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Company News: Curetis subsidiary Ares Genetics wins incubator stay in Silicon Valley
— Award winner in “GoSiliconValley” competition by Austrian Economic Chambers
— Support for business development in U.S. market
Curetis N.V. (the “Company” and, together with Curetis USA Inc. and Curetis GmbH, “Curetis“), a developer of next-level molecular diagnostic solutions, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Ares Genetics GmbH (Vienna, Austria) has been selected as a winner of the “GoSiliconValley” competition of the Austrian Economic Chambers (WKO).
Ares Genetics is one of 14 Austrian companies selected for a WKO-sponsored stay of several weeks in an incubator in Silicon Valley, California in the coming months, aimed at supporting networking with potential strategic partners, customers and investors from the U.S.
Ares Genetics, founded in Vienna in 2017, is developing data-driven solutions for the diagnosis and therapy of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens, one of the world’s most pressing healthcare problems. The company has already established collaborations with partners in the international diagnostics and pharma industry.
The “GoSiliconValley” competition is part of the international trade initiative “go international” by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs and WKO. It aims at providing promising Austrian start-ups and SMEs a rapid entry into the U.S. market and access to U.S. venture and growth capital. Winners were selected by a U.S.-Austrian jury of renowned finance and industry experts.
“The growing number of infectious diseases caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens is an enormous challenge for healthcare systems world-wide. In the U.S., it has been identified as a priority healthcare issue that is being addressed by a National Action Plan. Therefore, it has been our goal since the founding of Ares Genetics to also establish our technology platform together with U.S. partners in North America,” said Dr. Andreas Posch, Managing Director of Ares Genetics GmbH. “We are very pleased we won the jury’s confidence with our unique database of proprietary genetic antibiotic resistance markers and clinical decision support applications, which we are building based on this collection. GoSiliconValley will give us better access to potential U.S. customers, partners, and investors, and we see this as a great opportunity to substantially accelerate our business development plans for the U.S.”
“GoSiliconValley perfectly matches our ongoing partnerships in Asia and Europe. In China we are collaborating with BGI Group, an excellent partner for Ares Genetics’ business model. In Europe, we are in advanced negotiations with further partners. WKO’s support in the U.S. comes at an ideal point in time not just for Ares Genetics but also for Curetis, as we are expecting a near-term FDA clearance decision for our first U.S. products, the Unyvero Instrument Platform and LRT Lower Respiratory Tract Cartridge,“ added Dr. Achim Plum, also Managing Director of Ares Genetics GmbH and CBO of Curetis Group.