Curetis Acquires Carpegen RT-qPCT Platform
Curetis Acquires Real-Time qPCR Platform from Carpegen and Systec
– Gyronimo Platform offers rapid, quantitative cartridge-based sample-to-answer molecular diagnostic testing
– Gyronimo to be fully integrated into Unyvero Platform and suite of products
Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Holzgerlingen, Germany, December 13, 2016 – Curetis N.V. (the “Company” and, together with Curetis GmbH, “Curetis“), a developer of next-level molecular diagnostic solutions, today announced the acquisition of the real-time qPCR-based Gyronimo Platform from Carpegen GmbH and Systec GmbH, joint owners of the platform.
The transaction allows Curetis to transform Unyvero into a uniquely broad platform offering with capabilities ranging from rapid 1 hour testing for 10+ diagnostic targets to highly multiplexed syndromic testing panels delivering results for over 100 diagnostic targets in 4 to 5 hours. Integrating Gyronimo into the Unyvero Platform for infectious disease testing will also allow Curetis to significantly expand its product portfolio into novel application in areas such as infection control, viral testing and CNS infections, as well as applications for immunocompromised patients.
Under the terms of the agreement, Curetis is acquiring all Gyronimo Platform assets, including fully functional prototype systems and the entire intellectual property portfolio comprised of several patent families pending and a key patent granted in the U.S., Canada and China already, and allowed in Europe. Curetis will also obtain exclusive Gyronimo know-how and a non-exclusive license to background intellectual property and know-how. Curetis will be granted exclusive worldwide rights to the platform, including the right to sublicense, partner or sell it, with an exemption for Carpegen and Systec in dental testing as well as in environmental and food safety testing.
Curetis will make a one-time upfront payment of EUR 5.0 million in cash. In addition, Carpegen and Systec are eligible for two discrete, one-time milestone payments upon platform and first cartridge CE marking and FDA clearance, respectively, totaling up to EUR 2.5 million. There will also be the potential for a royalty-based earn-out at an industry-typical mid-single digit percentage rate, up to a maximum of EUR 9 million.
Gyronimo offers rapid time to result (potentially as fast as 60 minutes), qualitative and, where needed, quantitative real-time PCR testing in a cartridge format that can provide up to 10 parallel multiplex qPCR reactions from one sample. As such, it lends itself to medium multiplexing applications ranging from 10 to 30 diagnostic targets. Curetis intends to fully and seamlessly integrate the Gyronimo Platform into its Unyvero Platform suite of products with respect to system architecture, design, software and handling. In particular, the new Unyvero Module will leverage the unique capabilities of the Unyvero Cockpit and Lysator for seamless workflow integration and flexible handling of very challenging and diverse native patient samples. In addition, all-in-one stand-alone modules are envisaged for certain future applications.
Curetis will take over functional prototype instruments and cartridges, and will complete the IVD development and industrialization as well as OEM manufacturing of systems and cartridge production. The Company expects completion of development and CE IVD marking not before late 2018. COGS of the Gyronimo cartridges are expected to be considerably lower than those for Unyvero Cartridges and other MDx multiplexing systems, opening up attractive commercial opportunities in the medium multiplexing infectious disease testing market segment.
“We are truly excited about the transaction which offers us an excellent opportunity to accelerate the growth and development of our Unyvero Platform with complementary and greatly expanding characteristics,” said Dr. Oliver Schacht, CEO of Curetis. “Gyronimo’s advanced product development stage, its speed, quantitation ability, low cost of goods and mid-range multiplexing features are unique. It is therefore a natural next step in the development of our Unyvero Platform and we do not intend to develop it as a separate system, but rather as an integral and modular part of our overall Unyvero Solution. It expands and provides our product portfolio with a remarkable competitive edge, i.e. an unmatched diagnostic bandwidth ideally suited for any particular clinical application from as few as 5 or 10, via 20 to 30, and up to over 100 markers. We believe that the platform will allow us to address additional infectious disease indications in hospitals. It will significantly expand our market opportunity and provide us with the opportunity to double our peak sales potential in the long run.”
„With Curetis, we have found the ideal partner to take the Gyronimo Platform through the final stages of product development, industrialization, manufacturing and scale-up as well as global commercialization,” said Dr. Antje Rötger, CEO of Carpegen GmbH. “We will benefit substantially from the ultimate commercial success of the platform and we have retained certain areas that are of direct commercial interest to us, such as dental testing and environmental and food safety testing. To this end, we have agreed that we may discuss a possible OEM partnership with Curetis at a future point in time to obtain Gyronimo instruments and cartridges for our own commercial purposes. We are excited to be working closely with Curetis on the smooth transfer of all assets and know-how in the coming months.”
„We have developed the Gyronimo Platform from the first idea to its current stage as a fully functional and working prototype in a multi-year, close R&D collaboration and partnership with Carpegen,” said Klaus-Gerd Schoeler, CTO of Systec GmbH. “Our teams are joint inventors of several core patents. We believe that putting the platform into the hands of a more mature, fully integrated IVD company such as Curetis offers us a faster and ultimately more successful and rewarding path to fully develop, leverage and commercialize the asset. We look forward to working closely with the Curetis team in the coming months as we hand over all system development projects.”
At present, Curetis is marketing its Unyvero System and three application cartridges for pneumonia, implant and tissue infections, bacteremia and the company has a fourth Application Cartridge for intra-abdominal infections in late stages of development. Curetis’ broad development pipeline of additional application cartridges further features applications to test for sepsis host response, urinary tract infections, cardiology-related infections and an extended panel for respiratory tract infections.
Disclaimer
CAUTION – Investigational device. Limited by Federal (or United States) law to investigational use. The information contained in this communication does not constitute nor imply an offer to sell or transfer any product, and no product based on the Curetis Unyvero technology is currently available for sale in the United States of America or Canada. The analytical and clinical performance characteristics of any Curetis Unyvero product which may be sold at some future point in time in the U.S. have not yet been established.
About Curetis
Founded in 2007, Curetis 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 enable rapid multi-parameter pathogen and antibiotic resistance marker 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 EUR 44.3 million in an IPO on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels and private equity funds of over EUR 63.5 million. Furthermore, Curetis has entered into a debt financing facility with EIB for up to EUR 25 million. The company is based in Holzgerlingen near Stuttgart, Germany. Curetis has signed collaboration agreements with Heraeus Medical and Cempra Inc. as well as several international distribution agreements covering many countries across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
For further information, please visit www.curetis.com.
Legal Disclaimer
This document constitutes neither an offer to buy nor to subscribe securities and neither this document nor any part of it should form the basis of any investment decision in Curetis.
The information contained in this press release has been carefully prepared. However, Curetis bears and assumes no liability of whatever kind for the correctness and completeness of the information provided herein. Curetis does not assume an obligation of whatever kind to update or correct information contained in this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or for other reasons.
This press release includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements”. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believes”, “estimates”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “intends”, “may”, “will”, or “should”, and include statements Curetis makes concerning the intended results of its strategy. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Curetis’ actual results may differ materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements. Curetis undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.