The idea for Cystotech was born in 2017, when co-founder and CEO Jacob Elmose Jensen became interested in optimizing the diagnosis and control of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Jacob Elmose Jensen explains that unnecessary tissue samples are inadvertently taken during colonoscopy:
"During bladder imaging, smaller tumors are often missed, which often results in increased scrutiny of patients, and unnecessary biopsies are also performed, as it is complicated to distinguish benign and malignant changes from each other. Globally, bladder cancer is one of the most resource-intensive cancers to treat because the recurrence rate is very high. This results in many years of control for the patient population.
Cystotech is currently developing a tool to help doctors identify the specific areas of the bladder to be biopsied. With the help of artificial intelligence, Cystotech will make it easier for doctors to distinguish between normal tissue and tumor formation. In doing so, the company also wants patients to receive faster and targeted treatment, thus avoiding the side effects that often arise from unnecessary surgery.
Startup Cystotech joined INCUBA StartupLab in June 2022: "Being part of INCUBA's StartupLab is really great. We have the opportunity to focus on our business because the framework is right. There are lots of good facilities and it is fantastic that our small business can grow in the framework when we need it," says Jacob Elmose Jensen.
Co-founder and vice dir. Anna Munk Nielsen adds: "In the INCUBA environment, there is a great willingness to help us identify which competencies we might need along the way."
Currently, the team is collecting clinical data and developing their product, which they aim to complete over the coming years.
