NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Molecular diagnostics company Curetis today announced a deal with EliTech BNL to distribute its products in Belgium and Luxembourg.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
EliTech BNL, formerly call Lucron Bioproducts, is part of the EliTech Group and supported Cepheid's entry into the Benelux market, Curetis said.
"Having built a successful business for Cepheid and the GeneXpert system in the Benelux, we are excited about the opportunity presented by the Curetis Unyvero Solution," Frank Loots, general manager of EliTech BNL, said in a statement. "We are planning a commercial rollout and market introduction phase here in Belgium and in Luxembourg to begin with leading clinicians and institutions in our territories."
Curetis' PCR-based Unyvero System enables DNA-based testing for the detection of a broad panel of bacteria and antibiotic resistance from a single sample in one run. The first CE-marked Unyvero Cartridge simultaneously analyzes 39 DNA targets for pneumonia testing, and another Unyvero application for implant and tissue infections is in product development, Curetis said.
The Holzgerlingen, Germany-based company said in December it anticipates filing a 510(k) application with the US Food and Drug Administration for the Unyvero System in 2014 and began a clinical trial for the platform and its lower respiratory tract application.
Curetis today also announced it has hired Helmut Hilbert as head of business development. Hilbert was formerly with Qiagen.