HOLZGERLINGEN, Germany, May 11, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Curetis AG, a developer of next-level molecular diagnostic solutions, today announced Dr. Achim Plum has been appointed to the newly-created role of Chief Commercial Officer. Dr. Plum joins Curetis from a senior management position at Siemens, where he focused on the assessment and development of novel approaches to the in vitro diagnostic (IVD) market. He will oversee all commercial activities, including international sales, business development, marketing and medical affairs.
Dr. Plum will focus on the continued expansion of Curetis' commercial organization and infrastructure with the goal of achieving aggressive revenue growth targets in Europe, Asia and the rest of the world. He will also establish a U.S.-based commercial team to support the launch of the Unyvero Solution following FDA approval.
Prior to his position at Siemens, Dr. Plum spent eight years in various commercial roles at Epigenomics, a publicly-traded molecular diagnostics company, most recently as Senior Vice President Business and Strategy. At Epigenomics, he built sales and marketing teams and distribution networks in Europe and the U.S., negotiated strategic commercial agreements with leading diagnostics industry players and led the public company's corporate communications and compliance functions. He brings significant capital markets experience through his involvement in multiple financing transactions with U.S. and international investors.
"The board welcomes Dr. Plum to the Curetis executive team," said Dr. Frank Mühlenbeck, Chairman of Curetis' Board of Directors. "We are confident that Achim's capabilities and expertise and impressive commercial track record, in concert with his excellent fit with Curetis' senior management team and board, will make him an important asset to the Company. We look forward to working with him to maximize the full commercial potential of the Unyvero platform and to build significant stakeholder value."
Dr. Oliver Schacht, CEO and CFO of Curetis, added, "The entire Curetis team is excited to welcome Achim as part of our growing commercial organization. Given his broad and deep experience in the molecular diagnostics space with novel and first-in-class IVD tests, we anticipate that he will have an immediate, positive impact on our team and significantly bolster our overall commercial capabilities. Having worked with Achim for nearly a decade, I am confident that he will play an important role in Curetis reaching new levels of growth in Europe and beyond, and positioning Unyvero for global market adoption and strong sales."
"Easy and reliable near-patient molecular diagnostics is one of the fastest growing segments in the IVD market and Curetis' Unyvero platform is well positioned to capture significant share at the high end of this market," Plum added. "I am honored that the Curetis Board has selected me to help realize the full commercial potential of Unyvero in this highly attractive market."
The addition of Dr. Plum to the Curetis executive team follows the recent expansion of Curetis' commercial footprint in the EU and rest of the world. Specifically, the Company strengthened its direct sales and marketing activities and closed additional international distribution partnerships.
Further details about the Unyvero platform are available at the new Unyvero product website – www.unyvero.com. The new site details the Unyvero range of products and hosts key Unyvero scientific and clinical publications and posters for download.
Disclaimer
CAUTION - Investigational device. Limited by Federal (or United States) law to investigational use. The information contained in this communication does not constitute nor imply an offer to sell or transfer any product, and no product based on the Curetis Unyvero technology is currently available for sale in the United States of America or Canada. The analytical and clinical performance characteristics of any Curetis Unyvero product which may be sold at some future point in time in the U.S. have not yet been established.
About the Unyvero System
The CE-marked Unyvero System is a versatile hardware platform for the detection of a broad panel of bacteria, fungi and antibiotic resistances from a single sample in one run. It processes a disposable cartridge providing the necessary reagents to complete the analysis from sample to result. It is marketed in Europe, Russia, the Middle East and various other non-European countries. In the U.S., Curetis is running a prospective multi-center clinical trial aimed at achieving FDA clearance registered here.
The platform enables the DNA-based testing of all clinically relevant samples in a fully automated, unsupervised analysis process requiring only few, quick manual preparation steps. The analysis thus can be performed with minimal operator time and without the need of skilled staff or special infrastructure.
Thereby, clinically relevant information is available within about four to five hours to support an informed therapy decision as early as possible.
The CE-marked Unyvero P55 Cartridge focuses on pneumonia testing and simultaneously analyses 40 DNA targets. The second CE-marked application, the Unyvero i60 ITI cartridge for implant & tissue infections, is also commercially available in Europe and is currently being evaluated in the prospective multi-center EPJIC study.
Cartridges for additional indications are in various stages of development and preparation.
For further information, please visit www.unyvero.com.
About Curetis AG
Founded in 2007, Curetis AG is a molecular diagnostics company, which focuses on the development and commercialization of reliable, fast and cost-effective products for diagnosing severe infectious diseases. The diagnostic solutions of Curetis AG enable rapid multi-parameter pathogen and antibiotic resistance detection in only a few hours, a process that today can take up to days or even weeks with other techniques.
To date, Curetis has raised total funds of over EUR 63.5 million (>US$ 70 million). The company is based in Holzgerlingen near Stuttgart, Germany. Curetis has signed collaboration agreements with Heraeus Medical and Cempra Inc. as well as several international distribution agreements covering many countries across Europe and the Middle East.
For further information, please visit www.curetis.com.