Press Release Series A Funding

Press Release Series A Funding

Press Release

Delta Life Science raises €5.25 million in Series A Funding to Revolutionize Biosensing Technology

Rotterdam, May 9, 2023 – Dutch start-up, Delta Life Science, a leader in label-free, multiplexed biosensing, announced today that it has successfully secured Series A funding of €5.25 million.

The funding round was made possible by a consortium of four investors: i&i Biotech Fund, Oost NL, InnovationQuarter and PhotonDelta. The investment will fuel the company’s ambitious vision of making rapid, sensitive, and low-cost biosensors accessible to all, transforming the Life Sciences industry and paving the way for novel and faster solutions in Life Sciences research.

Delta Life Science is a TNO spin-off that simplifies biosensing, the detection of biomolecules, using photonic integrated circuits. This cost-effective method accelerates Life Sciences research and enables multiplexing to analyze multiple biomolecules at once.

“Securing Series A funding marks a significant milestone for Delta Life Science, validating our technology and our vision to create multiplexed biosensing,” says Guy Dewil, CEO of Delta Life Science. “We are grateful to our investors for their support and strongly believe in our mission. This investment will accelerate the launch of our first product. It will unlock the full potential of our biosensing technology to drive discoveries in Life Sciences.”

“We are thrilled to accompany Delta Life Science in developing such a promising cutting-edge biosensing technology for both industry and academic research. We firmly believe that Delta´s technology can effectively bring a significant improvement in the biosensing arena. We are convinced, the interest of industrial partners for this technology maintains the committed team of Delta on the right trajectory to future success,” says Karel Kubias, Partner at i&i Biotech Fund.

“The Delta Life Science team is poised to disrupt the Life Sciences industry with our cutting-edge photonic biosensing technology,” says Bart de Boer, CTO of Delta Life Science. “Today’s scientists need more answers, faster. We create highly-sensitive label-free biosensing instruments enabling our customers to accelerate their research tremendously.”

With initial funding from TNO and UNIIQ, the company has grown into a highly experienced and well-balanced team, tirelessly perfecting its biosensing technology. The Series A funding will propel the company forward as its first product launch approaches. This will enable the company and its key partners from the Overijssel region to further develop next-generation biosensor systems for real-time biomolecule detection in samples.

 

Notes to Editors: 

About Delta Life Science

Delta Life Science, headquartered in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, is committed to revolutionizing biosensing technology by making label-free, multiplexed biosensors and instruments accessible to all. The company’s innovative approach to biosensing, using photonic integrated circuits, reduces the complexity and cost of traditional lab methods. By providing a rapid, sensitive, low-cost solution, Delta Life Science aims to empower researchers and industry professionals to make groundbreaking advancements in Life Sciences.  

 

About Oost NL  

Oost NL is the development company of the Eastern Netherlands. It is strengthening the regional economy on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the provinces of Overijssel and Gelderland, by investing public money in entrepreneurs in the east of the Netherlands. In addition to these financial resources, Oost NL also makes its knowledge, expertise and network available.

For more information, please visit www.oostnl.nl. 
   

About InnovationQuarter  

InnovationQuarter manages €300 million in funds. It is one of the most active investors in the Netherlands and  invests in disruptive startups & scale-ups that contribute to a cleaner, smarter, and healthier world. High risk, but also high impact. InnovationQuarter invests from four funds: IQCapital, UNIIQ, ENERGIIQ, and the Energy Transition Fund Rotterdam. InnovationQuarter is the regional economic development agency for the greater Rotterdam The Hague area. InnovationQuarter finances innovative and fast-growing companies, assists international companies in establishing their businesses in this region, and facilitates (international) collaboration between innovative entrepreneurs, knowledge institutes and government. 

   

About PhotonDelta  

PhotonDelta is a growth accelerator for the integrated photonics industry. Over the years, PhotonDelta has built an ecosystem of organisations that design, develop and manufacture next generation chip technology. PhotonDelta actively supports the ecosystem by stimulating collaboration, providing funding, and connecting to markets.  

 

About i&i Biotech Fund (i&i Bio)  

i&i Bio is a Luxembourg-based venture capital firm that invests in innovative European Life Sciences companies focused on drug discoveries, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health. The Fund was created thanks to the cooperation of the biotech incubator i&i Prague and the European Investment Fund (see below). With over €47M under management, i&i Bio plans to invest in about 20 early-stage companies. i&i Bio is led by an experienced team of professionals with backgrounds in private equity, healthcare and venture capital supporting entrepreneurs on their journey to global success. Thanks to close cooperation with the fund’s main sponsor, the biotech academic incubator i&i Prague, i&i Bio is supporting and advancing transformative Central European technology companies.  

For more information visit www.inibio.eu. 

 

About the European Investment Fund 

The Fund is supported by an investment from the EIF, with the support of: 

  • lnnovFin Equity, with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) set up under the Investment Plan for Europe. The purpose of the EFSI is to help support financing and implementing productive investments in the European Union and to ensure increased access to financing; and 
  • the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF), implemented by the EIF with the financial support of the Participating Member States. The objective of the EGF is to respond to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring that companies in the Participating Member States have sufficient short-term liquidity available to weather the crisis and are able to continue their growth and development in the medium to long-term. 

 

   

Press Contact: 

Contact Name: Bart Stenneken, Delta Life Science

Phone Number: +3165463508 

Email: bart.stenneken@deltalifescience.nl

Case Study – World-Class Noise Performance

Case Study – World-Class Noise Performance

Case Study

Delta Life Science’ world-class noise performance

In label-free biosensing, noise performance is critical. A low baseline noise level is a prerequisite to detecting analytes in very low concentrations and/or to detect low-molecular-weight analytes. Unfortunately, the noise performance of label-free biosensor instruments varies significantly between manufacturers. It can be anything between 0.01 Response units (RU) for the top-end instruments to several RU for lower-end instruments. In this case study, we have investigated the noise performance of Delta Life Science’ prototype instrument to assess how this compares to commercially available instruments.

Approach

Delta Life Science offers several types of chips that differentiate in the number of on-chip sensors and sensor type used. Generally speaking, ring resonator sensors have a slightly lower sensitivity, but their relatively small size allows a higher degree of multiplexing. Contrary, Mach-Zehnder interferometers can achieve a higher sensitivity but are also larger, limiting the multiplexablility. For this test, we used a chip that carries fourteen 3×3 Mach-Zehnder interferometers, allowing sensitive 14-plex detection. In addition, we used Delta Life Science’ proprietary signal processing to process the raw interferometer signals and evaluate the baseline noise. This signal processing was developed at Delta Life Science with the specific aim to optimise noise performance.

In regular operation, binding the biomolecules to the biosensor surface causes a change in the optical refractive index at the immediate chip surface, which is subsequently detected. The detected refractive index change is proportional to the amount of surface-bound biomolecules. However, to exclude any noise contributions originating from biological processes, here we investigated baseline noise in an experiment where the sensor responds to a transition between two fluids having a slightly different refractive index.

Figure 1: Response for a transition from water to water with 3% IPA.

Figure 2: zoom-in on the curve in Figure 1 (top), and the deviation from a 2nd order polynomial fit (bottom).

Results

Figure 1 shows the response of a Delta Life Science’ sensor when transitioning from water to water with 3% isopropanol. A shift of over 2000 RU is observed. Subsequently, the noise was evaluated by zooming in on a particular part of the sensor response. The top graph in Figure 2 shows a zoom-in on the curve in Figure 1, with a 2nd-order polynomial fit. As can be seen, the number of data points amounts to ten per second. In other words, the sensor read-out is at 10Hz. Delta Life Science instrument allows read-out at 1 or 10Hz. The deviation from the fit is shown in the lower graph in Figure 2. The standard deviation from the fit is 0.01 RU per Square Root Hertz.

 

Conclusion

For 1Hz read-out, we achieve a baseline noise of 0.01 RU. This performance is only met by a select few top-end label-free biosensing instruments. Delta Life Science expects that further optimisation of its biosensors will lead to a further reduction in baseline noise and expect to report on a further reduction in baseline noise by at least a factor 2 in the near future.

Seed round from PhotonDelta & TNO Investment

News

Cash Infusion For Photonics-Focused Biosensor Startup Delta Life Science

Rotterdam-based Delta Life Science lands seed round from PhotonDelta & TNO Investment to help bring its biosensor system to the market faster.

14 July 2022, Rotterdam – Biosensor R&D start-up Delta Life Science has received a seed investment from two leading innovators: research organisation TNO – The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research – and PhotonDelta, an ecosystem of photonic chip technology organisations. This investment enables Delta Life Science to further develop and validate its biosensor systems in preparation for a Series A investment round later this year.

A specialist in instrumentation for life science research and diagnostic test development, Delta Life Science, was spun out from TNO’s optics department in 2018 after a decade of research.

Typically, medical & life sciences instruments are very expensive and can only detect one or a few biomolecules at the same time. However, Delta Life Science’s biosensor technology uses photonic chips to detect up to 16 biomolecules simultaneously, with an instrument that is much more affordable.

Plans with the funding

Bart de Boer, CTO and co-founder of Delta Life Science, has firm plans for the seed funding: ‘’This investment enables us to further develop and validate our photonic biosensor system. The next step is to move from prototype to serial-producible product. We believe that our technology will ultimately result in new, more reliable, diagnostic tests that are developed at reduced time and cost.’’

TNO Technology Transfer Programme

Hans Boumans, director of technology transfer at TNO, was equally enthusiastic: “Delta Life Science is a great example of how TNO’s Technology Transfer Programme continues to accelerate market adoption. The startup’s ambition is a prime example of an organisation successfully delivering high tech that advances society, stimulates business and creates new jobs.”

Photonic chips for biosensing

As an ecosystem that researches, designs, develops, and manufactures solutions with integrated photonics technology, PhotonDelta provides funding to support startups like Delta Life Science, as Pieter Klinkert, Fund Manager at PhotonDelta, explains: ‘’We see great opportunities for biosensing instruments based on photonic chips, as the healthcare industry needs faster and cheaper solutions to diagnose patients. That’s why it makes sense that we support Delta Life Science in their next steps to validate and commercialise their products.’’

Currently, the international photonics market is worth € 7.3 billion euros with the Netherlands being a leading light in the technology’s development.

Delta Life Science’s technology is already being used at several universities and companies. As further funding is secured, the company’s aim is to build on this thriving customer base.

 

 

MIT R&D grant

News

MIT R&D grant

Delta Life Science, together with project partner SensUR Health, obtained a MIT R&D grant from the Provincie Zuid-Holland for the development of a Chronic Kidney Disease test. This development will rely on a combination of the photonic biosensor technology of Delta Life Science and the Chronic Kidney Disease assays of SensUR Health to ultimately improve kidney patient care.

 

 

Instrument delivered to AUMC

News

Instrument delivered to AUMC

Delta Life Science delivers a prototype R&D instrument to the Amsterdam University Medical Center, where the system will be used in the NWO-funded project “Profiling information using the chemical signature of a fingermark” in collaboration with the NFI, the National Police, The Police Academy, Merck Chemicals.