Medical devices scale-up Bedal pulls in EUR 3.25 million
Revolutionary scale-up Bedal, headquartered in Diepenbeek, imbues the smallest medical devices with Flanders’ innovational spirit. The medical device specialist develops catheter stabilization products that outperform market alternatives in fixation strength and patient comfort. To speed up its international expansion, scale up production and extend its portfolio, Bedal raised EUR 3.25 million from new and existing investors.
Fixing patient experience and safety
Worldwide, about 3 billion catheters are inserted into patients’ bodies to administer or drain fluids each year. But, as one of Bedal’s co-founders knows from firsthand experience, being treated with a catheter comes with some practical difficulties and discomfort.
More importantly, catheters that aren’t securely affixed – which is half of all catheters placed in patients – increase the risk of infections. In the worst-case scenario, this might even lead to death. That’s why Bedal was founded in 2011: through innovative medtech applications, the company made it its mission to improve patients’ experience and safety when using a catheter.
Choosing the top-notch incubator for health and care, BioVille, as its headquarters set the young company up for success right from the start. Just around the corner from one of Flanders’ world-class universities, UHasselt, BioVille houses a brilliant mix of start-ups, established life sciences & health companies and ground-breaking researchers – a brilliant ecosystem Bedal gratefully tapped into.
Disrupting the catheter market
Bedal has in its portfolio some of the world’s best sterile fixation devices that can secure any catheter and medical tube easily and with minimal discomfort. Its products are already well established in hospitals in Flanders and are also making a solid entrance in international markets. The scale-up is expecting to close 2022 with a turnover of EUR 1 million.
But the medtech company’s ambitions don’t stop there. Through its recent investment round Bedal pulled in EUR 3.2 million from individual investors, its management and the Flanders-based investment companies LRM and F³ Finance.
In addition to that, Dr. Steve Bierman has joined Bedal’s board as an independent director. As the originator of catheter fixation and former CEO of the world-renowned StatLock – which was sold to market leader Becton Dickinson (US) in 2008 for a whopping 168 million dollars – the company has welcomed in a global authority in catheter care.
Now, Bedal is more than ready to conquer the global catheter market with its superior catheter holder design, employing air cushions to automatically adjust to the shape of the catheter.
Ramping up international growth
The company has already signed distribution deals in 32 markets. With its wide-spread distribution deals, Bedal is gearing up for a surge in international growth. In addition to the EU, the company is targeting more distant markets such as Brazil, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and the US.
As the largest catheter market in the world, the US is a strategic priority to Bedal. US-based hospitals already take high interest in our catheter fixation devices, because they are rewarded financially if they succeed in reducing infections.
Accelerating the production rate
Aside from its commercial expansion, Bedal plans to allocate investment funds to the development of additional products and a further scale-up of its production capacity. The company already has a production facility in Poland, and has now started construction on an additional pilot production line in Diepenbeek, Flanders.
Reliable deliveries are vital in the life sciences & health market. With the new production line in Flanders we'll be able to speed up product development and answer to rising demand when needed. For the same reason, we're considering yet another production facility in the US.
Part of an ecosystem
Bedal is just one of the many startups, incubators and other organizations that make Flanders’ ecosystem for life sciences & health so successful. Want to unravel this ecosystem in a virtual yet interactive way? Head to the Flanders360 platform and discover 300+ successful companies, universities, R&D centers and other players active in Flanders’ life sciences & health industry.
Alternatively, check out our industry overview to learn more about the available tax, legal and other incentives for establishing your life sciences & health hub in Flanders.
Reported by
newspaper De Tijd
