About the company

Urteste specialises in the development of an innovative technology allowing the detection of cancers at early stages of their development. The Urteste motto is: Early cancer detection saves lives. The company’s ground-breaking technology helps detect cancers by measuring the activity of the enzymes in urine. Urteste develops diagnostic tests for more than ten of the most common cancers. The company’s team consists of managers with wide experience in leading medical companies and scientists who specialise in the areas of proteolytic enzymes and peptide chemistry.

Vision

Our vision is to create a technology that detects many cancers at early stage of their development. Early cancer detection increases the chances of effective treatment.

Market

According to Verified Market Research, the global liquid biopsy market was worth USD 1.1 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow to 5.0 billion by 2027, with an estimated average annual growth rate of 23.1% over the period, according to analysts. In contrast, according to ReportLinker, the market will reach nearly USD 8.2 billion by 2027.

The market for in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products in which Urteste operates is characterised by high barriers to entry. The market is assessed as highly developed and competition is intense. At the same time, the IVD market is relatively new and characterised by rapid technological progress. Market participants must have significant resources to compete in many areas of the IVD industry across multiple geographic markets or be sufficiently specialised to gain a competitive advantage.

The IVD market has consolidated significantly over the past fifteen years. Due to the lack of product differentiation, economies of scale are essential for profit generation. As a result, the largest investors in IVD companies are major players in the market looking to acquire or build strategic partnerships to gain access to more customers. In recent years, companies developing the most interesting IVD projects have been acquired by industry investors for prices reaching several billion US dollars.

Currently, the company is positioned as a technology start-up in the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) market. Urteste aims to achieve a significant position among companies at a similar stage of development.

Project description

Cancer can develop over a period of more than ten years without showing any warning signs. Global screening tests are currently only available for several cancer types. These mainly involve imaging tests (X-ray, ultrasound). The majority of patients are thus diagnosed too late.

Late diagnosis has a very negative effect on the development of the cancer, and reduces the chances of effective treatment. For example, only 1% of patients with pancreatic cancer live for 5 years following diagnosis. When diagnosed early, pancreatic cancer can be treated surgically.

Urteste is developing ground-breaking technology for detecting cancers by measuring the activity of the enzymes in the urine. The purpose of the technology is to detect multiple cancers at an early stage, using a single urine sample. The company is currently developing tests intended to detect more than ten of the most common cancers: (pancreas, prostate, kidney, colon, liver, biliary tract, stomach, lung, oesophagus, ovary, endometrium, blood, breast and nervous system).

Market leverage of Urteste technology