DBS System in the online newspaper Mergermarket

DBS System to raise up to CHF 12M to launch lab-on-chip device
for dry blood and plasma samples

Privately owned DBS System is seeking investors to raise a CHF 2m Series A by
4Q15 and a CHF 10m Series B in 1Q17, Chief Executive Officer Eric Ödman
said on the side-lines of the 20th MedTech Investing Europe Conference in
Lausanne.

The Switzerland-based company has developed a microfluidic platform for
drawing blood and plasma samples.

Current shareholders are Ödman and the three co-founders — CTO Julien
Déglon, Julien Dumont and Aurélien Thomas — who together hold a majority
stake. A negotiable minority stake is available to new investors, he added. An
exit plan is anticipated for 2020 and could include a sale to a large player
focused on the provision of medical equipment to hospitals and laboratories,
he said.

The company is seeking to forge partnerships with major laboratory networks
such as LabCorp and Eurofins [EPA:ERF] with a view to building value and
revenues ahead of an exit. It has already developed sales channels into big
pharma, selling its blood sampling devices to Novartis [VTX:NOVN] and
Germany’s Merck [ETR:MRK], Ödman said.

The ease of use and versatility of the proprietary dried blood sampling device
has garnered interest from players outside of the pharma industry including
medical nutrition, and in future could interest players such as Nestle
[VTX:NESN], the CEO suggested.

Market launch for the first generation lab-on-chip device is expected in 3Q15
while the second generation plasma separation device is expected to be
commercialised in 3Q16, he said. The company’s first generation dried blood
spot standardised sampling device can be used in settings ranging from
clinical trials to surgeries.

The device replaces the need for needles and syringes: a drop of blood from
the finger is absorbed into micro-channels by capillarity and stored onto filter
paper. The device is then closed like a book and automatically seals itself so
that the blood is transferred onto a filter paper, dried and ready to be sent to
the lab for testing.

This overcomes issues typical to sample collection such as volume control and
hematocrit effect, Déglon said.

The company is also developing a second generation device for obtaining
micro samples of passively generated pure plasma. The device seeks to
overcome existing limitations related to volume control, plasmatic filtration,
standardisation and selectivity of the plasma, Déglon said.

The first investment will be used to scale-up production of its first generation
device, he said. The company is in the process of shortlisting OEMs for product
industrialisation, Ödman said. The funds will also be used for sales and
marketing support, he added. The company expects to receive the CE mark
this summer, he added.

The Series B will instead be dedicated to accelerating production of the
second generation device and the launch of the device in the US.
The only competitor in the space is US-based Theranos which collects fluid
blood samples at multiple points of care to be sent for laboratory diagnostic
tests.

DBS System’s advantage is that its samples are dried on filter paper for easier
storage and shipping. The company can also provide high purity plasma
samples, which typically involve lengthy procedures to obtain and are
required for testing creatinine and cholesterol in the blood, Ödman said.

Link to Article Source: http://goo.gl/F0207n

Interview with DBS Systems, the revolution in blood collection

DBS System is a medtech startup founded in December 2010 and located in the Swiss Health Valley. The company develops smart solutions to simplify the life of millions of people needing blood analyses worldwide. The DBS System device brings a revolution in blood collection with its ability of standardizing samplings everywhere, at any time and by anyone. Eric Ödman, DBS System‘s CEO, agreed to answer my questions during Biovision’s event.

Eric Odman, DBS System’s CEO
How did your Background lead you to start your own business?
After my MBA at the University of St. Gallen, I began my career working for big corporations, but quickly realized that I would not be able to make a change or difference for myself or for others. I felt much more at ease in SME, where you need to be fast and accept to take on all sorts of risks. I have also seen people unhappy at their jobs for years, regretting having never grabbed the opportunity to start their own thing. Not so easy to do, but once you have taken that first step, there is no going back and very few look back on it as being a mistake!

Could you tell us more about your activity?
We are trying to revolutionize the way blood sampling is taken. It is a medical procedure that has not evolved in the last 59 years. To do so, we have introduced a smarter way to collect blood from anyone’s finger tip, which allows people to do their own tests at home, in the office, wherever, whenever, without needing doctors or labs for an analysis.

Why this idea?
Some things remain frozen in time, while their environment, ecosystem evolve and benefit from technological progress. Blood sampling, here, is a perfect example of this case. Some people like to describe what we are trying to do as business re-engineering. Regardless of these remarks, we feel it is time to sample the quantity of blood that is necessary directly from a finger tip. Let’s get rid of syringes, needles and blood tubes.

What differentiates the DBS system from its competitors?
We provide an elegant solution that delivers secured and standardized samples to the lab. We use a support that is useable in the lab and doesn’t disturb the work flow and is easily automatable. We also work on a microfluidic chip, which allows for further functionalization of our devices. We target the Pharma Industry and the clinical trials initially, but we will also aim at covering the B2C markets (individuals).

What are the next steps?
We need to strike up partnerships with industry segment leaders, in order to cover the sales and marketing activities and raise funds to secure proper production capacities.

Link to Source Article: http://goo.gl/9OVq8o