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Finance and Investment, Technology and digital innovation

V-Bio Ventures invests in RootWave in a EUR 6.5 M Series A financing to develop and market electrical weed killing solutions

Ghent (Belgium), 20th of January 2020 - Today V-Bio Ventures announces its investment in RootWave, a pioneer in electrical weed killing solutions. RootWave secured ca. EUR 6.5m in a Series A investment round led by V-Bio Ventures (Belgium) and Rabo Food & Agri Innovation Fund (Netherlands), and joined by impact fund Pymwymic (Netherlands) and existing shareholders including Yield Lab Ireland. The proceeds will enable RootWave to expand commercialisation of its RootWave Pro, a professional hand-weeder for spot weeding and treating invasive species, integrate its technology into automated agricultural weeders, and conduct further research into novel electricity-based weed killing applications.

Combining disciplines for a simple sampling solution

Novosanis have been able to achieve great success with their clever yet simple urine sampling solution Colli-Pee®, largely thanks to their multidisciplinary approach to product development. We spoke with Novosanis CEO Vanessa Vankerckhoven about the company’s interesting origin story.

Pulsify Medical to develop a wearable heart monitor patch

Pulsify Medical, a joint imec and KU Leuven spin-off, has closed a seed funding round of €2.6 million. The investment, led by imec.xpand and KU Leuven, will be used to develop a wearable ultrasound patch to non-invasively monitor organs like the heart.

Ovizio Imaging Systems announces iLine F and BioConnect supply agreements with Celgene Corporation

Brussels, Belgium 22/10/2019 – Ovizio Imaging Systems, a company providing an innovative microscopic imaging technology to the bioprocessing market, today announces the execution of supply agreements with Celgene Corporation for the automation of certain engineered T cell manufacturing processes.

Prof. Matthias Mann joins PharmaFluidics Advisory Board

Ghent, Belgium – October 22, 2019 – PharmaFluidics NV, an innovative player in the field of proteomics with the unique high-resolution µPACTM micro-Chip chromatography products, is pleased to welcome Prof. Dr. Matthias Mann as member of its Advisory Board.

Pulsify Medical, a joint imec and KU Leuven spin-off, closes first-round funding, led by imec.xpand

Pulsify Medical will develop wearable ultrasound patches for non-invasive, real time monitoring of physiological parameters inside the body.

Fresh insights into the future of cell therapy

The first edition of Science for health was held in the heart of Brussels on 11th September 2019 with a focus on cell therapy. The event attracted over 300 researchers, clinicians and industry professionals active in the the local or international cell therapy ecosystem. Top-speakers provided interesting insights into the current state of cell therapy in Belgium, as well as requirements for further progress. Collaboration, especially outside of the traditional partnerships, is key.

Miracle microchips improving cell therapy manufacturing

A microchip engineer might seem like an odd fit for a keynote speaker at an event focused on cell therapy, but at Science for health Peter Peumans will be presenting one of the day’s visionary talks. Peumans will draw on his experience with the tech powerhouse imec to give us an insider’s perspective on the role new chip technologies may soon take on in the cell therapy field.

The future of healthcare is digital

This month marked the crystal anniversary of the life sciences networking event Knowledge for Growth. The event was a huge success, with 1300+ attendees representing 600+ companies from 20+ countries around the world. The theme for this year was “Precision in Life Sciences”, with the fascinating plenary talks discussing the effect of digitalization on healthcare.

Holographic imaging technology shines a light on cells

Have you ever considered how scientists are able to count transparent cells in a see-through solution? Traditional methods involve dyes, microscopes, time and effort. Now there’s a new technology on the market: Ovizio Imaging Systems has developed a technical solution to this longstanding problem. Using an imaging technique called digital holographic microscopy, Ovizio’s devices perform cell counts by reconstructing 3D images using light. This new type of imaging provides quantitative information about cells, including their number, morphology and viability, all without a drop of dye!

Hydrogen gas panel set to revolutionize clean energy production

Bioscience engineers at KU Leuven have created a record-breaking hydrogen gas panel. The panel is capable of producing 250 liters of hydrogen gas per day; enough that just 20 panels could provide a family’s electricity and heating needs for a whole European winter. The Belgian device is an innovative step forward for clean energy and sustainability around the globe.

Battling antibiotic resistance: are we ready for a bacteriophage revival?

The discovery of antibiotics fundamentally changed healthcare in the 20th century. Deadly infections suddenly became treatable and millions of lives were saved. But excessive antibiotic use in both healthcare and agriculture has allowed some microbes to become resistant. Resistance has even been reported to last resort treatments, like colistin, in the past few years. With classic antibiotics failing, will trivial infections become deadly again or will we manage to find new solutions? In this two-part series, we will look into some of the fundamentally different therapeutics that are being developed as alternatives to traditional antibiotics. In this second installment, we highlight bacteriophages: are they finally ready to take center stage, nearly 100 years after being discovered?

From scientist to entrepreneur: how a Belgian chromatography company came to be

New laser-based medical device revolutionizes cardiovascular disease diagnosis

Avoiding the pitfalls of clinical development as a biotech