Author: Egbert Smit

MLA Diagnostics secures new funding round

A GLOWING FUTURE FOR MELANOMA TREATMENT

PROGNOSTIC TESTS FOR EARLY-STAGE MELANOMA

PRESS RELEASE

Maastricht, November 2023

Dutch start-up MLA Diagnostics, on a mission to improve tailored treatments for skin cancer patients, secures funding for continued development towards clinical trials.

Cutaneous melanoma, a cancer that starts in the pigment-making cells of the skin, annually claims tens of thousands of lives while hundreds of thousands more are heavily affected by this disease. In current care, patients are often under- or overtreated: they follow unnecessary surveillance programs and experience unrest due to the perceived risk of cancer progression or are classified as low risk while the cancer progresses without adequate surveillance or treatment. It’s safe to say that dermatologists, pathologists and oncologists currently are dealing with less-than-optimal prognosis systems.

Manon van Engeland, Co-founder at MLA Dx: “Our molecular test is very easy to use because it can be applied to the regular diagnostic workflow that is already being implemented at clinical pathology labs.’’

MLA Diagnostics was founded by NLC Health Ventures, Brightlands Life Science Ventures and Prof. Manon van Engeland, together with Dutch entrepreneur and scientist Egbert Smit; an experienced scientist-turned-entrepreneur who has been involved in building start-ups for over 15 years. With an MBA from Maastricht University Business School and a PhD in Molecular biology/biochemistry from the University of Amsterdam, Egbert and his team are on a mission to transform melanoma prognosis by translating scientific insights into tangible, life-changing solutions. The team has previously secured non-dilutive funding from EIT Headstart, LIOF’s Limburg Business Development Fund, the national MIT program, RVO and Rabobank.

MLA Diagnostics’ newly developed and patented DNA methylation-based molecular test technology helps pathologists in diagnostic labs by providing a more realistic prognosis based on the DNA taken from patient biopsies. A specific biomarker, namely LY75 gene promoter methylation is used to discriminate between low and high-risk disease, thereby providing more accurate information to guide clinicians in tailoring treatment intensity and ensuring precise and personalized patient care.

During their recent investment round – which has now closed – MLA Dx secured a strategic 7-figure investment. The investment was made by NLC Health Ventures (through its Momentum and the NLC Health Impact Fund), LIOF, and Brightlands Life Science Ventures. Together, all shareholders bolster MLA Dx’s mission to improve the narrative of melanoma care. The next step for MLA Dx is to externally validate their findings, a pivotal step in laying a foundation for future clinical trials.

About NLC Health Ventures, Momentum and HIF

NLC Health Ventures is the leading European early-stage healthcare investor and the world’s largest venture builder in healthtech. Pain monitoring systems, ultrasound cancer detection, and light therapy for newborns: these are just some of the life-changing inventions that we have brought to those in need. With its growing team of more than 80 professionals, 4 captive funds (of which Momentum and the NLC Health Impact Fund have invested in MLA Dx), and over 110 portfolio ventures built across 11 European countries, we bring science to life and make the early-stage investible.

About Brightlands Life Sciences Ventures

Brightlands Life Sciences Ventures (BLSV) is the venture fund of Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus B.V. and invests in spin-offs from Maastricht University and Maastricht University Medical Center.

About LIOF

LIOF is the regional development organization of the province of Limburg (Netherlands) and strengthens the economic structure and growth of Limburg. LIOF supports innovative entrepreneurs with advice, network, and financing.  The Limburg Startup Capital Fund (LCSF) is managed by LIOF and is a fund for startups and innovative SMBs that have the potential to contribute to the most important societal transitions in the coming years: energy, circularity, healthcare, and digitization. The LCSF supports with two financial instruments the development of innovation from idea to market.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

MLA Diagnostics

Egbert Smit
CEO
egbert.smit@mladx.com
 

What a way to start 2022!

This month we celebrate

  • Teaming up with Maastricht University in a TKI academic project for the discovery of clinically relevant methylation markers.

  • A Rabobank Innovation Loan

  • Early-stage Funding (Vroege Fase Financiering or VFF) loan by Rijksdienst voor ondernemend Nederland (RVO). We thank regional investment bank LIOF for the support of this application.

Finalist in the Academic Startup Competition 2020

This month, MLA Diagnostics was selected as a finalist in the Academic Startup Competition 2020. 20 ground-breaking innovations in various fields were selected based on their value proposition, the innovative character of the technology involved, the potential of their business and profit model, and the startup team composition.

MLA Diagnostics is pleased to be competing to become the Best Academic Startup of the Netherlands. We look forward to the VSNU impact festival on January 20th 2021! 

NLC closes Momentum, provides funding support for MLA Diagnostics

NLC The European Healthtech Venture Builder has closed Momentum – a € 2.2 mln fund for private investments -within a month. This fund will be invested in 11 innovative healthtech ventures from NLC’s portfolio. With this new way of funding, investors can easily spread their money and hence their risk, and at the same time build up a broad portfolio of startups.

Considering the short timeframe in which the € 2.2 mln fund was closed, Momentum’s approach seems to be a successful new way of attracting financing for startups. This form of financing offers a solution for the lack of capital funding that start-ups often encounter in the ‘pre-seed’ and ‘seed’ phase of financing. Although the total amount of investment in healthcare is increasing, there appears to be a shift towards investing in ventures that are well past the ‘pre-seed’ and ‘seed’ stages. This results in a structural shortage in capital for early-stage startups.

MLA Diagnostics CEO, Egbert Smit  -“Momentum is a great initiative by NLC to help startups at an early stage in their existence. This funding will help MLA Diagnostics to further validate the assay in patient samples to bring us closer to CE mark.”

MLA Diagnostics is awarded a LBDF POP subsidy by LIOF

The LBDF POP grant will support a Health Technology Assessment project in collaboration with Clinical Epidemiology & Medical Technology Assessment (KEMTA) and HI-NL. The project consisted of 3 phases: patient journey inventory, health economic modelling and an expert round table session including experts from all domains (clinical, insurance, reimbursement, regulatory, health economic and clinical methodology). 

MLA Diagnostics receives a place in the MSD LAB1891 programme

LAB1891 and UtrechtInc will partner up to support 3 early stage startups selected by MSD to help innovation in their focus area. 

The programme provided coaching, workshops and access to a global network of expertise. MLA Diagnostics gained valuable clinical insights into pharma drivers and interests in biomarker applications in general, companion diagnostics, predictive biomarkers and personalised medicine.