Lucero unveils new brand
Lucero unveils rebrand as they enter next stage of development.
Lucero unveils rebrand as they enter next stage of development.
Lucero awarded 900 000 SEK Vinnova Innovative Startups Stage 2 grant to build on Stage 1 progress in preparation for an on-site pharmaceutical pilot project and Seed round funding.
Lucero has been granted a project by the European initiative, MedPhab, to accelerate the development of its novel microfluidic well plates with the help of partners, Joanneum Research and The Technical Research Center of Finland (VTT).
Lucero has moved its offices to AstraZeneca’s BioVentureHub in Mölndal, Sweden.
Tinde Höjer joins the Lucero team to focus on microfluidic development and 3D cell culture handling.
The consortium aims to develop a “near-patient drug development” strategy that includes using 3D cell models comprised of patient-derived cells. The strategy will reduce clinical failures, enable the development of more effective treatments at a lower cost, and allow the right drug leads to be matched with the right patient subgroup.
Out of 934 applicants, Lucero was selected by Vinnova, Sweden’s Innovation Agency, as one of the recipients of the Innovative Startups Stage 1 grant. The grant is targeted towards early-stage startups that are based on innovative products and services and that show global growth potential. The money is meant to help startups develop their prototypes and business models, as well as create strategies to protect and commercialize their intellectual assets.
Lucero has been selected by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, as one of the semi-finalists in the Pre-Seed, Healthcare category of their Photonics West Startup Challenge. This is the second time in a row that Lucero has been selected to participate in the competition, which will be held digitally this year on May 26th.
With the help of ACTPHAST4.0 partners, VUB B-PHOT Brussels Photonics and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, both world leaders in photonics education, research, and innovation, Lucero aims to optimize our optical setup to maximize its potential to work with 3D cell models, as well as to reduce the size of the system itself.
We are proud to announce that Lucero’s co-founder, Falko Schmidt, has successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis and has earned his doctoral degree. We sat down to speak with him after the conclusion of this four-year journey: