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Concord Neonatal receives seed capital from UNIIQ to give preterm babies a better start

Contact /Annette van Elswijk Datum /
Startup Concord Neonatal BV has received a capital injection of €300,000 from UNIIQ investment fund for the development of Concord, an innovative delivery table. With Concord, a neonatologist can provide life-saving care in the first critical minutes after birth without having to cut the umbilical cord first. The investment was announced by Alexandra van Leeuwen director Facilitair Bedrijf at LUMC.

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Benefits of not immediately cutting the umbilical cord

In the Netherlands, approximately 12,000 children are born prematurely every year, more than 30 a day. Children born prematurely have a greater risk of permanent physical and mental complications.

We are very happy with this capital injection from UNIIQ, which will enable us to take an important step in ensuring that millions of babies born prematurely each year can receive improved care – Rianne Rotink,  CEO Concord Neonatal

The advantages of waiting several minutes before cutting the umbilical cord, or ‘delayed cord clamping’, have been recognised worldwide, not least because it affords higher chances of survival and less risk of complications. Unfortunately, babies that need urgent care are currently unable to reap the benefits of delayed cord clamping. In order to take them to a separate resuscitation table, the doctor must cut the umbilical cord immediately. To solve this problem, neonatologist Dr Arjan te Pas of Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) has developed Concord: “Waiting to clamp the umbilical cord until the infant is breathing properly ensures a better blood flow in the vulnerable new born baby”, explains Te Pas.

Concord keeps baby close to mother

Concord is an innovative delivery table that can be used for all births, both in delivery rooms and for caesarean sections in operating theatres. Immediately after birth, the baby can be placed on the bed, which is  positioned over the mother so that the umbilical cord can remain connected. Besides the advantage of better blood flow, the baby can stay close to its mother, allowing for instant bonding with her new born baby.

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Concord improves care in the first few critical minutes

To enable clinical research in various international hospitals and to market Concord worldwide, NLC – The Healthtech Venture Builder – founded the start-up Concord Neonatal BV. With UNIIQ’s investment, Concord Neonatal can develop the current prototype into a CE‑certified product and market it.

CEO Rianne Rotink explains: “Concord is a fantastic invention that can have a huge impact on the lives of these vulnerable babies and their families. We are very happy with this capital injection from UNIIQ, which will enable us to take an important step in ensuring that millions of babies born prematurely each year can receive improved care.”

“UNIIQ investments are focused on both the technical and market validation of a technology”, says Liduina Hammer, UNIIQ fund manager. “The developments planned at Concord fit seamlessly with our focus. It is a promising life-saving technology that could have a major impact on the care of premature babies in the future.”