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§ Private Profile · Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 82 Ghent, Flemish Region 9052, BE
Health-tech company developing a TDM platform using Raman spectroscopy for hospitals, focused on personalized dosing of beta-lactam antibiotics.
Based in Ghent, Belgium, Axithra develops a photonics-based therapeutic drug monitoring platform that utilizes Raman spectroscopy on a silicon chip to rapidly measure active drug concentrations in patient blood. The medical technology company focuses on enabling personalized medication dosing adjustments at the bedside to improve clinical outcomes, with an initial application targeting beta-lactam antibiotics in intensive care units. To support ongoing research and product development, the early-stage startup raised €10 million in a 2023 seed funding round backed by institutional investors including Kurma Partners, imec.xpand, and Qbic. The proprietary hardware remains under clinical investigation and is not yet cleared by regulatory agencies for commercial sale to hospitals or oncology departments. Axithra was founded in 2023 as a joint spin-off from research institute imec and Ghent University by Dr. Leander Van Neste, Haolan Zhao, and Nuria Teigell Beneitez.
Axithra has raised $11.0M across 1 funding round.
Axithra has raised $11.0M in total across 1 funding round.
# Axithra: Revolutionizing Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Through Photonics
Axithra is a Belgian biotech startup developing a rapid, chip-based drug monitoring platform that measures drug concentrations in patient blood to enable personalized medicine[1][2]. The company builds on proprietary Raman spectroscopy technology integrated onto photonics chips—a breakthrough that makes real-time therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) feasible at the point of care[2][3].
The company serves intensive care units and clinical settings where precise drug dosing is critical. Its immediate problem it solves is the slow turnaround time of traditional drug concentration testing, which can delay treatment adjustments and extend patient hospital stays[2]. By enabling rapid, accurate measurement of the *active* drug fraction in blood—not just total drug levels—Axithra allows clinicians to tailor antibiotic doses and other medications to individual patients in real time, improving outcomes while reducing costs[3][6].
Axithra emerged from a collaboration between two world-class research institutions: imec, a leading nanoelectronics and digital technologies center, and Ghent University's Photonics Research Group[2][5]. The company raised €10 million in seed funding in September 2023, backed by Hamamatsu and supported by the European Union's InvestEU Fund[2][5].
Axithra's founding team brought complementary expertise from academia and industry. Leander Van Neste, the CEO, is a former visiting professor at Ghent with a background in cancer genetics, bringing clinical perspective and industry acumen[2]. Haolan Zhao (Chief Scientific Officer) and Nuria Teigell Beneitez (System Architect) began as postdocs focused on improving detection limits of Raman spectroscopy, while Jonathan Salmon (Chief Technology Officer) joined with industry-specific expertise in product development and healthcare validation[6].
The idea emerged from recognizing a critical gap: Raman spectroscopy is theoretically ideal for drug monitoring because it provides molecular fingerprints without requiring labels or detector molecules, enabling rapid development for new drugs[6]. However, traditional Raman suffered from weak signal strength, limiting clinical adoption. The breakthrough came when imec's semiconductor expertise was combined with Ghent's silicon photonics research—integrating Raman onto a chip dramatically lowered detection limits and made the technology clinically viable[2][6].
Axithra exemplifies a broader convergence of semiconductor innovation and life sciences. imec explicitly positions the company as a "perfect example" of how advanced semiconductor processes developed for chip manufacturing are now being repurposed for healthcare diagnostics[2]. This reflects a wider trend: as photonics and silicon-based sensors mature, they're enabling point-of-care diagnostics that were previously impossible.
The timing is critical. Healthcare systems globally face pressure to reduce hospital stays, optimize antibiotic use (combating resistance), and personalize treatment—all challenges Axithra directly addresses[2][6]. The intensive care unit is an ideal beachhead market: the stakes are high, the need for rapid decision-making is acute, and the economics justify investment in new technology.
Axithra also sits at the intersection of personalized medicine and real-time monitoring—a trend reshaping how clinicians approach treatment. Rather than static dosing protocols, the platform enables dynamic adjustment based on individual patient pharmacokinetics, reducing adverse drug reactions and improving outcomes[3][5].
Axithra is still in clinical investigation and not yet market-approved (neither FDA-cleared nor CE-marked as of the latest information)[3]. The next phase involves transitioning from proof-of-concept to a validated point-of-care medical device, with beta-lactam antibiotics as the lead application[6]. Success here could unlock a significant market: therapeutic drug monitoring is a fragmented, underserved space where faster, cheaper, more accurate testing could reshape clinical practice.
The company's trajectory will depend on regulatory clearance, clinical validation demonstrating improved patient outcomes, and adoption by hospital systems. If Axithra achieves these milestones, it could establish a platform for monitoring multiple drug classes—oncology, antifungals, and beyond—creating a durable competitive moat around its proprietary photonics technology.
The broader implication: as semiconductor and photonics expertise increasingly flows into healthcare, companies like Axithra may pioneer a new category of intelligent, real-time diagnostics that fundamentally change how medicine is practiced at the bedside.
Axithra has raised $11.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Axithra's investors include Kurma Partners, Frank Bulens, Hamamatsu Photonics, Noshaq, Qbic, Wallonie Entreprendre, Werfen Diagnostics, White Fund.
Axithra has raised $11.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $11.0M Seed in September 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2023 | $11M Seed | Kurma Partners, Frank Bulens | Hamamatsu Photonics, Noshaq, Qbic, Wallonie Entreprendre, Werfen Diagnostics, White Fund | Announced |