The joint spin-off of Hahn-Schickard, Helmholtz Munich and TU Munich, Dermagnostix GmbH, was one of 30 companies to qualify for a direct grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) and will receive 2.5 million euros to bring its product portfolio to market under the new "In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation" applicable in Europe. The start-up aims to push the diagnostic boundaries within dermatology.
The mission of the medtech company Dermagnostix to push the diagnostic boundaries within dermatology promises relief to patients with the most common skin diseases psoriasis and atopic dermatitis: the unambiguous analysis result means that therapeutic measures can be initiated in a targeted manner.
The start-up, which was founded in 2021, has developed a molecular analysis method that provides fast and unambiguous results as to whether an inflammatory skin disease is psoriasis or eczema such as neurodermatitis.
From around 1000 applications from Europe, Dermagnostix convinced the jury and can thus look forward to the largest public grant to date.
"Our automated method delivers objective and accurate results through a standardized workflow. Compared to established methods, which are performed manually and therefore prone to errors, our diagnosis is reliable and available within less than two hours," explains one of the founders, Dr. Katharina Dormanns, who was a microfluidic engineer at Hahn-Schickard before founding the company. The now 20-person team is doing everything it can to establish a new standard in dermatology with their products.
The funding will be used, among other things, to further develop the "Analyzer" analysis device and the "PsorX-LabDisk" and to work out the commercialization strategy. With the "Institute for Dermatohistology Pathology Molecular Pathology" in Freiburg, the first pilot customer has already been found. The analysis cartridges are manufactured by Hahn-Schickard.
The "EIC Accelerator" is a European innovation program that helps to identify, develop and disseminate promising technologies. Twice a year, about 70 companies are selected for funding.