The CEO of Stellenbosch University (SU) spinout Biocode Technologies is not your average startup founder and entrepreneur. An electronic engineer with a master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, Este Burger was one of the first three students to join the interdisciplinary collaboration between Prof. Willie Perold’s Superconductivity, Advanced Materials and Nano-devices research group at the Electronic Engineering department, and Prof. Resia Pretorius’s Inflammation Marker and Biosensor research group at the Physiology department at SU. 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 initially focused on advancing and commercialising an inflammation rapid test. In 2023, the company added a microclot detection test to its commercialisation pipeline. Prof. Resia Pretorius’s research group at SU discovered that individuals with long COVID have persistent microclots due to blood vessel damage from SARS-CoV-2. Biocode has spent the last two years developing a world-first diagnostic test to detect the microclots in patients’ blood.
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 its Intellectual Property to labs and clinics in Europe and the United States and is part of a global network of long COVID researchers and healthcare professionals.
Additionally, Biocode has 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 Burger has learnt during her entrepreneurial journey is that there is a notable difference between research objectives and commercial viability. “Not every innovative idea or cool gadget can become a viable product with a market and a sustainable business model,” she emphasizes.
With the assistance of the SU Innovation and Commercialisation (Innovus) Technology Transfer Office, Este 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”. “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. They also aim to take their inflammation rapid test to market.
To learn more about Biocode Technologies, click here.