Curetis AG Strengthens Commercial Team and Expands Distribution Network

Holzgerlingen, Germany, March 6, 2013 -- Curetis AG today announced the appointment of Helmut Hilbert as Head of Business Development and the expansion of its distribution network into Belgium and Luxembourg by closing a distribution agreement with ELITech BNL (former Lucron Bioproducts), an ELITech Group company. 

In order to strengthen its global commercial operations, Curetis has hired Dr. Helmut Hilbert, formerly Associate Director Corporate Business Development at Qiagen, as Head of Business Development. Helmut Hilbert has more than ten years of business and corporate development experience and built a strong track record in licensing, mergers and acquisitions, technology transfer and innovation management. At Qiagen, he was responsible for scouting novel technologies as well as evaluating potential acquisition targets and investment opportunities, including contract negotiation, due diligences and post-merger integration.

Moreover, Curetis has selected ELITech BNL as its Belgian and Luxembourgian distribution partner. ELITech BNL (former Lucron Bioproducts) has a long-standing track record as a distributor of quality diagnostic products and research supplies in the Benelux. Among others, the company supported the market entry of Cepheid into these countries. Acquired by the global in vitro diagnostics distributor ELITech Group in 2010, ELITech BNL is part of an extensive commercial network covering France, Italy, the UK and the rest of the world.

"Having built a successful business for Cepheid and the GeneXpert system in the Benelux, we are excited about the opportunity presented by the Curetis Unyvero Solution," said Frank Loots, General Manager of ELITech BNL. "We are planning a commercial roll-out and market introduction phase here in Belgium and in Luxembourg to begin with leading clinicians and institutions in our territories."

"With the appointment of Helmut Hilbert as Head of Business Development and the distribution agreement with ELITech, we continue our accelerated commercial development progress," said Oliver Schacht, CEO of Curetis. "The growing awareness for the Unyvero System allows us to attract experienced employees and renowned corporate partners and to expand our operations.We are in the process of growing our business in the Middle East with additional placements in Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Qatar over the next couple of months. In addition, our customer order book continues to expand significantly – we currently have a waiting list of more than fifty top-tier institutions worldwide."

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About the Unyvero™ System

The CE-marked Unyvero System is a versatile hardware platform for the detection of a broad panel of bacteria and antibiotic resistances from a single sample in one run. It processes a disposable cartridge providing the necessary reagents to complete the analysis from sample to result.

The platform enables the DNA-based testing of all clinically relevant samples in a fully automated, unsupervised analysis process requiring only few, quick manual preparation steps. The analysis thus can be performed with minimal operator time and without the need of skilled staff or special infrastructure.

Thereby, clinically relevant information is available within about four hours to support an informed therapy decision as early as possible.

The first CE-marked Unyvero™ Cartridge, Unyvero™ P50, focuses on pneumonia testing and simultaneously analyses 39 DNA targets. The second Unyvero™ application for implant & tissue infections is already in product development. Cartridges for additional indications, such as blood stream infections and tuberculosis, are in preparation.

About Curetis AG

Founded in 2007, Curetis AG is a molecular diagnostics company which focuses on the development and commercialization of reliable, fast and cost-effective products for diagnosing severe infectious diseases. The diagnostic solutions of Curetis AG will enable rapid multiparameter pathogen and antibiotic resistance detection in only a few hours, a process that today can take up to days or even weeks with other techniques.

To date, Curetis has raised total funds of over € 36.6 million (~ USD 50 million). The company is based in Holzgerlingen near Stuttgart, Germany. Curetis has signed collaboration agreements with Heraeus Medical, Sanofi Pasteur and Cempra Inc. as well as several international distribution agreements.

About the ELITech Group

The ELITech Group is a privately held group of worldwide manufacturers and distributors of in vitro diagnostic equipment and reagents. By bringing together IVD specialty companies that offer innovative products and solutions, ELITech Group has become a major contributor in advancing clinical diagnostics to laboratories in the proximity market, those operating closer to the patient. The ELITech Group manufactures and distributes diagnostic products for clinical chemistry, microbiology, immunology, and molecular biology though direct sales and a distribution network encompassing more than 100 countries.  

Contact

Curetis AG
Max-Eyth-Str. 42
71088 Holzgerlingen, Germany
Tel. +49 (0) 7031 49195-10
 
Media Inquiries
 
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Dr. Ludger Wess / Ines-Regina Buth 
Managing Partners
Tel. +49 40 88 16 59 64
Tel. +49 30 23 63 27 68