Alumni News: Fetch (Winner Venture Challenge Spring 2024) Acquired by Tzu Cancer Therapeutics

Amsterdam, 17 July 2025 – We’re proud to share that Fetch B.V., winner of the Venture Challenge Spring 2024, has been acquired by Tzu Cancer Therapeutics B.V., a biotech company focused on the detection and molecular profiling of circulating tumor cells (CTCs).

With this acquisition, the entire workflow for capturing CTCs, analyzing their DNA, RNA, and proteins, and translating those insights into personalized therapeutic opportunities is now united under one roof.

As part of the acquisition, the intellectual property behind Fetch’s technology was transferred from University of Twente to Tzu. The Fetch team has joined Tzu’s headquarters at the Amsterdam Science Park, strengthening its multidisciplinary team of scientists and professionals.

Fetch was founded in 2023 by Michiel Stevens, who now joins the Tzu leadership team as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). The Fetch platform offers a novel method to isolate rare tumor cells from blood by extracting only white blood cells — increasing the likelihood of detecting CTCs, which are typically extremely scarce.

This acquisition marks a major step for Tzu Cancer Therapeutics, founded by Ronald Plasterk and Wigard Kloosterman, in advancing its mission to characterize the cells responsible for metastasis and to ultimately contribute to the development of next-generation personalized cancer therapies.

Source: FD