests, and has a wide European network within the life sciences sector

Interested in collaborating with us? Contact us today!

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