Dutch biotech company Scope Biosciences raises €1M from GenDx to speed up development and marketing of its ScopeDx platform

Netherlands-based Scope Biosciences, a platform technology specialising in the development of molecular diagnostics using CRISPR-Cas, announced that it has raised €1M in a fresh round of funding.

Niek Savelkoul, CEO of Scope Biosciences, says, “The proprietary ScopeDx CRISPR-diagnostic platform has shown its incredible potential in various applications in the last 3 years of its development, and with this investment we can bring the first ScopeDx products to the market.”

Transforming diagnostics with CRISPR-Cas

CRISPR-Cas is considered to be one of the most revolutionising discoveries in the biotech sector. It has the ability to precisely detect and cut specific sequences of genetic material for use in genetic engineering. It is used in molecular diagnostics.

Fundamental discoveries made by Van der Oost’s research group have revealed how the CRISPR-Cas system contributes to the bacterial anti-viral defense mechanism. He identified various enzymes and molecular signaling pathways that make this defense possible.

Scope Biosciences, which is a spin-off of Wageningen University & Research, specialises in the development of molecular diagnostics using CRISPR-Cas. The idea to set up Scope Biosciences originated in close collaboration with the Laboratory of Microbiology at the department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences at Wageningen University & Research.

Dutch Spinoza-winning scientist prof. Dr. John van der Oost and assistant prof. Dr. Raymond Staals at Wageningen University, both act as co-founders and will continue as Scientific advisors to support Scope Biosciences. The company was founded in 2020 by Jurre Steens, Niek Savelkoul, Bart Scholten, and Stijn Prinsen.

Scope Biosciences applies CRISPR-Cas’ inherent specificity and ease of use to develop a molecular diagnostic platform. The company says this will revolutionise the field of diagnostics as the simplicity of the assay promises to bring highly accurate molecular diagnostics outside the research laboratory like clinical bedside applications.

Investor and capital utilisation

The funding came from Utrecht-based GenDx that specialises in Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) products for transplant diagnostics and in molecular diagnostics. The Dutch company, focuses on development, production, and sales of assays and analysis software for transplantation and companion diagnostics. 

GenDx also specialises in HLA sequencing-based typing strategies and offers reagents and software for both Sanger and NGS approaches. Additionally, it provides post transplantation products for chimerism monitoring by qPCR and NGS.

Scope Biosciences will benefit from GenDx’ experience to speed up developing and marketing the ScopeDx platform. 

Scope Biosciences will also use the funds to grow its research and development team, and expand on the running partnerships in the development of rapid diagnostics for infectious diseases in healthcare, veterinary, and agri-food applications.

The collaboration with GenDx is mutually beneficial as it will entail a co-development trajectory to develop ScopeDx applications for transplant diagnostics.

Dr. Wietse Mulder, CEO of GenDx, says, “We are excited to collaborate with such a motivated and energetic team of Scope Biosciences that is supported by WUR, the renowned scientists Van der Oost and Staals and the seasoned businessmen Math Kohnen and Wil Hazenberg. We truly believe that together with them both Scope Biosciences and GenDx will be able to deliver meaningful products to the field of diagnostics based on CRISPR-Cas technology.”