Making Drug Delivery available
for every person on Earth

By unlocking the potential of microneedle technology

Developing a reliable and effective microneedle applicator can unlock the full potential of microneedle technology and revolutionise drug delivery. By leveraging this innovation, the industry can create a more equitable and accessible healthcare system for all. With continued research and development, it is possible to look forward to a future where, regardless of location or socioeconomic status, drug delivery is available for every person on Earth.

The uPATCH™ story

uPATCH™ specializes in microneedle research and the development of microneedle applicators. uPATCH™ was founded by Bart van Oorschot and Dr. Koen van der Maaden. During his PhD on microneedle application, Koen discovered that effectively piercing microneedles into the skin came with significant challenges. He reached out to product designer and high school friend Bart, and their collaboration marked the start of a shared mission: to create user-friendly microneedle applicators that allow anyone to apply microneedles themselves. Let’s make drug delivery available for everyone on Earth!

How are we going to make drug delivery available for everyone on Earth? Find out!

Meet our Team

The uPATCH™ Team consists of a healthy mix between Science, Product and Business Development. We know how to effectively apply microneedles while also having the skills to design, develop and test functional products to realise this.

Founders

Bart van Oorschot

During his study as a Strategic Product Designer in Delft, Bart van Oorschot gathered knowledge and experience in engineering, design and building healthy companies. After his study, he gathered more technical insights by working at an engineering company as well as a design firm. After this, he co-founded uPATCH together with Koen van der Maaden. While Koen has scientific experience in the application of microneedles, Bart has experience as a product designer. The working principles that Koen gathered during his research on microneedles could be converted into a functional applicator in a real user environment. This is where Bart's vision of making healthcare available for every person on Earth began to take shape. His passion for including every person on earth in basic healthcare using microneedle applicators is the core foundation of uPATCH.

Koen van der Maaden

Dr. Koen van der Maaden is working on intradermal cancer vaccination at Leiden University (LU) and LU Medical Center (LUMC). He studied pharmacy at Utrecht University (2004-2008; Bachelor) and bio-pharmaceutical sciences at LU (2008-2010; Master). After obtaining his Master’s degree with honors (cum laude) he enrolled into the PhD program of LU. During his PhD project, he focused on microneedle-based intradermal vaccine delivery systems for minimally-invasive and pain-free vaccination. In 2014 he obtained his PhD degree with honors (cum laude) and obtained the C.J. Kok prize for best annual PhD dissertation of the Faculty of Science (LU). After his PhD, he worked at IntraVacc on vaccine delivery via nanoporous microneedles. With his knowledge on microneedle application, he co-founded uPRAX microsolutions in 2014-2015 to push the field of microneedle technologies forward. From 2015-2019 he was postdoc researcher at LU, focusing on microfluidics-based nanoparticle preparation and microneedle-based intradermal injection systems. In 2019-2021 he focused on intratumoral injections and liposomal SLP formulations for immunotherapy of cancer at LUMC (personal EU H2020 grant).

Team

Bart van Oorschot

Chief Technical Officer

Besides being the founder and CTO of uPATCH Bart is an enthusiastic team player who always knows the answer to every difficult entrepreneurial question.

Paul Bromberg

Chief Executive Officer

Paul realizes the general strategics and scaling up while maintaining a ambitious but realistic view on the future goals of uPATCH.

Maarten Smit

Design Engineer
Maarten is the very first employee of uPATCH. As an Industrial Designer, he is responsible for the development process and all other R&D related challenges.

Jeroen de Wilde

Business Development
Jeroen helps uPATCH with business development and client relations, he will spread the products around the world!

Koen van der Maaden

Research and Development
Koen is the co-founder of uPATCH but foremost the genius (mad) scientist in charge of Research.

Anton van den Ouden

QARA Manager
Anton helps us by implementing a QMS according to ISO13485 as well as preparing the CE certification of our applicators.

Floris Cohen

Business Development Intern
Our clients are our top priority. Floris helps uPATCH identify the right partners and develops strategic approaches to engage them effectively.