Human intelligence has reached a stage where we are developing technology to treat diseases we thought were not curable. Today oncology treatment allows companies to create digital health platforms to support patients during their cancer treatment journey. Oncology technology is playing a crucial role in advancing cancer treatment, promoting early detection, enhancing personalized care, and improving the quality of life for cancer patients.
Striving to make a significant contribution to the fight against cancer, Scandinavian ChemoTech is ultimately improving patient outcomes and advancing the field of oncology. Along with other oncology institutions, the team at Scandinavian is driving the progress and implementation of TSE, fostering advancements in cancer care.
Thus in this search of Europe’s Most Innovative Medical Device Companies, we at Insights Care interviewed Mohan Frick & Dr. Suhail Mufti to know how they are using these technologies and making better place for everyone.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
Kindly tell us about your journey and inspiration behind venturing into the medical device sector.
I started my medical device career at 15 -18 as a school vacation worker. At 27, I became the International Marketing Manager for the same company, ARJO, and became a member of the Management Group. In 2011 I shifted into Oncology, an area and industry where I can combine making the work a better place by helping people in need and generating income for the company, its shareholders and myself.
Brief us about the company. How is it contributing to the existing needs of healthcare? What solution is it bringing to the table?
My hypothesis was that the destruction itself could be the reason why many therapies are not successful. I went to a professor in Radio Physics. Prof. em. Bertil Persson from Lund University who agreed with my idea and even had some older research that could be used in the development of the Tumour Specific Electroporation™ or TSE as its called now.
TSE
Scandinavian ChemoTech specializes in the development and innovation of medical devices for the treatment of solid tumours. Tumour-Specific Electroporation (TSE) developed by ChemoTech is an innovative technique that delivers targeted and multi-directional electrical pulses to enhance the permeability of cancer cell membranes, allowing for a more effective intracellular drug concentration with an additional favourable effect on the tumour microenvironment including immune modulation.
- It’s a therapy why we use Dynamic and Tumor adapted electrical pulses to generate small openings in tumor cells through which anti-cancer drugs can enter and Antigens can leak.
- The uptake of some drugs are more than 1000 times higher with TSE and starts an apoptosis process without creating quick destruction.
- The Antigens awakens the immune system
- Its portable laptop designs, with No need for change of infrastructure
- Quick and effective. Each treatment takes max 25-30 min and needs to be repeated 2-5 times.
- No reported side effects related to TSE
- IT works for both Human and Animals (Dogs, Cats and Horses).
Give us an idea about the company’s services/products. What is the process of innovating medical devices at the company? What demographics is the company serving?
When developing an innovation or any product, its important to identify your target groups and the problem you wish to solve and develop a solution and packaging it according to your clients’ needs.
The largest cancer burden and mortalities are not in USA and EU; it comes from India, Asia and Africa today. Their largest needs are to get cost-efficient therapies that do not only work in earlier stages of the disease but also work when treatment resistance has accorded.
Therefore, our first goal for TSE was to be a solution for Superficial tumors that can be removed by surgery, neither responsive to Chemotherapy nor where radiotherapy has failed.
The current needs in India alone are several 100 of thousand of patients annually.
That’s why the initial market focus for Human Care is Primary in India. For Animal care, vets globally are desperately looking for new technologies and therapies that work for superficial tumors that can’t be removed by surgical procedures and do not generate destruction and harm.
ChemoTech’s primary focus is on addressing the healthcare challenges posed by head and neck cancer, advanced breast cancer, and gynaecological cancers, with a particular emphasis on the Indian market, where these cancers have a significant burden.
The process of innovating medical devices at ChemoTech involves several key steps:
- Research and Development: ChemoTech invests in extensive research and development efforts to identify the true potential of Tumour Specific Electroporation (TSE) delivered using IQwave™, not only in the late-stage palliative care setting but also in the earlier treatment paradigms with curative intent. ChemoTech focuses on investing in research and development to address the unique challenges of treating deeper tumours, specifically targeting pancreaticobiliary tumours.
- Clinical Trials and Regulatory Compliance: ChemoTech conducts rigorous clinical studies to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of TSE in solid tumours. Real-life data analysis and real-time remote monitoring of the clinical data help to evaluate multiple indications and combinations of therapeutics along with TSE. Strict adherence to applicable regulatory standards and guidelines is practiced to ensure compliance with relevant healthcare regulations.
- Collaboration and Partnerships: ChemoTech collaborates with oncologists, researchers, and medical institutions to gain insights and expertise in the field. ChemoTech welcomes partnerships to accelerate the development and adoption of TSE for deeper tumours including the innovative minimally invasive robotic approaches for deeper tumours.
Can you elaborate upon the core values on which the company is built and what its mission is?
Our vision is to develop therapies for tomorrow and make them accessible to cancer patients where other treatments – for financial or medical reasons – are not available or where the side effects are too severe. To achieve this, our strategy is to further develop our technology to make it more effective, easier to use, better adapted to clinical environments and suitable for treatment of a wider spectrum of illnesses and conditions.
What role does technology play in facilitating the innovation of medical devices at the company?
Technology is a vital component in ChemoTech’s innovative development of TSE for solid tumors, playing a pivotal role in advancing cancer treatment. ChemoTech leverages functionality for future AI tools to develop treatment algorithms, enabling personalized medicine approaches that incorporate immunotherapy, radiotherapy, and other emerging therapeutics. This integration of AI helps optimize treatment plans for individual patients based on their unique characteristics and needs.
Moreover, ChemoTech’s TSE is not only effective in enhancing drug absorption through electrical pulses but also competent in delivering gene therapy. This is achieved through plasmid transfer, facilitating the introduction of therapeutic genes into the targeted cells. By utilizing this approach, ChemoTech aims to further enhance the efficacy of treatments and explore new avenues in cancer therapy.
Through its dedication to technology-driven innovation, ChemoTech strives to revolutionize cancer care, tailoring treatment strategies to specific tumor types, and maximizing the potential of emerging therapies, ultimately improving patient outcomes and advancing the field of oncology.
What specific endeavors is the company leading at present? Why do you find those essential in the arena of care?
ChemoTech’s pioneering development of TSE represents a significant advancement in the treatment of solid tumors, offering a safe and effective approach that maximizes the impact of Chemotherapy, reduces the required systemic dose, and enhances the efficacy of immunotherapy and radiotherapy. TSE has emerged as an innovative solution to safely target deep-seated tumors, increasing the potential for curative outcomes in these challenging cases. Ongoing collaborative efforts between ChemoTech and leading oncology institutions worldwide are driving the progress and implementation of TSE, fostering advancements in cancer care.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of cancer treatment, the cost of therapies continues to rise. ChemoTech’s TSE provides an efficacious and cost-effective solution to address this challenge. By leveraging TSE, healthcare providers can optimize treatment outcomes while minimizing the financial burden on patients and healthcare systems. This approach demonstrates the potential to revolutionize cancer care, providing a tailored and economically viable option for the management of solid tumors.
What are some of the challenges the company faces when conducting its operations and how does it turn them into growth opportunities?
Continually generating supporting clinical data is always challenging, especially in Sweden where hundreds of innovative companies compete on the few existing patients. It normally takes lots of time and is very costly. Sweden and India have entered into a bilateral healthcare collaboration agreement for healthcare exchange. Chemotech has been selected to be technology partner to one of the initiatives where TSE is now undergoing a clinical trial sponsored by an Innovation center at AIIMS Jodhpur, one of the larger University hospitals in India. They are establishing a standard TSE protocol for Head & Neck cancer in India. (Potential to treat more than 100,000 new patients per year)
What advice would you like to give to budding entrepreneurs and enthusiasts who desire to engage into the medical devices sector?
Do not think that you will find a shortcut to quick success. I never heard of that! Be realistic and ensure funding for 3 years each time. Try to think outside the box and don’t want others do without making our own analysis.
New medical solutions should be smaller and more cost-efficient than the existing ones. Government and private Reimbursement will most probably put pressure on the economic impact.
How do you envision scaling the company’s services and operations in 2023 and beyond?
For Human Care, we will continue to focus on India. With a recent potential to be the first treatment alternative for superficial tumors in India, several thousands of patients we have with our relationship with government health care potential to become a Unicorn only on Head and Neck- and Breast Cancer in India Alone. IQwave™ TSE
We see the same Unicorn potential in our Animal Care division, where we already are supplying vetIQure™ TSE technology to most of the largest global enterprises in Veterinary Care with a potential to install hundreds of devices in next years to come as our presents clients collectively operate several thousands of clinics in EU and North America.
Each IQwave™ or vetIQure™ device generates approximately USD 20,000 to 70,000 annual income from treatment kits, based on only treating 50 patients per year. After TSE becomes standard therapy, the clinics will probably reach at least 100-200 treatments per year.
