Amsterdam, October 12, 2010 – Sigmascreening, an Amsterdam based medical device company focusing on the development of new products in the area of breastcancer screening, announces the closure of its first financing round. The investment is made by the Life Sciences Fund Amsterdam, an independent venture capital fund established in 2009 to finance biomedical companies in the greater Amsterdam area.
Sigmascreening is established in July 2010 as a spin-off company from the Academic Medical Center Amsterdam (AMC Amsterdam). Sigmascreening has several products under development, which are all aimed at improving digital mammography, the “golden standard” in breastcancer screening.
In the Netherlands alone, more than one million women between the age of 50 and 75 are invited each year for breast cancer screening. During the examination, the breasts are compressed between a paddle and the detector table, so that the maximum amount of tissue can be imaged and examined. The compression of the breasts is a major cause of fear and discomfort during mammography and can deter women from participating in future screenings. This, in turn, can lead to delayed breast cancer diagnoses and worse prognoses (expected outcomes) for some women. With its first products, Sigmascreening expects to greatly reduce pain and anxiety, making the woman feel more comfortable during the procedure, both physically and emotionally. At the same time, she is aiming to introduce new products that will improve breast cancer screening sensitivity, increasing the chance for detection of breast cancer during the screening.
The founders of Sigmascreening form an experienced and complementary team. Prof. Dr. Ard den Heeten is a radiologist at the AMC and director of the National Expert and Training Centre for Breast Cancer Screening in Nijmegen (LRCB) and Prof. Dr. Ir. Kees Grimbergen is a biomedical engineer at the Academic Medical Centre Amsterdam and at the Technical University Delft. Drs. Emile Knops, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, has previously worked for the RIVM (National Institute for the Public Health and the Environment) as project manager responsible for the digitalization project of the national Dutch breast cancer screening (DigiBOB).
Emile Knops: “Life Sciences Fund Amsterdam’s financing gives Sigmascreening the opportunity to further develop its products. Our first product is a paddle that, unlike all current systems, does not exercise the same amount of force for each breast. Research has shown that with many examinations unnecessary force is exercised, causing unnecessary pain and discomfort for women. Our paddle is intelligent in the amount of force used and can exercise the right amount for the specific breast being examinated.
Harm de Vries, partner at the Life Sciences Fund Amsterdam: “We are delighted with this investment in Sigmascreening. The company’s product will relieve the pain and discomfort of screening mammography and will – hopefully – positively affect participation by women in breast screening. If additionally Sigmascreening’s products improve screening results – and this seems to be the case – an enormous progress is achieved in the area of digital mammography.”
Sigmascreening (www.sigmascreening.com) Emile Knops (CEO) Tel: +31 (0)6 543 55 987 E-mail: emile@sigmascreening.com
Life Sciences Fund Amsterdam (www.lsfamsterdam.nl) Harm de Vries (Partner) Tel: +31 (0)6 532 16 339 E-mail: hdevries@lsfamsterdam.nl
