The CEO of Stellenbosch University and Innovus spinout Biocode Technologies is not your average startup founder and entrepreneur. From studying electrical engineering to becoming a biomedical engineer and obtaining her master’s in engineering, Este Burger would be the first of only three students whose thesis involved the development of biosensors for inflammation markers and conditions. This specialised research would later become the foundation of a MedTech company that developed the first actionable diagnostic tool for long COVID patients globally.
Biocode Technologies originated from a collaboration between Prof. Willie Perold’s (Professor Emeritus at SU’s electronic and electrical engineering department) electronic engineering research group, and Prof. Resia Pretorius’s (Head of SU’s Department of Physiological Sciences in the Faculty of Science) physiology research group to develop biosensors for inflammation markers. The company initially focused on advancing and commercialising their inflammation rapid test, and in 2023, they added its microclot detection test to its commercialisation pipeline. The collaboration between Prof. Willie Perold and Prof. Resia Pretorius’s research groups at Stellenbosch University led to the discovery that individuals with long COVID have persistent microclots due to blood vessel damage from the virus, for which Biocode designed and commercialised a novel diagnostic test for microclots.
While conventional tests often miss the vascular damage associated with long COVID, the microclot test developed by Biocode reveals the pathology in affected patients. The company has licensed their Intellectual Property (IP) to labs and clinics in Europe and the United States and are part of a global network of long COVID researchers and healthcare professionals.
Additionally, they have successfully developed a rapid test for semi-quantitative inflammation, which is currently undergoing clinical validation.
Transitioning from an academic laboratory to the marketplace would be a notable challenge for Burger and her team. Building a science-heavy MedTech startup grounded in novel research is particularly challenging and requires the constant management of uncertainties and challenges that come with doing new things. A significant lesson she has learnt during her entrepreneurial journey is that there is a notable difference between research objectives and commercial viability. Another was that “not every innovative idea or cool gadget can become a viable product with a market and a sustainable business model.”
With the assistance of Innovus’s Technology Transfer Office, Burger and her team have managed to navigate the early stages of building a company and managing their patents.Burger’s passion for technology, health and innovation, coupled with an academic environment that is both supportive and entrepreneurial, is what has motivated her to “dive into the deep end” with little experience in entrepreneurship and business.
“The most rewarding part of this journey is the opportunity to build something meaningful, along with the vast array of lessons and invaluable experience that come from pushing your boundaries, doing hard stuff and embracing growth, notes Burger”.
Over the next year, Biocode Technologies will scale their microclot testing locally and internationally and take their inflammation rapid test to market.
To learn more about Biocode Technologies, click here.