 |
| Curetis AG raised $16.2 million to market its Unyvero diagnostics platform.--Courtesy of Curetis |
Germany's Curetis AG is working to spread its Unyvero diagnostics platform around the world, and the company netted another $16.2 million in venture funding to market its tests.
HBM Partners led the round, joined by returning investors like Roche ($RHHBY) Venture Fund, LSP Life Sciences Partners and BioMedInvest. The Series B financing brings Curetis' venture total to $63.8 million.
With the cash infusion, Curetis is planning to enroll 2,000 patients in an FDA-targeted trial for Unyvero, a CE marked molecular diagnostic platform designed detect antibiotic resistances. The money will also support a scale-up of Unyvero's European marketing, with Curetis looking to expand the tech's adoption in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Curetis is eyeing Asia, Latin America and--once it secures the FDA's blessing--the U.S. to further drive Unyvero's sales, and the latest fundraising haul will help the company follow through on its marketing plans, CEO Oliver Schacht said.
"With HBM joining our syndicate of investors, we are well positioned to continue executing on our clinical and commercial plans," Schacht said in a statement. "Our syndicate has the breadth, depth and quality as well as financial strength to take Curetis all the way to achieve its strategic corporate objectives and to globally roll out Unyvero in the years ahead."
Curetis has inked collaboration agreements Sanofi ($SNY) and Cempra Pharmaceuticals ($CEMP), licensing Unyvero for use in clinical trials of in-development drugs. Those partnerships only serve to expand the platform's reach, Curetis said, and could lead to companion diagnostics deals down the line.
- read Curetis' announcement