The Journey of Colli-Pee®

In 2011, an initial idea of Colli-Pee^® (formerly named ‘2Pi’), a device which would allow for volumetric collection of first-void urine was designed and conceptualized. The concept was inspired by Alex Vorsters, a researcher at VAXINFECTIO (Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute) at the University of Antwerp, who discovered that the first fraction of urine contains high concentrations of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) and a major cause for cervical cancer.

In 2012, a grant from the Belgian Industrial Research and Development (BiR&D) allowed for further development with three master students with different backgrounds: Hanne De Bauw (Product Development), Ragnar Dienske (Sociology) and Tina Van Hove (Nursing and Obstetrics), who investigated the industrial design, usability and social stigma’s of the device, respectively. Vanessa Vankerckhoven was responsible for academic supervision and support for all students involved. Given the need and potential of a first-void urine self-sampling device, Koen Beyers, CEO of Voxdale, a design and engineering company based in Antwerp and CTO of Novosanis, became industrial supervisor for the Colli-Pee^® project.

Alongside development of the device, as there was a clear market potential and business need, in March 2013, Novosanis was founded in collaboration with the University of Antwerp (VAXINFECTIO and Product Development; formerly Artesis University College) and Voxdale (Design & Engineering company), under the leadership of Vanessa Vankerckhoven (CEO) and Koen Beyers (CTO). Novosanis was funded by a private investor Taste Invest next to subsidies from the Flemish Government and the European Commission.

Novosanis established its own quality management system, and performed verification and validation testing on the initial Colli-Pee^® prototype.

In 2014, Colli-Pee^® (CP-2000) was first introduced into the market. Performance, functionality and usability testing was carried out and based on feedback improvements were made to the device.
In 2015, a second generation Colli-Pee^® was introduced (FV-5000) and the device was CEMarked.
In March 2018, Colli-Pee^® containing UCM preservative was launched, which allowed for improved storage and transport of first-void urine samples. Overtime, more application areas for Colli-Pee^® and first-void urine became clear, including detection of other STIs and its ability to detect cancer biomarkers.
In early 2020, Novosanis launched the Colli-Pee^® platform, adding two new volume variants, allowing for small and larger volumes of urine to be collected (4 mL up to 45 mL*).

*Some Novosanis products are in development or not available in all geographic regions. Contact us to know the registration status in your region.