UNIIQ, a proof-of-concept fund led by the universities Erasmus MC, TU Delft, Universiteit Leiden and regional development fund InnovationQuarter, launched this year with 22 million euro to spend. This week it invested in two startups: Andrupos (identification software) and VarmX (pharmaceuticals).
Both startups get a 300.000 euro investment. Earlier this year Adjuvo Motion and WOLK Company were the first two startups to receive funds from UNIIQ.
Andrupos
Andrupos develops software which enables the automatic identification of documents that are susceptible to fraud, like birth certificates and passports. The startups also wants to help in the battle against counterfeit money. The product was invented by Dutch entrepreneur Erna Leenaars and two German partners Jan Schloen and Slavi Bonev. Andrupos has its HQ in The Hague, at The Hague Security Delta Campus. The startup will use the money to develop a prototype.
VarmX
VarmX is a pharmaceutical spin-off from the Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum, founded by professor Pieter Reitsma. The company has developed a new medicine, PseudoXa, that can stop the bleeding for patients taking blood thinner.
A proof-of-concept fund can turn out great for pharma startups. VarmX will use the investment to take the first steps towards the commercial production of PseudoXa. “This is a complicated process because PseudoXa is a difficult protein product,” says Professor Reitsma. He stresses that several safety studies must be done first, before it can be tested on humans.
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