Liza Tchapanova Albrektson, CEO and founder of TrackPaw Scientific, has a background in biomedicine. Finalizing her master’s degree at Lund University, she was heading towards an academic career – or possibly one within life science. Little did she know that she would create a company based on her own, unique, and ground-breaking innovation.
Liza had gained experience from working on research projects in an academic setting, along with projects in the MedTech industry, when she decided to take a course in molecular biotechnology.
–It turned out that a part of the course was entrepreneurship, says Liza. One of the final assignments was to come up with a business idea.
They were free to pick whatever they liked. Pondering on a business idea got her thinking of an issue that she had overheard whilst in the lab:
–Researchers talked a lot about something that stressed them, Liza says. What burdened them was that, when they carried out experiments for their preclinical research, they had to manually handle subjects to track their weight as well as observe and monitor them.
Not only did the researchers find it stressful, but they also lost valuable time due to unforeseen events. This meant time away from research.
–They were also frustrated that the subjects were not properly surveilled when the researchers were not in the lab.
There was a clear need for researchers to gain an understanding of what went on in the lab when they were not physically there.
–I figured that there must be more efficient ways of monitoring and surveilling subjects says Liza. What if I could find a solution that would alleviate stress from the researchers, save time, and benefit the subjects?
Liza wanted to come up with a solution that could give the researchers a fuller and better picture of what happens in each study, also when they are not in the lab.
–I thought about creating a smart surveillance system, she says.
Hence, she drafted up a business idea and a plan. Using the NABC model, she created a pitch, presented it, and handed in her assignment.
–After that, she says, I returned to my original goal of pursuing a career in the life science industry and gaining experience in drug development.
An Idea Too Good to Let Go
However, after the course, one of the professors approached her:
He jokingly said:
–‘’If you don’t pursue this idea and make the product commercially available, I will do it myself’’. That pushed me to continue with the idea, Liza says.
Liza still had her master’s degree to fulfill, but her business idea took root.
–I kept thinking about it, and my original goal was put aside, she says.
One thing led to another. Liza’s idea of a surveillance system for preclinical research got her enrolled in Venture Lab, and then later with Smile (Medicon Village’s incubator).
–I managed to get more researchers interested in the invention, as the idea was rooted in a commercial need.
Liza was enrolled in different accelerator programs and went through a couple of business coaching sessions at Lund University Innovation.
–Finally, I pitched the idea to LU Holding. After several months of working towards the criteria they set up for the startup, they decided to become the first investor.
Daytime Employee, Nighttime Entrepreneur
She finished her master’s and worked full-time as a project leader and a business developer at a contract research organization. It was a position she had secured, thanks to her experience in carrying out user research and market analysis, as well as leading product development and maintaining potential customer relations for her product.
During the daytime, she spent most of her time in the lab or securing clients. During nights she worked on her product idea. She also got help from people affiliated with the university to build some of the hardware components.
–The more I worked with the solution, the more confident I became, she says. My then-boss supported me in pursuing my venture.
To Liza, it now had become a wish to become an entrepreneur.
The Solution: What It Is and What It Does
Liza’s solution to the researcher’s manual handling of subjects is a hardware platform, which looks like a laptop. It is placed at the bottom of the cage. The platform uses sensor technology together with algorithms to detect any anomalies in terms of the weight or activity of the individual research subjects. Weight and activity tell researchers a lot about how well the subject responds to a potential treatment and what consequences it has on its overall health.
–We see many drug candidates failing clinical trials for reasons that could perhaps have been captured in the preclinical stage, says Liza.
With TrackPaw’s surveillance system, the team aims to bring more conclusive clinical observations into the earlier stages of drug development.
–Our solution will generate higher-quality data and overall welfare for the research subjects. This will hopefully increase the speed of development for potential new medicines. We also have the chance to become first in class when it comes to capturing the weight of the subjects without them having to be disturbed, Liza explains.
As the subjects are less disturbed, they are less stressed, which is another welfare aspect.
Much Awaited Product
Liza soon found out that there was a huge global interest in her solution as she discussed it with different stakeholders within life science:
–There was a clear gap in the market. Potential customers lined up already before the product was built. Many needed this new way of making pre-clinical observations.
She was amazed to see many dedicated people interested in this niche area, she says.
Researchers approached her to say: “I’ve also worked in preclinical settings, and I’ve also been frustrated with the lack of control and understanding of what happens when I’m not present”.
Just One Little Obstacle
Before going to market, however, one challenge presented itself:
–The issue, she says, is that I am ‘a simple preclinical researcher’. I lack knowledge and experience in vital parts of developing products such as electronics, mechanics, and programming, Liza says.
She engaged two new co-founders who stepped in alongside her, the Embedded Systems Engineer, Hannes Mogensen, and the System Architect, Erik Månsson.
–I’ve managed to bring in two brilliant engineers with interdisciplinary expertise. Since they came on board, we’ve been building, developing, and validating the concept and solution at rapid speed.
Developing the Features
–As I am a customer of the product myself, I find it important that the solution should be easy to use, sort of a ‘plug and play’, she says. We did not want to change or restructure the workflow of the lab but rather adapt to their space. The product would be built to fit in the home environment, instead of around it, which many of our competitors did.
Luckily, Liza had access to competitor intelligence due to her background in the academic setting.
–We learned what had not worked with the competitor solutions and didn’t have to make the same mistakes, Liza says.
Instead, the co-founders wanted to make the solution ‘state of the art’. The hardware platform consists of different sensors that measure and track the weight of the research subjects, as well as their activity. The identity is known through ID markings. The platform gives an alert if something deviates from its normal state.
–This makes it possible for researchers to clinically observe the research subjects.
Towards a Sustainable Solution
The technology saves scientists twenty percent of their working day.
Another great benefit is that the research subjects live longer and healthier lives. The better the subjects are, the more efficient the research becomes. The solution supports the welfare of each subject and offers a more sustainable way of running pre-clinical research.
–This was a need that had to be filled. We see welfare playing a more integral role in early drug development. The need can be reflected in the world’s first pharmaceutical industry declaration, the Marseille Declaration. It was signed by several of the world’s largest pharma companies in 2022.
–It states the need for animal research; but with new and more sustainable ways of conducting the research, which are our ‘’words to live by’’ at Trackpaw, says Liza.
–When talking to investors, we’ve found it useful to present the Marseille declaration, says Liza. It helps investors understand the need for a product such as ours. Otherwise, it’s difficult to grasp that this type of research must be carried out for a drug to reach the market.
The Nex Steps
Right now, the team is driven by making different features come to life.
Liza is the CEO, but also a salesperson and a business developer. She is also the one gathering and setting the customer requirements. The plan is clear:
–The focus is on the market value proposition and on integrating functionalities that the customers are looking for.
The team wants to build a product that the market truly needs:
–Our customer requirements document is constantly updated. We are actively listening to the customers to avoid building functions that they do not ask for.
The customers are typically large pharmaceutical companies.
Another key focus for the TrackPaw team is to create partnerships.
–The prototype has been tested in a big pharma company lab with satisfactory results which, of course, is a huge motivational factor for the whole team, says Liza.
The team gathers and analyzes data and works with different customer cases, to teach the solution to recognize different customer scenarios.
–To test real case settings, we will carry out pilot tests with selected partners for another five months. Then we will deploy a small product batch which we will leave with customers to test the beta version of the prototype by themselves. Of course, we are very excited. I am grateful to have such talented and motivated co-founders!
The team is planning to launch a beta version to larger pharma companies globally in September 2024.
–A fully developed hardware and digital platform will be available in the market by 2026, Liza concludes.
The TrackPaw team has raised 5.1 million SEK in 2023, welcoming shareholders like Almi Invest, I Love Lund, and an angel network to the table, and are currently raising one and a half million to close the round at 6,6 M.
The TRACK-solution is patent pending.
To learn more, get in touch:
www.trackpaw.se
