In simple terms, what does Hikari Bio do?
We have developed a disease agnostic discovery platform for identifying protein biomarkers for early disease detection. When it comes to diseases such as cancer, early diagnosis is one of the most important factors for improving patient outcomes. However, many diagnoses still rely heavily on symptoms, which may only appear once a disease has progressed. For many patients it is too late once the symptoms start showing. By identifying molecular biomarkers in samples such as blood or lung tissue, we aim to detect signs of disease earlier. Ideally, we could even identify prognostic markers that indicate the risk of developing a disease before symptoms appear. Our platform focuses on discovering these protein biomarkers, which researchers can then use to develop diagnostic or prognostic tools.
How is Hikari Bio connected to Sweden, California, and Japan?
I am Swedish, and my husband, who is also my co-founder, is from California. I completed my PhD in California and later returned for a sabbatical with Randy Schekman at UC Berkeley just before the pandemic, so we have strong ties to the region. Until now, we have been able to get by on non-dilutive funding, but we are now looking for investors and industry partners. California and Sweden are natural places for us to build those relationships. However, Japan is another important connection, as we lived there for a couple of years. Our interest in Japan is both personal and professional. Our patent portfolio extends to Japan as well, and we love the country. Japanese engineering is also particularly strong in areas relevant to our technology. There are several companies that could be excellent partners, especially in laser technology. Interestingly, the idea behind Hikari Bio’s technology originated in California. During my graduate studies, I often discussed time-resolved measurements and potential technological approaches with Bruce Hammock, a wonderful mentor and amazing researcher in my graduate group who sadly passed away in January. Years later, when I established my own research group at the Karolinska Institute, I wanted to purchase an instrument based on this technology that I assumed would already exist. It seemed like a logical next step to me, but it turned out the technology was not available. That was when we decided to design and build it ourselves. So, in a way, the idea that eventually became Hikari Bio began here in California, before being developed further in Sweden.
What stage is the company at today, and what are your plans for the future?
We are at a very exciting stage. We have secured our patents and built prototypes that demonstrate the robustness of our platform. We can achieve single-molecule detection, which is an impressive level of sensitivity. We have now built our first minimum viable product, or MVP: a functioning instrument in our lab. We are also getting traction from key opinion leaders in the field. Our next step is to design a scaled version of the instrument that can be manufactured and sold in multiple units. In parallel, we are developing an AI-powered image analysis software-as-a-service solution to analyze the data our platform generates. Until now, we have operated at an academic pace, which can be relatively slow. We are now looking to accelerate our progress and bring the technology to the market. We are primarily a B2B company. Our customers are researchers who use our platform to discover molecules of interest. They can then use those findings to develop diagnostic or prognostic tools, which may subsequently go through the regulatory process required for medical technology or diagnostic products.
