History

How did we get here?

Story

LUMICKS was founded in 2014 as academic spin-off from the research group of Prof. Gijs Wuite, Prof. Erwin Peterman, and Prof. Iddo Heller at VU University Amsterdam. After returning from Berkeley and Stanford, Wuite and Peterman joined forces on single molecule analysis. By integrating force manipulation and measurement with high-resolution confocal imaging, they created the ability to correlate molecular activity with the molecule’s states and conformational changes. The ability to correlate the structure – function relationship proved highly valuable. With the help of Dr. Iddo Heller, super-resolution was added.

After significant interest from the market, LUMICKS was founded, and these technologies were commercialized and made easy to use with high throughput so that the power of dynamic single-molecule analysis could be put in the hands of biologists.

Expanding Across New Markets

2018

First sales in South Africa & Australia, and new customers in TU Delft, University at Buffalo, Hong KongUniversity of Science and Technology, Semmelweis University, Ludwig Maxmillian University and many more
LUMICKS grows to 55 people
Established first Center for dynamic single-molecule drug research in partnership with AstraZeneca and University of Cambridge
Entered the immunology market with z-Movi for Cell avidity measurement and screening
Launched G2 product line & next gen Bluelake software
Developed Surface Assay toolkit for use in cell biology

A Global Presence

2017

Sales to Imperial College London, University of California Berkeley, Johns Hopkins University, University of Zurich
First Pharmaceutical Customers
30% revenue from China
Opening of US Sales office
Series A funding
38 FTEs
Investing in scale-up

Release of the m-Trap™ Optical Tweezers

Key Accounts & Broadening Technologies

2016

Sales to Rockefeller University, AMOLF, ShanghaiTech University, University of Göttingen
Nature publication with C-Trap™
Organic growth
2^nd product line: AFS™
First C-Trap installations
19 FTEs
Break even

Co-founder & CEO Olivier Heyning accepts the 2016 Young Start-up Award. Picture by Eric Brinkhorst

Breaking Through

2015

First C-Trap™ sales following product introduction
12 FTEs
Break-even

BIOCEV Prague & MPI-CBG, the first two C-Trap™ users

LUMICKS Incorporated

2014

First component sale to Harvard
License agreement
LUMICKS Founded

Co-founder Andrea Candelli demonstrating LUMICKS Technology to State Secretary Sander Dekker

The First Steps

2013

First Patent Filed
Publication in Nature on CTFM Technology
ERC Proof of Concept subsidy granted