Communication, Author at DEMCON

CE certification for DemcAir ventilator

19 October 2020 by Communication

The DemcAir ventilator received the CE certification last month. In March, we started an accelerated development process to realize a ventilation system that is suitable for corona patients in intensive care (IC). Thanks to intensive cooperation with the Dekra (the certification body), who, among other things, allowed us to monitor the preparation of the technical documentation and risk management, we were able to deliver the first systems within a month and 500 systems to the Dutch government soon after. These systems were not yet medically certified, but they were safe and functional. The certification follows exactly six months after the start of the development process.

Read more about the DemcAir breathing system in the showcase.

Demcon nominated for the Dutch Innovation Award 2020

9 October 2020 by Communication

Demcon is one of the three finalists for the Dutch Innovation Award 2020! We were selected on the basis of participation in the Dutch Innovation Monitor 2020 and additional research. The other nominees are Bolesian and Protix. The winner will be announced during the broadcast of the AVROTROS program The World of Tomorrow. It will be broadcast on NPO1 on Monday 19 October 2020. An expert jury will nominate the winner of the Dutch Innovation Prize 2020.

The jury includes Hans Boumans – Technology Transfer Manager TNO, Lotte de Bruijn – Director NLdigital, Thomas Grosfeld – Specialist Innovation and Top Sector Policy of VNO-NCW, Mariëtte Hamer – Chairman of the Social and Economic Council, Geert Huizinga – Director of Advocacy FME, Mark Pehlig – Deputy Chairman Koninklijke NLingenieurs, Sjaak van der Tak – Chairman LTO Glaskracht Nederland, Doekle Terpstra – Chairman Technology Netherlands, Focco Vijselaar – Director General Business and Innovation, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate, Pieter Waas – Director Entrepreneurship, Ministry of Economic Affairs Business and Climate, Henk Volberda – Professor of Strategy & Innovation, Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam and Director of the Amsterdam Center for Business Innovation (research leader and jury chairman).

Click here for more information.

Demcon nominated for the German-Dutch Prize for the Economy 2020

1 October 2020 by Communication

We have been nominated for the German-Dutch Prize for Economy 2020. We received this nomination for, among other things, the development and realization of a production machine for medical mouth masks and a respiration system for corona patients in intensive care.

The public determines the winner by voting for their favorite. At the moment you can vote via this website. The other nominees are Royal Auping and Next Kraftwerke.

Read more about the production machine for the medical face masks and the DemcAir.

Demcon invests in LiGalli’s vaginal MedRing

1 July 2020 by Communication

More effective drug delivery and better diagnostics for women

Incontinence is an extremely annoying condition for which current treatment, in the form of pills, has many side effects. LiGalli has developed a unique vaginal ring that delivers controlled incontinence medicine in a liquid form, as a result, the woman experiences fewer side effects. LiGalli’s MedRing enables more effective drug delivery and better diagnostics, and is controlled via a smartphone app. In this way, incontinence can be treated in a targeted manner, so that women can go through their day with more control. Recently, technology developer and producer Demcon completed the development and first production of the MedRing on behalf of LiGalli. The partners are now working together on new versions of the MedRing, for the delivery of other medicines, and also for diagnostics. This week, LiGalli closed an investment round to finance the market launch of the first MedRing and the development of subsequent versions. In addition, LiGalli and Demcon have intensified their cooperation, as Demcon has also come on board as a new shareholder. “We want to build a Dutch company together”, says LiGalli CEO Willem de Laat, “and ensure that the benefits of our ring become available to as many women as possible.”

As many as one in six women suffer from an overactive bladder. There are medicines available in the form of pills, but these have many side effects. As a result, incontinence continues to be an extremely unpleasant condition for many women, hindering them in their daily lives and social activities. A ring that releases the drug oxybutynin in the vagina in liquid form offers a solution. This drug is expected to give a much better result, with fewer side effects. Due to its excellent perfusion, the vaginal wall is the ideal location for the effective uptake of medicines. There are already many types of vaginal rings, but they only provide the continuous delivery of a fixed dose of medicine. LiGalli has now developed a unique vaginal ring for controlled delivery, diagnostics, and communication. The patient is able to insert and remove the ring herself, and operate it with a smartphone app.

Second-generation vaginal ring
LiGalli was founded by Willem de Laat, who trained as a gynecologist and is the former chief medical officer of Organon. At Organon, he was responsible for introducing the first vaginal ring, the NuvaRing, for the delivery of contraceptives. Now he is the inventor of the second-generation vaginal ring. “As far as we can tell, our MedRing is the first and only one that is controlled from an app and can collect data for diagnostics. We have obtained a patent for this. The human body is not only able to absorb medicines, it also continuously sends out a lot of data about its own condition. Our ring is equipped with a temperature sensor that can measure whether the medicine has actually been delivered. Doctors have a lot of interest in this objective information, because until now they had to rely on patient confirmation. In the future, we will use specific sensors to also measure, for example, glucose or hormone levels. In addition to physiological data, we can collect therapeutic data so that drug delivery can be adapted to the measured values. In this way, with the help of the app, the doctor can tailor the treatment to the individual patient.”

Development partner and investor
LiGalli was looking for a partner to help develop the MedRing into a medical product. “We have searched all over the world for an engineering firm that is good at two things: medical product development and miniaturization. That’s how we ended up at Demcon. It was a very challenging job for them to build this ring with the right layout, the right materials, the correct functioning, and all of this in miniaturized form. They have succeeded in turning the ring into a beautiful product in which a small pump, a miniature medicine reservoir, electronics, an antenna, and a small battery have been correctly integrated. Their people are incredibly motivated to make the ring a success. In our meetings we sit around the table with an extraordinary group of people, featuring engineers and pharmacists, as well as a gynecologist, a biochemist, a patent expert, and more. Demcon CEO Dennis Schipper is a true entrepreneur and visionary. He shares his thoughts about the future of the company and the ring. There is a match between us, because neither of us wish to go for the quick buck – we want to build a Dutch company. The great thing is that Demcon is now also participating in our new investment round. That says something about their confidence.”

This week, LiGalli raised six million euros in new investments from existing and new shareholders, including Demcon as mentioned above. With this capital injection, LiGalli will finance the market introduction of the MedRing for incontinence medication, and the development of new MedRing applications, where Demcon will take care of both the hardware and the software. The operation of the ring has now been demonstrated, and Demcon has almost completed the assembly of the first rings. The first tests with the administration of oxybutynin in patients will follow in a few months.

Solution to a social problem
Demcon develops technological solutions to social problems, explains Jemy Pauwels, director investment at Demcon. “An overactive bladder affects more than 600 million people worldwide, most of them women, of whom about 100 million require treatment. In severe forms it can even lead to depression. The major advantages of LiGalli’s MedRing over alternatives are the reduced side effects and greater social acceptance. A further plus is the possibilities for monitoring the patient, also in the future for other conditions. Together with LiGalli we are looking for the ‘holy grail’: controlled drug delivery based on diagnostic measurements. As Demcon, we are happy to contribute to these new treatment options for women with engineering, production, and investment. We do this with confidence, because the current management has earned its spurs, and is supported by a wide range of skilled advisers and an expert supervisory board.”

About Demcon
Demcon (750 employees) develops, produces, and supplies technology and innovative products. The Demcon group has locations in Best, Enschede, Delft, Groningen (the Netherlands), Münster (Germany), and Singapore. The company was born out of the founders’ passion for combining creativity and technical skills aimed at solving complex issues. These issues are of a technological and social nature, and often have a direct or indirect impact on people and their living environment. Whether medical solutions, sustainable innovations for themes such as water and energy, or systems that guard our safety, Demcon contributes – for current and future generations. In addition to developing technical solutions, Demcon is committed to stimulating entrepreneurship, and investing in talent and education.

More information
For more information, please contact Renée Koekkoek op Munsterhuis, public relations & press officer at Demcon, tel. +31 88 11 52 000. See also www.ligalli.nl.

16 November 2020 – ZIE

11 March 2020 by Communication

On the 16th of November Demcon will be present at ZIE, the annual event of Holland Instrumentation. This year the main subject will be ‘People-oriented technology’. The conference brings entrepreneurs, scientists, investors and governments from the western Netherlands together and it shows opportunities for new products, new business, networks and financing opportunities.

For more information visit the website of Holland Instrumentation.

2 & 3 December 2020 – Kunststoffen

22 June 2020 by Communication

Demcon will be present at the Kunststoffen 2020 in Veldhoven on 2 & 3 December. This is the trade fair and meeting place for the entire plastic and rubber industry. For more information, visit the Kunststoffen website.

Demcon invests in Mellon Medical’s surgical instrument

15 June 2020 by Communication

Suturing reinvented for better quality of life

Abdominal wall closure after surgery is a time-consuming and critical job. In the conventional method – with needle holder, tweezers, and suture – the surgeon literally and figuratively has his hands full. The faster and more precise the suturing, the better the result, and for the patient that translates into a better quality of life after the procedure. Dutch company Mellon Medical has devised an instrument for fast and precise suturing using one hand: the Switch suturing device. Contact with technology developer and producer Demcon has resulted in a collaboration for the further development of the device and subsequent production. Now Demcon is also taking part in a new investment round, which provides Mellon Medical with the capital needed for entering the medical market with the Switch. “Surgeons worldwide are willing to learn this technique.”

Closing the abdominal wall requires supreme concentration from the surgeon, made more challenging as it has to be done just after performing major surgery. Handling a needle holder and tweezers, with which a semicircular needle is transferred, requires great manual dexterity using both hands. In this way the surgeon applies what are known as “big bites”: sutures that are one centimeter apart. Research led by Erasmus MC, published in top medical science journal The Lancet, has shown that “finer” suturing, with “small bites” five to seven millimeters apart, yields better results. It results in fewer complications – for example, the number of incisional hernias is halved. As a result, the number of repairs required is drastically reduced, and an estimated $2 billion a year in healthcare costs can be saved in the US alone.

Precision and quality
In the conventional way, however, applying “small bites” is difficult. Mellon Medical has come up with a solution: the Switch suturing device. This instrument has two jaws that the surgeon can move toward each other to automatically transfer a straight needle from one jaw to the other using only one hand. The surgeon then has their second hand free to present the tissue to be sutured. This improves the precision and thus the quality of the suture. In addition, the surgeon can suture twice as fast this way. Initial experiences were already very positive, declares Prof. Hans Jeekel, emeritus professor of surgery at Erasmus MC and co-author of the 2015 Lancet article. “At Erasmus MC, highly experienced surgeons have tested this instrument on patients for closing the abdominal wall. Their findings showed that this smooth instrument, even in the prototype phase, can contribute to a simple and precise application of the ‘small bites’ technique, which we think is essential for surgeons around the world to adopt over the coming years.”

Expert review
After Mellon developed the first design, they called in Demcon for an expert review in 2019. The review covered: whether the design is robust, what needs to be changed for use in general surgery (after first having sought application in vascular surgery), and is the Switch easy to produce? Another important question was, which indication technique can ensure that the sutures are placed exactly five to seven millimeters apart? The results of the expert review and the contact between Mellon and Demcon were so satisfactory that the partners decided to further collaborate on the development of the instrument and subsequent production. “We selected Demcon because they have a broad experience in medical product development,” explains Mellon CEO Jan Benschop. “In the Netherlands, they have everything in house for that: development, production, and quality control.” Demcon production has the necessary assembly facilities in place, and Demcon metal injection molding commands the appropriate technique for making the precision parts of the Switch.

Commitment
To underline the mutual commitment, Demcon is participating in the new financing round of €4 million, which Mellon concluded this month with its current shareholders Thuja Capital, regional development companies Oost NL and BOM, and RvO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency). The new investment will allow Mellon to introduce the Switch to the medical market. The global market for sutures and suturing devices is estimated at $3 billion a year. “Our instrument can accelerate the introduction of the ‘small bites’ technique for suturing,” Benschop says. “This can greatly improve the quality of life for patients and contribute to the reduction of healthcare costs.”

Collaboration
The partnership with Mellon is in line with Demcon’s views on corporate social responsibility, explains Jemy Pauwels, investment director at Demcon. “We develop technology that can provide solutions to social problems. Our conversations with surgeons have confirmed that this new instrument responds to the wishes of the medical world, making suturing much easier and faster, and thus increasing patient well-being and surgeon efficiency. As a result, the surgeon can perform the procedure themselves with more control, and is less dependent on OR assistants. In our expert review, we explored what our developers still have to do to arrive at a market-ready product. We also investigated the relevance of our production capabilities, and the height of a realistic cost price. We are now investing in Mellon because we have confidence in the potential of the product and technology, and in the quality of its management. That’s why we like to present ourselves as an engineering and manufacturing partner.”

About Demcon
Demcon (700 employees) develops, produces and supplies technology and innovative products. The Demcon group has locations in Best, Enschede, Delft, Groningen (the Netherlands), Münster (Germany), and Singapore. The company was born out of the founders’ passion for combining creativity and technical skills aimed at solving complex issues. These issues are of a technological and social nature, and often have a direct or indirect impact on people and their living environment. Whether medical solutions, sustainable innovations for themes such as water and energy, or systems that guard our safety, Demcon contributes – for current and future generations. In addition to developing technical solutions, Demcon is committed to stimulating entrepreneurship, and investing in talent and education.

More information
For more information, please contact Renée Koekkoek op Munsterhuis, public relations & press officer at Demcon via tel. +31 88 11 52 000. See also www.mellonmedical.com.

Demcon industrial systems develops and produces face mask machine

26 May 2020 by Communication

At the moment, due to the coronavirus, there is a shortage of medical face masks. Demcon develops and produces a face mask machine that can contribute to a solution for this shortage. The machine is suitable to produce FFP1, FFP2 and FFP3 face masks for medical purposes in high volumes. In that way it contributes to securing the availability of reliable face masks for healthcare professionals.

For more information about the face mask machine visit the website of Demcon industrial systems.

Minister Van Rijn receives first ventilation system on behalf of the Dutch government at Demcon in Best

14 May 2020 by Communication

Today, Minister Van Rijn, responsible for Medical Care and Sport in the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, visited the location of Demcon in Best. There, on behalf of the Dutch government, he received the first ventilation system from Dennis Schipper, CEO of Demcon. In total Demcon will deliver 500 ventilation systems that the government will distribute among the hospitals who need them. The ventilation systems are only meant for coronapatients on the intensive care.

Prior to the handover, Van Rijn was informed about the development and production process of the DemcAir ventilation system by, among others, Dennis Schipper and other employees from the project team. Representatives of some of the hospitals who participated in the (pre)clinical tests, namely the Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven, the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam and the Isala in Zwolle, shared their experiences with the system. In addition, Van Rijn was given a tour of the production facilities where employees were fully engaged in the assembly of the systems.

Read all about the development of the DemcAir ventilation system in the showcase.

Ventilation modules from Demcon are vital in the fight against coronavirus

18 March 2020 by Communication

The ventilation modules from Demcon macawi respiratory systems save lives now that the coronavirus is present around the world. Never before has the need for ventilation systems been so great. We are thankful that we can contribute directly to the treatment of thousands of coronavirus patients with breathing problems because we can meet this need.

We are making every effort to continue to meet demand in this situation. The demand is now so great that we are setting up a second production line at Demcon production to be able to double the production. We depend on various (external) factors. The commitment and dedication of our employees is of great value and we keep in close contact with our suppliers about delivery of their components. We all go to great lengths so that we can deliver the equipment to the hospitals as quickly as possible.