Success Stories
In 2023, a team from Mendel University in Brno, Czechia, launched Lightly with a clear goal in mind: to help law enforcement identify counterfeit medicines quickly and reliably. Originally focused on chemistry and environmental science, the team transitioned their expertise toward combating the global drug crisis.
That shift happened after early collaborations with law enforcement and firsthand insight into how counterfeit drugs contribute to public health disasters. Their scientific work found urgent real-world application, and Lightly was born with a mission to bring portable, precise detection tools into the hands of those fighting this crisis on the front lines.
On November 30, 2023, Lightly secured second place in the Grand Finale of the prestigious EIT Jumpstarter programme. That moment marked a major acceleration in their journey, propelling them beyond academia into hands-on innovation with real-world reach.
Lightly’s solution is built around two tools: Catcher and Fenty. Catcher is a handheld device that reads chemical profiles from disposable Fenty cartridges. A sample is scanned and matched with a growing global database of drug fingerprints. Built-in AI helps identify trends and connections between cases.
The result is clear: reliable answers in under 10 minutes, with no full lab needed. It’s fast, accurate, and field-ready.
Now, here is where it becomes truly meaningful. Lightly did not just appear out of nowhere. They took part in both the EIT Jumpstarter programme and the EIT Jumpstarter Next programme, and that is when things really started moving.
Monika Štěpánová, CEO and Co-founder, put it simply:
Through EIT Jumpstarter, they transformed a research idea into a startup. With EIT Jumpstarter Next, they took the step toward scaling up. They gained expert mentorship, financial support, and access to a broad European network. But perhaps the most important result was their preparation for entering the US market.
Thanks to the Jumpstarter ecosystem, the team traveled to New York, made connections with US authorities, and began preparing for operations in one of the most critical global markets for medicine authentication.
Developing Catcher was not simple. Miniaturising a lab tool without losing accuracy required extensive research and development. Creating a single-use cartridge that is both cost-effective and standardised also presented a major challenge.
But with support from mentors, feedback from Interpol and the DEA, and insights from field testing, Lightly kept refining. During the programmes, they:
This is not theory, it is measurable progress.
Lightly’s upcoming goals include scaling up cartridge production, integrating more advanced AI into their detection process, and introducing subscription pricing to make the technology accessible to smaller police departments.
They also aim to expand into agriculture, food safety, and environmental monitoring. Their UV-Fingerprint technology can spot contaminants or fakes in seconds, and its potential extends far beyond pharmaceuticals.
Their vision is straightforward: make safety scalable. And thanks to the foundation built through the EIT Jumpstarter and the growth driven by EIT Jumpstarter Next, they are on the right path.
Lightly did exactly that. And their journey continues. Learn more about the EIT Jumpstarter programme.
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