Laser for office and outpatient bladder cancer management

Photothermal coagulation of non-invasive bladder tumors

OUR MISSION

Optheras works to pioneer treatments for bladder cancer, and our mission is to find solutions that are efficient and gentle to improve patient quality of life. Our innovation pipeline includes a laser technology product that we hope will enable urologists to treat Ta low-grade bladder cancer patients in an office setting instead of in the operating room. More specifically, we are working to develop a laser solution that utilizes photothermal coagulation for the treatment of the majority of Ta low-grade tumors anywhere in the bladder.

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Optheras is investigating laser designs for immediate, low-pain, and effective tumor necrosis of low and intermediate risk, Ta low-grade tumors.

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We are designing a laser that is intended to provide real time target guidance and power adaption to the actual surgical situation to improve patient safety and ease of use.

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The Optheras laser is being developed with the intention of use in an office and/or outpatient setting, rather than an operating room environment – the goal is to offer a less invasive and low pain treatment for more patients.

OUR VALUES

People first

The wellbeing of patients, employees and customers is core to us.

Pioneering

We thrive to innovate and be at the forefront of technology.

Passion

We are dedicated to bring forward new solutions for the benefit of mankind.

A new light for bladder cancer

Bladder cancer

Bladder Cancer (BC) is a worldwide challenge, being the 10th most common cancer worldwide*. In both US and EU, BC is the 6th most frequent type of cancer*,** with an estimated economic burden of about €4.9 billion in EU in 2012**. Half of the diagnosed bladder cancer is non-invasive to the bladder wall.

The risk of recurrence is high, so frequent surveillance, recurrent surgery and hospitalization is often required. Transurethal Resection of Bladder Tumor (TURBT) is the golden standard for treatment. A surgical procedure, performed in hospital under anesthesia. Therefore, BC has one of the highest lifetime cost pr. patient of all cancers. Furthermore, the need for repeat procedures can reduce patient’s quality of life.

Better management of BC requires improvements in detection, diagnosing and treatment, and it is important to improve the quality of life for BC patients, while supporting the health system in efficient use of medical ressources

*: ”Epidemiology of bladder cancer”, K. Saginala et al., Med. Sci. (2020)
**: ”Economic burden of bladder cancer across the european union”, J. Leal et al., European Urology 69 (2016)

6th

Most common cancer
form in western world

Highest lifetime cost of all
cancer types

1:43

Lifetime risk
1:43

>570K

new cases
per year

>1.5M suffer globally
of NMIBC*

75%

of all urothelial
bladder tumors are NMIBC*

*Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

Optheras works to bring a new laser to market

– for management of non-invasive bladder cancer and with ambition to be:

Non-inferior to TURBT

Non-inferior to TURBT

Safe for patients and medical professionals

Safe for patients and medical professionals

Safe for patients and medical professionals

A non-anestethic office procedure

Ressource and Costefficient procedure

A resource and cost efficient procedure

Flex-scope compatibility

Flex-scope compatible with single and re-useable cystoscopes

Silent

A silent and energy efficient wheelable unit

Non-inferior to TURBT

Utilizing a highly flexible disposable fiber

The laser is currently in development.

RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS

Outpatient Photodynamic Diagnosis–guided Laser Destruction of Bladder Tumors Is as Good as Conventional Inpatient Photodynamic Diagnosis–guided Transurethral Tumor Resection in Patients with Recurrent Intermediate-risk Low-grade Ta Bladder Tumors. A Prospective Randomized Noninferiority Clinical Trial

G. Pedersen et al., European Urology 83 (2023)

Do repeated transurethral procedures under general anesthesia influence mortality in patients with non-invasive urothelial bladder cancer? A Danish national cohort study

M. Erikson et al., Scandinavian Journal of Urology 54 (2020)

Hospitalization for transurethral bladder resection reduces quality of life in Danish patients with nonmuscle-
invasive bladder tumour

K. Mogensen et al., Scandinavian Journal of Urology 50 (2016)

Economic burden of bladder cancer across the european union

J. Leal et al., European Urology 69 (2016)

Epidemiology of bladder cancer

K. Saginala et al., Med. Sci. (2020)

Outpatient diode laser treatment of intermediate-risk non-invasive bladder tumors without sedation : efficacy, safety and economic analysis

G. Hermann et al., Scandinavian Journal of Urology 52 (2018)

Outpatient photodynamic-guided diagnosis of carcinoma in situ with flexible cystoscopy: an alternative to conventional inpatient photodynamic-guided bladder biopsies in the operating theatre?

K. Mogensen et al., Scandinavian Journal of Urology 51 (2017)

Who are we

We are ambitious, curious, and conscientious

We are a close-knit team of specialists with a deep knowledge in each our field – from highly experienced clinicians to experts in laser optics and medical devices. We are driven by the ambition to find innovative solutions to hard challenges through dedicated teamwork and a curious mindset. Every day, we apply that ambition and curiosity in a work environment characterized by trust, transparency, meticulousness, and a commitment to do things right.

TEAM

Thomas Alkeskjold

CEO

Thomas Alkeskjold is CEO at Optheras. He has a background as innovation manager at A.P. Moller-Maersk, and as engineering manager and director of R&D at NKT Photonics. He has more than 20 years of experience in the field of optics and photonics. He has a M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Laser and Fiber Optics Technology from the Technical University of Denmark.

Anders Sig Olesen

Senior Optical Design Engineer & Project Manager

Anders Sig Olesen is Senior Optical Design Engineer at Optheras. He has a background as an optical engineer in the R&D fiber development group at NKT Photonics and as a post-doctoral researcher at DTU Photonics, RISØ. He has more than 15 years of experience in the field of optics and photonics. He has a M.Sc. in Physics and Nanotechnology and a Ph.D. in Laser and Fiber Optics Technology from the Technical University of Denmark.

Felix Fleischhauer

Senior Medical Engineer

Felix Fleischhauer is Senior Medical Engineer at Optheras. He is project manager for the pre-clinical investigation work. In this role he is working closely together with both the product development engineers as well as the medical team. He has a M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Luebeck and focused already during his studies on laser physics and optics in medical applications.

Mark Denninger

Senior Optical Design Engineer

Mark Denninger is senior optical design engineer at Optheras within fiber interfacing and general optics development. Mark has worked in the photonics business for almost 20 years with development of fiber laser systems and prior to this he has worked with development of microfluidics systems. Graduated from the Technical University of Denmark in 1998 with a M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering.

Søren Enggaard Hansen

Senior Embedded Software Engineer

Søren Enggaard Hansen is Senior Embedded Software Engineer at Optheras. Søren has more than eight years of experience in embedded device development and digital signal processing. Søren has a M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics from the Technical University of Denmark.

Thomas Sørensen

Senior Electrical Design Engineer

Thomas Sørensen is Senior Electrical Engineer at Optheras. He has a background as an RF engineer in Cobham Satcom and lead developer in electronics in Oticon Medical. He has more than 15 years of experience and a strong focus on analogue and embedded electronics and has several years of experience working with developing electronics for medical devices. He has a M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark.

Per Petersen

Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

Per Petersen is Senior Mechanical Design Engineer at Optheras. He has more than 15 years of experience within development of medical devices and equipment. He has a broad experience in mechanical design which over the past 25 years has been starting at oil rigs moving to medical devices like for instance hearing aids.

Jan Bertholdt Hansen

Head of Business Development

Jan Bertholdt Hansen is head of business development at Optheras. He has held leadership positions within MedTech/Healthtech/Life Science where he has served in different CxO, board, and co-founder roles in both large corporations and start-ups. He has experience in the cross field of product development and commercialization of innovative solutions, and his focus is centered around leading new international business initiatives and growth strategies. He has a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering and an Executive MBA in business development, innovation, and technology management.

Zahra Alturfi

QA/RA Engineer

Zahra Alturfi is QA/RA Engineer at Optheras. She assists with establishing the Quality Management System and the regulatory activities. She has a M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineer from the Technical University of Denmark. During her studies she has acquired theoretical and practical knowledge on the technical and biological aspects of medical devices.

Karoline Ahlberg Enemark

Usability & QA engineer

Karoline Enemark is usability & QA engineer at Optheras focusing on Usability Engineering and Document Control. She has a background as process manager and developer in Device R&D in Novo Nordisk and as usability engineer in LEO Pharma. She has more than 10 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry and has a M.Sc. in Design and Innovation from the Technical University of Denmark

Mette Maack

Project Consultant

Mette Maack is project consultant at Optheras. She has a background as senior project manager at Hollister Incorporated, and over the past 20 years she has held several roles within development of medical devices. She has a M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark.

Lucas Maack

Student Assistant, Engineering

Lucas Maack is a student assistant in the Engineering department at Optheras. He has previously worked for two years as a student assistant at WS Audiology which is co-owned by T&W Medical A/S. He is currently studying Physics and Nanotechnology at the Technical University of Denmark (stud. B.Sc. Eng.).

Gisela Riera Gascón

Student Assistant, Business Development

Gisela Gascón is a student assistant in the Business Development department. She graduated in Biotechnology and Bioengineering, complemented by prior experience as an R&D Scientist. Currently she is pursuing a Master in Business Administration and Bioentrepreneurship at the CBS.

FOUNDERS

Gregers G. Hermann

Senior clinical urologist

Gregers G. Hermann is senior clinical urologist at the department of urology, Herlev-Gentofte Hospital in Denmark.  He is Dr. Med.Sc., surgical specialist,  specialist in urology  and european specialist in urology FEBU  (Fellow of the European Board of Urology).

Karin Mogensen

Senior clinical urologist

Karin Mogensen is senior clinical urologist at the department of urology, Herlev-Gentofte Hospital in Denmark, where she has worked with bladder cancer patients since 2003. She is surgical specialist, specialist in urology and has a Master of Public Health.

Jakob Skov

Chairman

Jakob Skov is Chairman of the board in Optheras. He has over 25 years of experience with business development and executive management within photonics. He has a.o. been responsible for establishing NKT Photonics. He has an MBA in international business from Aarhus university in Denmark.

Claus Rømer

Head of regulatory affairs & quality assurance

Claus Rømer is head of regulatory affairs and quality assurance at Optheras. He has a background as VP of Product Compliance at FORCE Technology. He has over 15 years of experience in RA & QA matters in the medical device industry. He is an ISO 13485 lead auditor and an expert in design control, risk management, safety, and EMC for electrical medical devices in EU and USA. He has a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark.

Thomas Alkeskjold

CEO

Thomas Alkeskjold is CEO at Optheras. He has a background as innovation manager at A.P. Moller-Maersk, and as engineering manager and director of R&D at NKT Photonics. He has more than 20 years of experience in the field of optics and photonics. He has a M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Laser and Fiber Optics Technology from the Technical University of Denmark

BOARD

Jakob Skov

Chairman

Jakob Skov is Chairman of the board in Optheras. He has over 25 years of experience with business development and executive management within photonics. He has a.o. been responsible for establishing NKT Photonics. He has an MBA in international business from Aarhus university in Denmark.

Marie-Louise Little

Board member

Marie-Louise Little is currently the Director of Strategy and Business Development at TW Medical A/S. She has 25 years of operational, strategic, and investment experience in Life Sciences bringing medical technologies and companies from idea to market and serves on the board of directors for other LifeScience companies in Denmark and the US. She holds a M.Sc. in Medical Engineering from the University of Liverpool.

Lars Nørgaard

Board member

Since 2015, Lars Nørgaard has been CEO at T&W Medical and T&W Holding. He has a long experience as State Authorized Public Accountant and Partner at Christensen Kjærulff, and he holds a Cand. Merc. Aud. from Copenhagen Business School.

SCIENTIFIC ADVISORS

Dr. Sia Daneshmand

Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California, USA

 

Professor of Urology and Medicine (Oncology) -Clinical Scholar

Director of Urologic Oncology

Director of Clinical Research

Urologic Oncology Fellowship Director

Founders

Optheras was founded in 2022 by Gregers G. Hermann, Karin Mogensen, Jakob Skov, Claus Rømer, and Thomas Alkeskjold together with T&W Medical A/S.

Our investors

T&W Medical A/S is the holding company for families Tøpholm and Westermann, which a.o. are co-owners of WS audiology, T&W holding, T&W engineering and UNEEG Medical.

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Come join us

We are looking for people that wants to help develop technologies for improving the quality of life for people living with bladder cancer.

If you are interested in joining us, and would like to know more about Optheras, please contact Thomas Alkeskjold, thomas.alkeskjold@optheras.com / +45 93 56 40 00

Join our team

Contact us

Optheas logo white

Optheras A/S
Bregnerødvej 132
3460 Birkerød
Denmark
contact@optheras.com
 +45 93564000
CVR 42822558 / VAT DK42822558
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