7 Questions With… Dr. James Lim, CEO of nephtech.com.sg

This entrepreneurial interview of high potential entrepreneurial talent and startups is done by CusJo in collaboration with NTUitive which is Nanyang Technological University’s innovation and enterprise company. NTUitive supports the University’s mission to develop an innovative ecosystem to encourage innovation, foster entrepreneurship and facilitate the commercialisation of research. If you feel you are a high potential startup and would like to share your story with the world contact us to express your interest.

How would you describe who you are, what you do, as well as what your organisation does?

I’m James, a biomaterial scientist who is passionate about Medtech innovation. I have been doing MedTech innovation for the past 10 years, focusing on devices in the heart and kidney space. 2 years ago, I co-founded NephTech, a MedTech startup that focuses on innovation in the Nephrology space. We are currently developing a first-of-its-kind non-invasive device for hemodialysis patients to assess and monitor their special dialysis blood vessel, similar to a blood pressure cuff for hypertension patients.

How did you end up doing what you are presently doing, what are the problems you set out to solve and what are some of the solutions you are providing as a result of that?

I was previously in A*STAR working on a commercial-centric nephrology project. It was then I had the opportunity to interact with patients, nurses, and clinicians. Through the years of patients’ engagement in the field, I saw more dire problems such as an alternative means to monitor their blood vessel. This was when I decided to pursue my own startup with my co-founder to help these patients.

What makes these solutions so valuable and how are you attempting to further innovate on them?

Hemodialysis treatment has been around for more than 70 years. Ironically, till today, there are no measurement techniques or devices in the market that patients can perform monitoring of their dialysis blood vessel. These dialysis blood vessels are prone to complications such as stenosis (narrowing of the blood vessel) and thrombosis (formation of blood clog). Such complications will have a dire impact on their ability to perform effective hemodialysis. This also translates to higher downstream treatment cost. As such, NephTech solution will provide patients and dialysis centers such means to mitigate late stage detection of complications, realising better cost savings and quality of life for the patients.

What is your take on your industry over the next 3 years and how are you planning to capitalise on what you see happening?

I do see medical technology innovate as a pivotal industry to enable better prevention and treatment for patients. Over the years, various innovations have such huge impact on how diseases are managed and treated. With continued advancement in the electronics, robotics and data analytics, I do believe that there will be more technology-enabled solutions being rolled out to benefit patients.

If individuals or organisations would like to seek you out to collaborate, what sort of collaborations would you be welcoming of?

As a startup company, I welcome all sort of collaboration. In a time where technological changes are so rapid, effective collaborations and partnerships are vital to keeping abreast and staying competitive.

You’ve obviously set out to succeed in your endeavour, what would be some of your genuine measures of success outside, of just monetary gain?

Patients suffering from any disease(s) usually suffer financially and medically. In addition, for chronic diseases such as kidney failure, there is also the social impact to sufferers’ family. Realising this solution and making it available for kidney failure patients will certainly help to address some of these issues. This, alone, is a strong driving force for me to want to see the fruition of this solution. With that, I hope to continue to engage in technology innovations to address more problems.

What in the world today excites you and makes you hopeful of a better future?

More innovations! Simple solutions that address key problems.

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