Halifax-based Motryx, whose technology helps ensure the safe transport of blood samples, has struck a partnership with Germany’s Aerocom, a global leader in installing pneumatic tube systems in hospitals.

They will work together to distribute Motryx’s product VitalQC – a quality assurance tool that validates whether pneumatic tube installations are safe and effective for transporting blood samples. Aerocom will now become the provider of VitalQC in 10 European countries: Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Norway, Spain, Italy, France, U.K., and Ireland. 

The deal is important for Motryx because the pandemic has greatly restricted its ability to visit hospitals for sales calls. Aerocom’s pneumatic tube systems are already installed in almost 3,000 hospitals, so the deal means Motryx’s immediate market is growing by about 100 times with the partnership.

“Our agreement with Aerocom provides assurance to their customers in markets with a strong focus on quality control, such as Germany and Scandinavia,” said Motryx CEO Dr. Franziska Broell in a statement. “With VitalQC, all hospital stakeholders can trust that their PTS’s will deliver blood products and clinical samples safely to their destination and will fulfill accreditation requirements.”

Motryx has developed hardware and software that helps hospitals and healthcare systems monitor their blood transportation systems to ensure they work properly without jeopardizing the blood samples.

Because these facilities are becoming bigger and more centralized, blood samples are often shipped to labs over great distances. About 3 percent of samples end up being unusable because they are ruined due to the time, temperature or vibrations involved in the trip.

Motryx has developed blood vials with sensors that transmit to labs data on the conditions during the trip, allowing lab officials to identify problems and solve them. The VitalQC product is designed to work in pneumatic tube systems, which are now standard in many markets for blood transport within hospitals.

“Since Motryx’s inception, we have focused on developing a new standard for quality control for pneumatic tube systems – one that is simple, repeatable, and robust,” said Broell. “VitalQC provides a framework to check existing installations, or to facilitate the transition to occupancy for new builds.”

In an interview, she said the company in the spring went on a sales mission in Europe, visiting 20 hospitals and receiving a great response. Then the pandemic broke out, and suddenly there were restrictions on who could enter hospitals and their labs. Motryx had to instantly change its sales strategy.

“It was very successful but nothing that we can repeat during COVID,” said Broell, referring to the in-person sales tour. “That’s why the deal with Aerocom is so important, because they already have relationships with the hospitals.”

In spite of this, the nine-member Motryx team has been able to grow its customer base more than 20 percent so 23 hospitals in the U.S. and Europe are now using its app. The company focused on extending its runway during the summer, imposing a hiring freeze and downsizing its office so its staff could work remotely. The hiring freeze is now over and Broell expects the staff will increase to 13 people in 2021.

Motryx has so far raised two equity funding rounds of $500,000 (the second was accompanied by a $500,000 loan from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency), and won $55,000 in cash and in-kind services by winning the BioInnovation Challenge in 2019. Broell intends to raise capital in 2021, but it will depend on how revenues increase with the Aerocom deal.

Pneumatic systems are now standard for blood transport in most large hospitals worldwide because of their efficiency, but they must be confirmed as safe for transporting blood samples from patient to lab. Under this new agreement, Aerocom will use VitalQC to monitor and continue to innovate on its more than 2,000 hospital installations.

“Quality assurance for blood transportation in pneumatic tube systems is quickly becoming a requirement for our customers to satisfy regulatory requirements,” said Aerocom CEO Roland Pfitzer. “With the Motryx agreement, Aerocom raises the bar in providing quality assurance. This agreement enables Aerocom to offer an even better and more complete solution to laboratories and hospitals around the world.”