Curetis’ Subsidiary Ares Genetics and QIAGEN Enter into Bioinformatics Partnership to Fight Antimicrobial Resistance

Curetis, a developer of next-level molecular diagnostic solutions, has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Ares Genetics GmbH and QIAGEN have entered into a strategic licensing agreement for ARESdb and AREStools in the area of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research.

Under the terms of the agreement, QIAGEN has received an exclusive license to develop and commercialize general bioinformatics offerings and services for AMR research based on Ares Genetics’ database on the genetics of antimicrobial resistance, ARESdb, as well as on the ARES bioinformatics AMR toolbox, AREStools.

Ares Genetics retains the rights to use ARESdb and AREStools for AMR research, customized bioinformatics services, and the development of specific AMR assays and applications for the Curetis Group (incl. Ares Genetics) as well as third parties, e.g. other diagnostics companies or partners in the pharmaceutical industry. As the QIAGEN research offering is expected to also enable advanced molecular diagnostic services and products, QIAGEN’s customers may obtain a diagnostic use license from Ares Genetics.

“With QIAGEN as a prime supplier of industry-leading applications for the analysis and interpretation of biological data, we are well positioned to make ARESdb a key resource for cutting-edge research in the pressing healthcare issue of antimicrobial resistance,” said Dr. Andreas Posch, Managing Director and CEO of Ares Genetics. “This partnership has the potential to greatly facilitate our engagement with the public health and AMR research communities in the further development and expansion of ARESdb, our database that is also core to the NGS-based diagnostic solutions currently developed by Ares Genetics."

“Antibiotic-resistant diseases are an urgent threat to public health, as resistance undermines the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections. This global problem cries out for molecular insights that can lead to new understanding and therapeutic approaches. Partnering with Ares Genetics to leverage their genomic content with QIAGEN’s expertise in bioinformatics, NGS and PCR technologies, we will expand our portfolio of solutions to help the global community fight these infections,” said Jonathan Sheldon, Senior Vice President and head of QIAGEN Bioinformatics. QIAGEN is committed to creating best-in-class Sample to Insight solutions that help combat the global crisis in antibiotic-resistant pathogens. The collaboration with ARES builds on an already broad portfolio for infectious disease research tools and adds to other AMR-related initiatives. QIAGEN will leverage the AMR database from Ares Genetics with its expertise in bioinformatics, assays and services, enabling the research community to accelerate the fight against AMR."

“After the strategic collaboration agreement with Sandoz to develop a digital anti-infectives platform and an additional technology evaluation project for ARESdb with a global diagnostics player, the bioinformatics alliance with QIAGEN is a further example of our partnerships with industry leaders which leverage the GEAR assets acquired from Siemens in September 2016 that form the nucleus of ARESdb,” commented Dr. Achim Plum, CBO of the Curetis Group and Managing Director of Ares Genetics. “Discussions with additional industry partners are ongoing and we are well positioned to execute on our strategy to build an industry consortium that leverages ARESdb and the artificial intelligence and bioinformatics solutions for AMR developed by Ares Genetics for innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in the management of severe microbial infections.”

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