Post by JOAO FONSECA

Today marks 20 years since I founded biosurfit. Time flies! biosurfit began with a simple but powerful vision: to solve a major unmet need—fast & reliable blood testing for mainstream parameters. In 2004, while I was doing research at the University of Lisbon, my oldest son became ill. We waited many hours for CRP and blood cell count results. That experience stayed with me. I believed the science and technology I was working on could be applied to solve that problem. That idea became biosurfit. In January 2006, we started biosurfit with a shoestring budget, six full-time engineers, and a strong ambition to make things happen. The business plan was developed with me, Ana Dias & Luis Lopes. On the technical side, I worked closely since 2006 with Sandro Bordeira, Nuno Reis, Maria Joao Leite Costa, André Magalhães, José Côrte-Real & many others who helped turn ideas into real technology and real products. Early investors— Roberto Branco, Jose Franca, Walter Palma, among others, were instrumental in keeping the company alive and growing. Later, Daniel Neves joined and played a key role in building the commercial side of the business. A major investment from the EIB enabled biosurfit to move from a lab-based company to industrial manufacturing and commercial operations across Europe. Along these 20 years, biosurfit passed through great times & very hard times, but always kept moving forward. Today, biosurfit has sold millions of consumables, including CRP and blood cell count tests, and its solutions are used in many countries worldwide. More recently, the company has begun supporting other organizations in bringing new diagnostic solutions to market—made possible by its team, facilities, and a strong patent portfolio covering microfluidics and detection technologies. These contract development and manufacturing activities are now the majority of biosurfit’s business and show impressive growth potential. Since 2020, I have been deeply involved in another inspiring project at Inflammatix, Inc., led by Tim Sweeney, where I serve as Chief Technology Officer. At biosurfit, I transitioned from CEO to Non-Exec. Chairman, remaining connected as a key shareholder but no longer present day to day. Rosa Santos has been CEO since early 2020 and has been an outstanding leader—much of biosurfit’s recent success is due to her leadership. biosurfit also has an exceptional group of alumni who have gone on to do remarkable work across healthcare and medical diagnostics. I mentioned some above, but will add Ana Custódio, Ricardo Cabeça, Vanda Santos, Filipe F. Thomaz, Tania Tenreiro, Carlota Cunha Matos, Pedro Andrade, Catarina Vicente Pereira, Elsa Rola, Claudia Ferreira, Robert Burger, Ian Gilham and so many others who made this possible. Above all, what defines biosurfit is its team - past & present. At 20 years old, biosurfit is still building, still innovating, and very much just getting started. Grateful for the journey - and excited for what’s ahead.