The Flemish-Dutch start-up UgenTec, is coached by the EIT ICT Labs Business Accelerator and supported to get access to finance, has succeeded in getting a major investment deal. The co-founders are extremely happy to announce that they have received 1mio euro risk capital from an investors group and market experts specialized in biotech and laboratory sector. The Flemish governmental agency for innovation, IWT, added 250k euro on top of this. UgenTec delivers software for automated DNA Analysis including automated interpretation of the data. The investment will be used for further product development and international upscaling.
FastFinder platform
UgenTec delivers the FastFinder platform, software for automated DNA analysis to support clinical labs with DNA analysis including automated interpretation of the data. Before the existence of the UgenTec solution, the lab scientist had to do this manually. Beside the fact that work can be done automated, the UgenTec solution is faster and more efficient, more accurate and standardised.
UgenTecs FastFinder-platform is in use of several labs in the Benelux, Germany and France. In the coming months FastFinder will be spread over 50 other laboratories around Europe. Wouter Uten, CEO of UgenTec says: “The need for automated DNA-analyses is growing. With our software a lab scientist is able to automate manual analysis as well and that is unique. In the short term we want to scale up all over Europe. Our ambition is to bring our FastFinder product to the American market in mid-2016”.
Fast growth and looking to double the team size
Wouter Uten, the founder started UgenTec during his study of ICT-Electronics, in 2014. In three months he built the FastFinder-platform and the biotech company where he did his internship became his first customer. UgenTec is one of the most promising companies in the region and that has been recognised by society. Amongst others, UgenTec was selected as Belgian representative for the European Startup Olympics ‘Get in the Ring’, and won the Bright and Young ‘ Bryo’ Awards in the category Flanders Future.
UgenTec now needs .NET-developers and bio technicians for several positions. In total the team will be doubled to 15 persons.
Automating DNA-analysis
FastFinder makes automated DNA-analyses possible for the detection of example respiratory infections, sexual transmitted diseases to several types of cancer. This type of analyses usually require one and a half hour of manually interpretating curves. In comparison, the FastFinder platform needs about 3 minutes to analyse the data curves. So Lab scientists can speed up the results up to 30 times faster.
More information:
ugentec.com
Wouter Uten - CEO
Kempische Steenweg 311/1.02
3500 Hasselt, Belgium
Contact: Filip Coenen, EIT ICT Labs Business Developer
