Lucerne, Switzerland
November 21, 2022
A decade ago, Lucerne based start-up company Amphasys entered the market, revolutionizing single cell analysis and forever changing the future of agriculture with its cutting-edge solution. Today, the patented ‘lab-on-chip’ micro-technology enables the analysis of a wide variety of cells, determining their count, size, shape, and viability. In addition to pollen, these include bacteria, yeast, algae, mammalian, and human cells.
The Amphasys team
The evolution of the single cell analysis has resulted in some ground-breaking discoveries in the fields of biotechnology and biomedicine; and has revolutionized the way we approach scientific research and development. However, the established methods used to require expensive and heavy equipment, or lengthy sample preparations and tedious measurements - factors that usually limit the applications to an advanced and sophisticated laboratory environment.
With the goal to answer numerous research questions and provide humanity with the solution to benefit from the power of single cell analysis across applications, Amphasys developed an innovative, reliable, and easy-to-use technology, equally suited for sophisticated research in the lab, as well as for in-field applications.
To this day, flexibility of use and the label free, patented solutions that this innovative company offers are unmatched in the area of microfluidic single cell analysis.
“From the very first moment I knew that this could be a game changer in many aspects - mostly in agrotechnology. And currently, food production is facing one of the biggest challenges that we, as mankind, must overcome.”
- THOMAS BERGEN; Co-founder and Chairman of the Board, Amphasys AG; Co-founder and CEO, getAbstract
While company’s main efforts continue to be aimed towards excelling in the field of pollen applications for crop production, the benefits that these solutions can provide in other fields such as bioprocessing, have motivated Amphasys to expand its footprint further.
“We are now at a stage where our complex technology has reached maturity. Ten years ago, it was more than a concept, but it was still just a new technology that was looking for applications. We found a need in the market, and we made this technology reliable. We are currently in the testing phase of very interesting applications, such as bacterial analysis, fermentation, cell analysis in bioreactors, cell culture monitoring and other; but our future definitely depends on partnerships and new ideas.”
- Dr. MARCO DI BERARDINO; Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Amphasys AG
The technology is currently being used in 40 different countries, across all continents, which is quite a number for a small company of 20 employees. By creating a sustainable business and sharing the cutting-edge solutions, Amphasys’ vision is to make this world a better place for the future generations.
“We believe that cells hold the key to solve a lot of the problems we are currently facing. Our mission is to promote this technology, innovate further, make the instruments smaller, more accessible, more mobile so that they can be used wherever and whenever they are needed. And we are not alone in this success. Our employees, our investors, our customers, and our partners, they all helped us to get where we are now, and we will also continue to rely on all of them in the future.”
- Dr. MARCEL OTTIGER; Co-founder and CEO, Amphasys AG
Founders (L to R - Marcel Ottiger Marco Di Berardino Thomas Bergen)
To learn more about how it all started, how the success is being shaped nowadays, and what does the future vision look like, we sat down with the founders of Amphasys: Thomas Bergen, Dr. Marco Di Berardino, and Dr. Marcel Ottiger.
THOMAS BERGEN
Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Amphasys AG; Co-founder and CEO, getAbstract
The story of Amphasys started a long time ago. I met Marco and Marcel in high school, and very early on I knew that we could rely on each other. Years passed, friends became family, and Marco became my brother-in-law. And as a scientist, he is incredibly good. When he came to me saying that he has this amazing technology which is working in the scientific sense, but that he has trouble finding an application that really seems to produce revenue, I was absolutely sure in it, because when Marco is investing seven years into something, it must be good. He created the business plan and explained to me what it was all about. We looked at all the application requests received during those seven years and encountered two interesting ones. One was from The Netherlands, we didn’t know exactly what it was about at the time; and the other one was from Denmark, concerning the analysis of somatic cells in milk. I said – “Okay, these are the two things we must figure out now and Marco, you’re absolutely brilliant, nobody can beat you when it comes to technical applications”. My strength, on the other side, is finding business opportunities. These two things are very beneficial to each other.
So, we organized calls with both companies, and it was clear that the opportunity in The Netherlands with pollen analysis for seed production could be interesting. We negotiated that if we are capable of measuring pollen cells and if the results and information end up being relevant, they would be willing to buy some instruments. This is exactly what happened. This was the starting point after which I immediately called Marcel because I knew we need somebody with the management experience. He was the perfect fit. All the rest is history.
It started to feel like a real business very early on. Business is not depending on how many people you have; it’s about how much value can be generated with the solution. Also, when you do something with Marco and Marcel, it always has a sustainability aspect. It would be totally unnatural if they would do something where they don’t try to be at least close to a good sustainable product. From the very first moment I knew that this could be a game changer in many aspects - mostly in agrotechnology. And currently, food production is facing one of the biggest challenges that we, as mankind, must overcome.
Dr. MARCO DI BERARDINO
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Amphasys AG
It’s interesting to see where we are today. We are 20 employees, such a nice number. We have just finished the development of the new generation of instruments, and we are targeting new applications. We have started implementing business processes, structuring how the added value is produced here, how people interact with each other, how things are documented, and so much more. Almost every function has a dedicated person or even two, which was not the case a couple of years ago.
This is a very exciting time to transfer knowledge, to distribute responsibilities, to empower other people. And everyone is growing on its own. We are extremely lucky to work with people that think beyond their tip of the nose and can really rely on each other. While we are focusing on the external process – selling new products – there is an important internal growth process happening, too.
It's 10 years now, and what I just realized is that we are dealing with people who are at the peak of their performance, extremely fast in acquiring and elaborating information. If you compare a 100 m sprinter and a marathon guy, I’m rather a marathon guy. I shouldn’t do things that need speed. There are others, younger people, who are much better in that. But I can work with experience, knowing how long it takes to reach the goal. In a marathon, you have learned to deal with crises. Likewise, at Amphasys, I want to make sure that people can achieve their full performance and rely on my experience to make the right decisions.
If you run a company, selling your products is a very important part of where your focus should be. Equally important is finding the best market applications, creating efficient structures inside, empowering people. I’m used to having something in my hands. I feel that it is an extremely rewarding process. You have an idea, you turn this idea into a drawing, and, in the end, you have something real in your hands that you can sell, and that people appreciate.
From the technological perspective, we are now at a stage where our complex technology has reached maturity. Ten years ago, it was more of a concept, and it was still a new technology that was looking for applications. We found a need in the market, and we made this technology reliable. Our cutting-edge innovation has proven to help provide interesting information and solutions for many applications.
On one hand we’re focusing on new innovations, and on the other hand, possibly combining technologies with partners. Collaborations are the key - with industry on the one side, and academia on the other side. Basic research is definitely not our task here. But what we do is help other people doing their research in which we see a clear potential. We are currently in the testing phase of very interesting applications, such as bacterial analysis, fermentation, regenerative medicine, cell culture monitoring in bioreactors, and others.
Every morning when I wake up, I ask myself – what’s going to happen today, what challenges will I have to face – I´ve had that since the first day of working at Amphasys. There is always something happening and there are always some surprises, some interesting discussions. We are still living in a transition time, in which everybody's learning curve is extremely steep. And I am well aware that the future efforts won't be a piece of cake, as they weren’t in the past, but I have to say - it is a really good cake.
Dr. MARCEL OTTIGER
Co-founder and CEO, Amphasys AG
Our vision is to become a company that helps solve big problems in the world. By doing that we want to build and maintain a business so that we can invest in the future growth. The challenge in the first 10 years of Amphasys was to get to a stage where we earn enough money to sustain our own business. By creating a sustainable business and sharing the cutting-edge technology, we believe that we can do something good for the world. Doing good by doing well is what we strive for.
We believe that cells hold the key to solve a lot of the problems we are currently facing. We really need to come up with solutions on how to feed the growing population, while, at the same time, agriculture itself produces so much greenhouse gas that it has become a problem itself. Solving one problem should not increase another even bigger problem, so we need to search and develop innovative solutions. I am convinced that Amphasys owns a technology that can contribute to making this world a better place. Our mission is to promote this technology, innovate further, make the instruments smaller, more accessible, more mobile so that they can be used wherever and whenever they are needed.
We have already taken a number of big steps towards that goal. We have grown quite a bit over the last years, quantitatively and qualitatively. Our instruments are now being used in 40 different countries, across all populated continents. Quite a number for a small company like us.
A lot of people are needed for this success: our employees, our investors, our customers, and our partners. All helped us to get where we are now, and we will also continue to rely on all of them in the future. Together, we have developed a nice niche in the seed production business. It’s not overly large, but it’s a position in which we are strong, with almost no direct competition.
And we are ready now to grow into the next field: Bioprocessing. For production of food, feed and pharma. It is a huge, rapidly growing environment. We will thus focus on collaborations with strong partners who will, by implementing our technology into their existing solutions, enhance their product portfolio and thereby open access to the market for us.
As a company, our strategy for the future is to secure and further grow our position by keep developing and delivering excellent solutions. In order to excel in business, we need the best people. The best ones who fit into the team and who add value - not just in terms of workforce, but also by sharing our vision and values, and by empowering our mission. Amphasys is lucky to have them.
About Amphasys
Amphasys is a Swiss biotech company, headquartered in Lucerne, in the heart of Switzerland. The company provides an innovative technology for the analysis of single cells. Applications range from plant breeding and seed production, cellular agriculture, and precision fermentation to regenerative medicine. With its technology and consulting services, Amphasys is supporting various sectors in facing the challenge of feeding a growing population with limited resources and changing climate conditions.
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