Laser for outpatient bladder cancer management
Photo-coagulation of non-invasive bladder tumors
OUR MISSION
We wish to enable more widespread treatment of bladder cancer in simpler office- and outpatient-settings, by providing the medical professionals a safer, gentler, faster and more efficient tool for managing non-invasive bladder cancer. Optheras wish to enable early detection and treatment, to help improve the quality of life of patients with bladder cancer.
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.
Bladder cancer
Bladder Cancer (BC) is a worldwide challenge, being the 10th most common cancer worldwide1. In both US and EU, BC is the 6th leading 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. An invasive 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
Optheras is bringing a new laser to market
– for management of non-invasive bladder cancer
Non-inferior to TURBT
Safe for patients and medical professionals
No anestethics office procedure
Ressource and cost-efficient procedure
Flex-scope compatibility
Silent and energy-efficient wheelable unit
Flexible disposable
The laser is currently in development.
RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS
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)
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)
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)
Who are we
Thomas Alkeskjold
CEO
Thomas Alkeskjold, is CEO in 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 an M.Sc. in electrical engineering and a Ph.D. in laser and fiber optics technology from Technical University of Denmark
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 in 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.
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. , 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.
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.
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 28 76 63 47
Contact us
Optheras A/S
Bregnerødvej 132
3460 Birkerød
Denmark
contact@optheras.com
+45 93564000
CVR 42822558 / VAT DK42822558
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