Lucero awarded €1.3M Transition grant by European Innovation Council
Gothenburg, Nov. 14, 2022 – Lucero AB has received the European Innovation Council’s (EIC) Transition grant to continue developing its 3D cell culture handling platform.
Gothenburg, Nov. 14, 2022 – Lucero AB has received the European Innovation Council’s (EIC) Transition grant to continue developing its 3D cell culture handling platform.
Viable hepatocyte (HepG2) spheroids were created using the hanging-drop method by Lucero’s Tinde Höjer.
Lucero awarded 900 000 SEK Vinnova Innovative Startups Stage 2 grant to build on Stage 1 progress in preparation for an on-site pharmaceutical pilot project and Seed round funding.
Preliminary data showed a temperature increase of less than 1 degree C in HepG2 cells during exposure to optical tweezers.
Lucero has been granted a project by the European initiative, MedPhab, to accelerate the development of its novel microfluidic well plates with the help of partners, Joanneum Research and The Technical Research Center of Finland (VTT).
Lucero has moved its offices to AstraZeneca’s BioVentureHub in Mölndal, Sweden.
Tinde Höjer joins the Lucero team to focus on microfluidic development and 3D cell culture handling.
We are happy to share our latest results on spheroid detection and classification using our convolutional neural network that was trained with images of spheroids taken on our very own prototype!
The consortium aims to develop a “near-patient drug development” strategy that includes using 3D cell models comprised of patient-derived cells. The strategy will reduce clinical failures, enable the development of more effective treatments at a lower cost, and allow the right drug leads to be matched with the right patient subgroup.
Out of 934 applicants, Lucero was selected by Vinnova, Sweden’s Innovation Agency, as one of the recipients of the Innovative Startups Stage 1 grant. The grant is targeted towards early-stage startups that are based on innovative products and services and that show global growth potential. The money is meant to help startups develop their prototypes and business models, as well as create strategies to protect and commercialize their intellectual assets.
Lucero has been selected by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, as one of the semi-finalists in the Pre-Seed, Healthcare category of their Photonics West Startup Challenge. This is the second time in a row that Lucero has been selected to participate in the competition, which will be held digitally this year on May 26th.
With the help of ACTPHAST4.0 partners, VUB B-PHOT Brussels Photonics and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, both world leaders in photonics education, research, and innovation, Lucero aims to optimize our optical setup to maximize its potential to work with 3D cell models, as well as to reduce the size of the system itself.
We are proud to announce that Lucero’s co-founder, Falko Schmidt, has successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis and has earned his doctoral degree. We sat down to speak with him after the conclusion of this four-year journey:
Chalmers Ventures hosted their annual Accelerator Pitch event during the first week of November. The event showcases new additions to their Accelerator program with a friendly pitch competition. This year, the event was held digitally and the best pitch was decided by public vote.
The Lucero team would like to extend our warmest thanks to the Nordic Startup Awards team and to everyone who voted for us. It is such an honor to be chosen from a group of such strong companies. A big congratulations to the other Swedish nominees, Spermosens, Deversify, tendo, and Flow. As well as to the other national winners, Particle3D, CLEX Bio, SurgeryVision, and Controlant.
At the end of each of EIT’s programs, two participating companies are chosen to pitch at their Finals Day event. The event showcases the companies that have excelled in each program. This year, Lucero was selected alongside Lifelet Medical from the EIT Health Validation Lab.
Pitch Day 2020 (or week, rather) is underway! Seven promising startups from Chalmers Ventures’ Accelerator will showcase their companies digitally this year for a chance to win 50,000 SEK. The winner is decided based on public voting, so go in and take a look at these great companies and vote (we hope you choose Lucero)!
Lucero is pleased to announce that it has been included in this year’s AI Landscape project. The project is led by AI Sweden, Ignite Sweden, and the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) with the purpose of finding and supporting the best AI startups in Sweden that have the potential to accelerate and contribute to the use of AI applications in the country.
Lucero has been participating in the EIT Health Validation during the past eight weeks. The program is in collaboration with Yes!Delft and is tailored for early-stage European MedTech and Biotech startups who are validating their ideas, value propositions, market potential, and business model.
Lucero will participate in the quarter-finals of the InfoShare Startup Contest today for a chance to move on to win a top prize of €20,000.
We are proud to share that our Lucero’s co-founder, Falko Schmidt, has been chosen to speak at this year’s European Digital Week. The conference will be part of the biggest event in digital technologies in Europe that will be held in a virtual format this year.
Lucero has been awarded Almi Företagspartner Väst’s verification grant to help fund prototype development that is set to begin this fall.
Lucero has joined the Gothenburg-based Chalmers Ventures’ Accelerator program. The Accelerator has been supporting great founders and startups since 1999 through mentoring, investment, and access to Chalmers Ventures’ broad network of professionals.
Lucero will participate in the X-Europe program this fall to further develop our product-market fit and find future corporate collaboration partners.
“It’s an honor to be competing in the most prestigious startup competition in Sweden. There are plenty of great startups this year and we’re very happy to be among them.” – Christopher Jacklin, co-founder of Lucero.
We are very honored and happy to share that from the hands of our great advisor Dr. Giovanni Volpe, Lucero was selected as one of only three projects from Sweden to receive the Proof of Concept Grant (PoC) from the European Research Council. This grant aims to explore the commercial and societal potential of the very best and most innovative research from the European Union.
Lucero will compete in the MedTech vertical of the Fifty Founders Battle pitch competition alongside nine other promising Baltic and Nordic startups. Other competition verticals include Green Tech, FinTech, B2B, and B2C. Founders take the stage on February 20th.
Lucero has been selected by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, as one of the semi-finalists in the Pre-Seed, Deep Tech category of their Photonics West Startup Challenge in San Francisco on February 4th. Moreover, Lucero was one of three participating startups to receive a travel grant, sponsored by B&W Tek.
A big congratulations to the other winners from the west of Sweden: ZoundWave, Aquammodate, Spacerpad, and Invivo Power. We are looking forward to following your journeys.
Out of the 376 ideas that were submitted to the competition, nearly half came from the western region of Sweden.