Curetis

About Curetis

Curetis was a molecular diagnostics company founded in 2007, specializing in solutions for severe infectious diseases. Based in Holzgerlingen, Germany, the firm focused on developing, manufacturing, and commercializing products aimed at providing rapid and reliable test results to clinicians in hospital settings. The company's primary objective was to address the challenge of diagnosing severe infectious diseases and identifying antibiotic resistance in hospitalized patients, a process that could traditionally take days. Key executives included CEO Oliver Schacht and COO Johannes Bacher. In a significant corporate milestone, Curetis was acquired by OpGen, Inc., a US-based precision medicine company, in a transaction that closed on April 1, 2020. This business combination was intended to create a transatlantic entity with a broader portfolio of molecular diagnostic platforms and a stronger financial position to access U.S. capital markets.

The company's business model centered on the sale of its diagnostic platform and proprietary, application-specific cartridges to hospitals and laboratories. Curetis operated in the molecular diagnostics market, serving healthcare providers who manage patients with acute, life-threatening infections. Revenue was generated through the sales of its Unyvero System and the consumable cartridges. Following the merger with OpGen, the combined company aimed to leverage both firms' commercial channels and pursue development collaborations to drive growth. In 2019, the combined sales of OpGen and Curetis were approximately $6.0 million.

Curetis’s main offering was the Unyvero System, a fully automated, sample-to-answer molecular diagnostic platform. This system utilizes multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technology to detect a wide array of microorganisms and antibiotic resistance markers from a single sample in under five hours. The platform consists of the Unyvero A50 Analyzer, the L4 Lysator for sample preparation, and the C8 Cockpit for system control and data management. Its key feature was the use of single-use, disposable cartridges, pre-loaded with the necessary reagents for specific disease syndromes. These cartridges integrated DNA isolation, amplification, and detection into a closed, automated process, minimizing manual handling. The company developed and marketed cartridges for various applications, including lower respiratory tract infections (pneumonia), implant and tissue infections, urinary tract infections, and blood culture infections. A significant achievement for the company was receiving De Novo clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April 2018 to market the Unyvero System and its Lower Respiratory Tract (LRT) Application Cartridge.