Delft-based biotech company Bi/ond is set to shut shop: Here’s why

Delft-based Bi/ond, a biotechnology company specialised in drug discovery, is set to cease its operations.

Cinzia Silvestri, the founder and CEO of Bi/ond announced the decision through a LinkedIn post.  

“After a remarkable ride, we’re announcing the upcoming closure of Bi/ond,” she says.

What happened?

“Our ambition was clear: break out of the start-up mold and become a global scale-up, built by a team that believed in “going big or going home.”

In recent months, the founders recognised that the objectives they had set for the company were increasingly out of reach due to prevailing market dynamics.

“We didn’t want to risk stagnation by remaining in the start-up phase indefinitely. It’s time for our exceptional team to embark on their next adventure,” she says.

Bi/ond: Drug development through silicon microchip

Founded in 2017 by Dr. Cinzia Silvestri, Dr. Nikolas Gaio, and Dr. William Solano, Bi/ond’s mission is to help researchers factor in diversity early on in drug development through silicon microchips.

The company’s platform enables the culturing of complex 3D tissues (organoids, ex vivo tissue, spheroids, and microtissues) for applications in kidney research, oncology, and cardiac simulation.

This technology enables the generation of reliable, human-relevant data for drug testing, accelerating the journey toward life-saving treatments. 

The Dutch company raised its last funding back in 2022. The company raised €3.66M in a fresh round of funding from Netherlands-based FORWARD.one, a venture capital firm designed to address the needs of early-stage startups.