Leiden-based MIMETAS enters a new global growth phase with Bruker
A Leiden-based company that recreates human tissue in the laboratory is entering a new phase of its international development. Bruker Corporation, a global technology company that develops advanced analytical and measurement instruments for applications including life sciences research, is acquiring a majority stake in MIMETAS. InnovationQuarter Capital, which first invested in the company in 2018, is selling its stake as part of the transaction.
MIMETAS will continue its international growth from Leiden, under its existing name and management team. Joining Bruker will enable the company to scale its technology further worldwide and make it available to a broader community of researchers and pharmaceutical companies.
How a small laboratory model grew into a global player
MIMETAS, a spin-out from Leiden University, has been developing technology since 2013 that replicates key functions of human organs in the laboratory. What began as an innovative organ-on-a-chip technology has grown into a platform used worldwide for disease research and drug development. MIMETAS is now spreading its wings while remaining in Leiden. “MIMETAS has grown at the heart of South Holland’s life sciences ecosystem. With Bruker as a partner, we can further scale our technology globally and contribute even more to faster and better disease research and the development of new medicines.”, say Paul Vulto and Jos Joore, co-founders and co-CEOs of MIMETAS.
InnovationQuarter Capital invested in MIMETAS in 2018 during the company’s Series B financing round, alongside an international syndicate of investors. The investment allowed the company to further scale its technology and accelerate its international growth. The Leiden-based life sciences company now employs more than 80 people, and operates globally.
“We supported a groundbreaking technology with the potential to fundamentally change drug research. In the years since, MIMETAS has fulfilled that promise and grown into an internationally leading company.”
The company develops advanced human tissue models in which researchers can assess at an early stage how a disease develops and how a potential drug responds. More than 90% of drugs that appear safe and effective in animal studies ultimately fail to receive approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. MIMETAS’ technology and its OrganoPlate® platform, allow relevant human tissue models to be used to guide research more effectively.
The next growth phase with Bruker
Bruker’s technologies allow researchers to examine in detail what happens within the tissue: where a drug reaches and which cells respond to it. This provides a clearer indication of whether a drug is likely to succeed.
Its efficacy and safety can therefore be assessed earlier using relevant human tissue models. Promising compounds can be developed in a more targeted way, while ineffective drugs can be discontinued earlier, saving both time and money.
“We believe that humanized microphysiological systems, or NAMs, have a bright future, and will be increasingly adopted in drug discovery, development and preclinical testing”, says Frank H. Laukien, CEO of Bruker Corporation.
“Joining Bruker creates opportunities to scale our platforms and make advanced human tissue models available to more researchers worldwide,” say Paul Vulto and Jos Joore, co-founders and co-CEOs of MIMETAS.
Where world-class technology is built
MIMETAS shows how a company can grow from South Holland’s life sciences base into an international technology leader. InnovationQuarter supported the company at an earlier stage of development through funding, network and access to next steps. Joining Bruker now gives MIMETAS the opportunity to scale its technology further and become part of a broader offering for pharmaceutical and biotechnological research. In recent years, a cluster of companies has emerged around Leiden Bio Science Park, working on research methods based on human tissue rather than animal testing. Alongside MIMETAS, this includes companies such as Toxys and Ncardia. The cluster is increasingly attracting international attention and investment. A majority investment of this kind is the clearest evidence of that: this is where technology is developed that attracts the world’s leading companies.
