KDx rITA® technology

	Next higher product group	genomic technology_o
	Status	2017-04-24 development existent
	Organisation	KSK Diagnostics GmbH

High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH. (4/24/17). "Press Release: KSK Diagnostics GmbH Gains Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) as Partners to Finance the Development of Molecular Point-of-Care Diagnostic Tests".

KSK Diagnostics GmbH uses its isothermal amplification technology, KDx rITA®, for the development of molecular point-of-care tests to identify pathogens and antimicrobial resistance within 30 minutes. This significantly reduces the time before therapy is started. A financing round has now been completed with Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg and High-Tech Gründerfonds in order to accelerate the development of the product and its subsequent market launch.

Every year in Germany, roughly 10,000–15,000 of the more than 500,000 patients who contract an infection while in hospital end up dying as a result. (source: the Federal Ministry of Health). It is often only when complications arise that targeted measures to protect the patient can be introduced. This is because the results of conventional tests are only available after several hours, sometimes even days. KSK Diagnostics GmbH’s point-of-care tests are now revolutionising the treatment of patients and can be conducted directly in emergency wards. This enables the doctor providing treatment to make a diagnosis after 30 minutes and promptly coordinate the patient’s treatment. In addition to the diagnosis of pathogens, KSK Diagnostics’ point-of-care tests are ideally suited to quickly and reliably clarifying issues related to tumour diagnostics.

Dr. Stefan Kulick, managing director of KSK Diagnostics GmbH: “Our technology drastically accelerates the diagnosis process with improved sensitivity, specificity and robustness. It can also be used whenever quick answers are required for providing the best-possible treatment for patients.”

Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg and High-Tech Gründerfonds are investing together in KSK Diagnostics GmbH to accelerate product development and market entry.

“We were impressed by the smart approach of the planned KSK products and the high level of customer benefit they offer. We are delighted to be able to support the experienced team in building and expanding the company,” Dörte Bunge, Investment Manager at Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg, says with respect to their investment in KSK.

“The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique has reached its limits in terms of speed and automation capacity. In the age of companion diagnostics and customised diagnostics, there is now a need for technologies that deliver a result quickly and are highly suited to automation. And it is on this point that we were impressed by KSK Diagnostics’ technology,” adds Dr. Frank Hensel, Senior Investment Manager at High-Tech Gründerfonds.

“The market is there, but it isn’t being served with the right tests. This is a good starting point for KSK Diagnostics to establish an innovative product in the field of infection diagnostics,” Dr. Thomas Frahm, head of project management at Life Science Nord, says of his support for the investment project.

About KSK Diagnostics GmbH

KSK Diagnostics GmbH has its headquarters in Hamburg. KSK Diagnostics develops molecular point-of-care diagnostic tests for patient-oriented diagnostics. Its founders Dr. Stefan Kulick, Dr. Peter Scheinert and Dr. Guido Krupp are an experienced management team with a successful track record that includes selling a business. Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg and High-Tech Gründerfonds are among the company’s investors.

Contact:
KSK Diagnostics GmbH
Dr. Stefan Kulick
Königstraße 4a
22767 Hamburg
+49 (0)40-63674720
info@ksk-diagnostics.com
www.ksk-diagnostics.com

About Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg

Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg invests risk capital for young, innovative Hamburg-based companies in order to strengthen their R&D activities. Envisaged are active partnerships in joint-stock companies up to a maximum amount of EUR 1 million. Fund investors are the Free Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). IFB Innovationsstarter GmbH is a 100% owned subsidiary of Hamburg-based Investment and Business Development Bank.

Contact:
+49 (0)40 657980595
bunge@innovationsstarter.com
www.innovationsstarter.com

About Life Science Nord Management GmbH

As a cluster management agency, Life Science Nord Management GmbH networks medical technology, biotech and pharma under the Life Science Nord umbrella brand. The agency initiates and oversees projects, events and trade show appearances, thereby raising the cluster’s visibility and strengthening the life science sector internally and externally.

Contact:
Life Science Nord Management GmbH
Simone Hauck
Marketing & PR Manager
Falkenried 88, 20251 Hamburg
+49 (0)40 – 471 96 423
hauck@lifesciencenord.de
www.lifesciencenord.de

About High-Tech Gründerfonds

High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) is Germany’s most active seed stage investor. With EUR 576 million under management (EUR 272 million HTGF I, EUR 304 million HTGF II), we provide financing for technology-driven companies active in a wide range of fields, including robotics, IoT and energy, Medtech and Biotech, chemicals and software. The seed financing provided is designed to enable start-ups to take their ideas through prototyping and to market launch. We typically invest EUR 600,000 in the seed stage, but can provide up to EUR 2 million in total financing per company in follow-on financing rounds. Furthermore, start-ups benefit from our team’s experience and expertise as well as HTGF’s extensive network of investors, experts, managers and scouts. Investors in this public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, the KfW Banking Group and numerous strategic corporate investors, including ALTANA, BASF, Bayer, B. Braun, Robert Bosch, CEWE, Daimler, Deutsche Post DHL, Deutsche Telekom, Evonik, Innogy, Lanxess, media + more venture Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG, METRO, Qiagen, SAP, Tengelmann and Carl Zeiss.

Contact:
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Dr. Frank Hensel
Schlegelstraße 2
53113 Bonn
Phone: + 49 228 – 82 30 01-00
info@htgf.de
www.high-tech-gruenderfonds.de