At the end of 2017, Herb (an organic polymer chemist) and Nico (healthcare business professional) were walking their dogs and chatting on how it would be great if they could somehow pool their experience to setup a business venture. They already had a strong neighbourhood relation for many years and both Nico and Herb were tied to the healthcare markets; Nico from the business side and Herb from the technical side.
At this point, Herb mentioned that he had an idea of how to produce a class of biocidal polymers that were simple to manufacture and were based on an active system that had long been used and accepted in healthcare. Nico, being intimately connected with the healthcare sector and knowing the immense problems that infections cause in the industry(both from a health and financial side), immediately said “let’s try it” and that was the start of X-Infex B.V.
The first development trials were conducted in Norway in May of 2018 just to see if the idea was feasible. Both the trials and subsequent bacterial testing showed the new materials could be manufactured and showed desired biocidal activity. This led to additional trials and testing that finally culminated in the filing of two patents. Though the initial focus for the invention was medical devices (i.e. device used for a medical purpose such as urinary catheters, deep lines, sutures, drains, wound dressings, etc.), it quickly became obvious that the potential applications and interest was much larger. Hugo joined X-Infex the end of 2018 to offer his industrial experience and know-how to broaden the reach of X-Infex’s customer base.
X-Infex now works with a number of interested parties to assess and incorporate the technology in a broad range of medical devices, consumer healthcare and industrial products. The practicality of the technology coupled with the ease to scale-up and manufacture makes the X-Infex technology interesting to evaluate in both price sensitive and healthcare driven markets. In the end, it is the goal of X-Infex to offer solutions and products that can better peoples’ health, no matter where they may live.
In 2018, X-Infex was founded by a team of result-driven entrepreneurs. With a mix of technical know-how, strong application focus in various industries, and a total of more than 75 years of experience in the medical industry, X-Infex’s Executive Team aims to revolutionise the industry and make impact on a global scale.
Herb Ulmer
Research & Development
Herb (1965) was born and raised in the USA. He received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1987 and his Ph.D. in Organic-Polymer Chemistry in 1991, both from the University of Massachusetts. In 1992, he conducted a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Delft, The Netherlands. Returning back to the USA, Herb was in charge of new product development for the specialty chemical company, International Specialty Products during the period of 1993-2003. In 2003, Herb relocated to The Netherlands. Soon thereafter, he became one of the founding partners of PolyVation Cosmeterials B.V. and began actively consulting the Chinese private chemical company, Boai NKY Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Subsequently, Herb became CTO of Boai NKY and helped the company in its successful bid to become publicly listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange in 2010.
Nico Klay
Commercial and Business Development
Nico (1962) was born and raised in The Netherlands. He graduated as Medical Doctor from the University of Leiden in 1987 and finished his International Business Education (MBA) at the Rotterdam School of Management in 1989. The first six years of his career he worked for Sandoz, a multinational, pharmaceutical company. Upon leaving Sandoz, Nico began his entrepreneurial career by becoming one of the founding partners of Plexus Medical Group (largest healthcare consulting company in the Netherlands) and founder, board member and shareholder of Zorgdomein BV, Performation BV and Plexus Interim BV, respectively. In the last five years, Nico has successfully capitalized on his endeavors and reinvested in multiple healthcare startups. In 2012, he joined the board of Bergman Clinics as COO, later as CMO and finally as CFO. In 2016 till 2018 Nico worked as CEO at the Rotterdam Eye Hospital.
Hugo Noordhoek Hegt
Commercial and Business Development
Hugo (1961) was born and raised in The Netherlands. He obtained a Master's degree in Law at Leiden University in 1986. After his military service, he worked 17 years for Akzo Nobel. After his first role as assistant secretary to the Board of management, he fulfilled several sales and marketing management positions within the Coatings division in The Netherlands. In 1995 he was sent to China as a sales and marketing manager within a JV with Beijing Red Lion coatings. In 1997 he became overall responsible for Car Refinishes in North Asia, initially based in Singapore and later in Shanghai, China. In 2001, Hugo was appointed Managing Director of a Global business in Non-Stick and High Heat Coatings based in Chicago and with manufacturing facilities in the US, South America, Europe and Asia. In 2004 Hugo left Akzo Nobel for a Swiss family-owned company Sicpa in Lausanne in order to manage and sell their Packaging Inks division. After the divestment was realised in 2005, Hugo was appointed Board member of Siegwerk Druckfarben in Cologne (acquirer of the Sicpa business). Hugo left Siegwerk after 12 years in 2017 and supported a startup company Fintech Foundry as a temporary director and co-investor (www.ok.app: digital wallet that facilitates all types of transactions from your mobile phone).
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