Die RWTH Aachen war mit HBOX Therapies vertreten, einer Ausgründung aus dem Institut für Angewandte Medizintechnik, die eine innovative Lösung für akutes Lungenversagen entwickelt. In Stage One, der lokalen Hochschulrunde, hatte sich das Team um Niklas Steuer, Dr. Matthias Menne und Dr. Peter Schlanstein erfolgreich gegen sechs weitere RWTH-Start-ups um das Ticket zum Pitch auf der internationalen Bühne in Berlin durchgesetzt. Nicht nur die lokale Jury zeigte sich beeindruckt von dem jungen Start-up. Mit ihrem anschaulichen Pitch, in dem sie nicht nur den Atemkampf von Patient*innen mit Lungenversagen nachstellten, sondern auch die Schläuche zeigten, die derzeit zur invasiven Beatmung verwendet werden, schaffte es das Team als eines von vier Teams im Tech Innovation Stream ins Finale und gewann schließlich einen von zwei Deep Tech Awards des High-Tech Gründerfonds, den mit jeweils 600.000 Euro höchstdotierten Investmentpreisen.

Tuberculini is optimized to run on Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Ion GeneStudio S5™ System. Clemedi has developed a next-generation sequencing (NGS) based test called Tuberculini, that can recognise resistance to all major therapeutic agents used to treat tuberculosis. The assay – which received a CE-IVD mark earlier this year – has been optimized to run on Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Ion GeneStudio S5™ System, leveraging its ease of use, high throughput, and rapid turnaround time to deliver results within 48 hours. Tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious, airborne disease that is a major cause of poor health and one of the leading causes of death particularly in low and middle income (LMIC) countries. TB is curable and preventable. However, it is estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that one-fifth of newly diagnosed patients are infected with a form of TB that is resistant to the most commonly used therapeutic agents. Molecular tests have revolutionized TB diagnostics and management. Currently available, rapid turnaround tests can detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium causing the disease and resistance against the main drug rifampicin. However, choosing the optimal therapy in the case of drug-resistant tuberculosis still requires time consuming bacterial culture, with results after 4-10 weeks. This can change with Tuberculini. Tuberculini provides results within 48 h, directly from patient material (e.g. sputum), without requiring culture. It is an all-in-one test for species identification, genotyping, and resistance prediction. It detects drug resistance mutations for 12 antibiotics based on the 2021 WHO document “Catalogue of mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and their association with drug resistance” with an easy-to-use software. The test and the software are CE-IVD certified and are currently available to European customers. About Clemedi AG Clemedi AG was founded in 2019 to develop sequencing-based tests for infectious diseases. It has developed a technology platform combining targeted sequencing and advanced bioinformatics to provide actionable results directly from a patient sample. Tuberculosis is the first assay on this platform, which will be followed by sexually transmitted infections and hospital acquired infections. About Thermo Fisher Scientific Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue of approximately $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com. Contact Clemedi AG: Dr. Sebastian Dümcke, CEO Clemedi AG, Wagistrasse 12, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland

We are very happy to announce our successful participation at Stage Two in Berlin last weekend. Stage Two is the largest pan-European competition for the best startups spinning out of leading universities. 2 months ago we qualified for the event at the pre-selection of the RWTH Aachen University teams. On Friday morning we were fortunate enough to make it to the finals in an intense pitch battle against amazing teams from all over Europe. In the end, we are very proud to have been awarded one of the two biggest investment prizes of the event: a €600k investment from High-Tech Gründerfonds!