By: IPP Bureau
Last updated : May 04, 2026 7:27 am
Precision medicine company advances Raman spectroscopy-based therapeutic drug monitoring platform for rapid, patient-specific dosing solutions
Axithra has appointed Lars Kongsbak as Chief Executive Officer as the company prepares to transition from technology development to clinical validation and advance toward its upcoming Series A financing round.
Kongsbak brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in the life sciences industry and will lead the company’s next phase of growth, including regulatory advancement, commercialization planning, and expansion into U.S. and European markets.
Axithra was established to address a major gap in therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) by developing rapid, actionable, and patient-specific drug measurement solutions at the point of care. The company has already demonstrated a prototype platform using Raman spectroscopy for TDM with clinical samples and is now preparing for clinical testing in hospital environments.
“I am truly excited to join Axithra at this pivotal moment,” said Kongsbak. “The team has built a unique platform with the potential to transform therapeutic drug monitoring. I look forward to working with this exceptional team to bring clinically impactful products to an underserved market and ultimately improve patient outcomes.”
Therapeutic drug monitoring is widely used to optimize drug dosing by measuring medication levels in patients’ blood. However, conventional TDM methods, including immunoassays and LC-MS, are often dependent on centralized laboratories, making the process time-consuming and resource-intensive. In many cases, results can take hours or days, limiting real-time clinical decision-making.
Axithra’s Raman spectroscopy-based platform aims to overcome these limitations through rapid, scalable, and label-free measurement of drug concentrations. The technology is designed to support monitoring of both total and pharmacologically active free drug concentrations, enabling more precise and personalized dosing across therapies such as antibiotics, oncology drugs, antipsychotics, and other small-molecule medicines.
Welcoming the appointment, Alain Pluquet, Chairman of Axithra and former Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of bioMérieux, said the company is entering a critical stage focused on clinical validation and fundraising.
“This is a key phase for the company as it moves from successful product development to clinical validation and prepares for its next fundraising round,” said Pluquet. “Lars brings the experience needed to strengthen the organization and guide Axithra toward delivering an innovative platform with strong medical and economic value.”
Meanwhile, co-founder and former CEO Leander Van Neste will transition into the role of Chief Operating Officer, where he will lead clinical validation activities and support operational and manufacturing scale-up efforts.
The company is currently preparing for a Series A capital raise to support clinical studies, regulatory progress, and early-stage commercialization initiatives.