What Phlecs does

Phlecs BV is a Dutch medical-technology company, founded in April 2019 in Eindhoven as a spin-out of Philips Healthcare's Light & Health unit by four former Philips employees with deep photo-dermatology expertise. The company develops a UV-free, drug-free full-body blue LED phototherapy platform operating at a 453nm wavelength that deactivates inflammatory immune cells (T-cells, dendritic cells), reduces keratinocyte hyperproliferation, and counteracts the itch-scratch cycle in conditions such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and chronic pruritus. Clinical evidence includes 40-50% improvement in eczema symptoms and quality of life after ten treatments, a 96% increase in serotonin levels, and a 150-patient prospective study demonstrating non-inferiority of blue LED therapy to both UVB narrow band and UVA1.

Phlecs's commercial product is the Full Body Blue Light Professional device, a CE marked Class IIa medical device built on a Quality Management System certified to ISO 13485:2016, currently sold directly to dermatology clinics in Poland, Germany, and Denmark. The company's second product, the Full Body Home Connected device, is a patented, portable, foldable, app-connected home unit with a personalized treatment algorithm and is being developed through an OP-Zuid-funded consortium; it is planned for U.S. launch in 2027 and European launch in 2028. The company is headquartered in Vlissingen, with an R&D presence in Terneuzen and a founding office in Eindhoven, and operates with a 1-10 person team.

The business model is currently B2B hardware sales of a single professional device SKU to dermatology clinics across Europe, with a planned transition to a hybrid B2B-plus-direct-to-consumer model once the home device launches. To date, Phlecs has financed operations primarily through non-dilutive grants — €1,000,000 from OP-Zuid (May 2025), €50,000 from Metropoolregio Eindhoven (2021), and EIT Health Bridgehead support (2020, 2022) — plus an undisclosed founding round with private investors in May 2019; no institutional venture capital rounds are disclosed. Go-to-market relies on direct enterprise field sales in three EU countries, clinical publication and conference presence (German Dermatology Congress, International Congress of Atopic Dermatitis, Ageing Fit), and the EIT Health network for cross-border scaling.

Name

Phlecs

Legal name

Phlecs BV

Website

https://phlecs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Phlecs BV is a Dutch MedTech spin-out of Philips Healthcare that develops and commercializes a CE marked Class IIa, UV-free full-body 453nm blue LED phototherapy device for treating inflammatory skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis, selling to dermatology clinics across Europe and developing a connected home-use device for 2027-2028 launch.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Phototherapy Devices

NAICS

Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)

SIC

Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro primary industry

LED Light Therapy Treatments (HSALADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Skincare Devices (Cleansing Brushes, Microcurrent, LED, Dermaplaning) (CRABAKAI), Skincare Devices & Beauty Tech (LED, Microcurrent, Cleansing Devices) (CRABAAAJ)

Keywords

• Blue LED phototherapy
• Medical device manufacturing
• Inflammatory skin treatment
• Atopic dermatitis therapy
• UV-free dermatology devices

Headquarters

HQ city

Eindhoven

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Medical Device Sales - Professional: Sale of CE certified Class IIa Full Body Blue Light professional devices to dermatology clinics across Europe.
2. Medical Device Sales - Home Use: Sale of next-generation home-connected full body blue light devices for personal use. Launch planned for US in 2027 and Europe in 2028.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Phlecs develops and sells a proprietary full-body blue LED phototherapy platform using 453nm wavelength LEDs to treat inflammatory skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, and chronic pruritus without UV radiation or drugs. The company sells a CE-marked Class IIa Full Body Professional device to dermatology clinics in Europe and is developing a Full Body Home Connected device for at-home personalized treatment, scheduled for US launch in 2027 and Europe in 2028.

Product overview

Phlecs offers a proprietary full-body Blue LED Therapy platform using 453nm wavelength LEDs for treating inflammatory skin conditions without UV radiation or drugs. The portfolio consists of two main devices: the Full Body Professional (currently CE Mark Class IIa certified and available for dermatology clinics in Europe) and the Full Body Home Connected (personalized home-use device with algorithm-driven parameter adjustment and connected monitoring app, launching 2027-2028). Both products leverage over 15 years of clinical research originating from Philips Healthcare.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Phlecs Blue LED Therapy – Full Body Professional A UV-free, drug-free, CE Mark Class IIa medical device for dermatology clinics in Europe, utilizing 453nm high-intensity clinical-grade blue LEDs with auto-timing treatment duration of 15 minutes per body side. Currently available in Poland, Germany, and Denmark.
• Phlecs Blue LED Therapy – Full Body Home Connected A UV-free, drug-free personalized home-use blue LED therapy device that uses an algorithm to adjust light parameters based on patient condition. Features portable/foldable design, connected monitoring with app, and patient adherence tracking. Expected U.S. launch in 2027 and European launch in 2028.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40-50% improvement in eczema symptoms, itching, and overall quality of life after 10 blue light treatments
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EIT HealthcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022Selected for EIT Health Bridgehead Europe programme 2022 to support sales expansion in Germany. EIT Health is a European health innovation network.
• EIT HealthcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2020Winner of EIT Health Bridgehead Global programme 2020 following CE marking of Full Body Blue Light device. Provided support for US market introduction.
• Unitron SystemscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnitron Systems (IJzendijke) is responsible for development of the connected home device as part of the OP-Zuid consortium. Provides device engineering expertise.
• DermaTeamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDermaTeam (Middelburg) manages clinical and product validation for the home device development consortium.
• Customer Innovation CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCustomer Innovation Center (Roosendaal) guides implementation of home device into the healthcare system.
• Medical University of ŁódźcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPoland's largest public medical university conducted clinical studies on full-body blue light therapy for eczema and post-COVID chronic fatigue, confirming treatment effectiveness.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Solarc Systems: Solarc Systems manufactures UV phototherapy devices for psoriasis, eczema, and vitiligo, including home-use units. It is comparable to Phlecs as a phototherapy hardware specialist serving both clinic and home segments, though focused on UV rather than blue LED technology.
• Daavlin: Daavlin is a US-based manufacturer of phototherapy equipment for dermatological conditions including psoriasis, eczema, and vitiligo. It is a direct competitor to Phlecs's professional device, offering full-body UV and UVA/UVB phototherapy systems to dermatology clinics—the same customer segment Phlecs targets. Daavlin is the incumbent whose UV-based products would be displaced by the EU fluorescent lamp ban.
• UVBioTek: UVBioTek is a smaller phototherapy equipment manufacturer producing UV phototherapy units for clinical and home use in dermatology. It competes with Phlecs in the narrow-band UVB segment and represents a peer in terms of business model (hardware sales to dermatology clinics and patients).
• Waldmann (Herbert Waldmann GmbH): Waldmann is a German-engineered manufacturer of medical phototherapy devices (UVA/UVB) widely used in European dermatology clinics for treating psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. It is one of Phlecs's closest direct competitors in the European dermatology clinic channel, and is among the incumbents affected by the EU UV lamp ban.

Broad incumbents

• Signify (Philips Lighting): Signify is the spin-out parent lineage of Phlecs (via Philips Light & Health) and a global lighting giant. While Signify's core business is general lighting, it historically participated in medical phototherapy and UV lamp manufacturing—the very category being banned in the EU. Phlecs essentially represents a specialized continuation of this legacy within dermatology.
• Lumenis: Lumenis is a global leader in energy-based medical aesthetic and dermatology devices, including light-based therapies. While broader and more aesthetic-focused than Phlecs, it competes in adjacent light-based dermatology applications and represents a broader incumbent in the dermatology device space.
• STRATA Skin Sciences: STRATA Skin Sciences is a publicly-traded medical dermatology device company with phototherapy and imaging products sold to dermatology clinics. It is a broader incumbent in the dermatology device space with overlapping customer relationships and a more diversified product portfolio than Phlecs.

Emerging players

• Biofrontera: Biofrontera is a smaller dermatology-focused biopharmaceutical company specializing in photodynamic therapy and skin disease treatments. It is an emerging peer in the dermatology space, though more pharma-oriented than Phlecs's hardware-only approach.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/phlecs

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Phlecs