German Biotech Raises €25M to Fuel Diagnostics of Rare Diseases

Centogene Rare Disease Diagnostics Series A

Centogene has raised €25M in a Series A round to support the global expansion of its genome analysis platform, which is specialized in rare diseases. 

The German biotech Centogene is pioneering the development of genetic diagnostic tests to address the challenges of personalized medicine in order to match therapies more effectively to patients. Founded in 2005, the biotech provides test portfolios for over 3,100 single genes, including 200 panels. Now, the company was able to rake in a massive €25M in a series A round to boost the company’s growth and expansion plans and enable Centogene to broaden its portfolio of biomarkers, diagnostic tests, and tools for oncogenetics.

While the biotech started out with a focus on rare diseases with genetic tests for orphan indications such as Lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) as well as rare nephrological and neurological diseases, the company now offers services ranging from whole genome sequencing and whole exome sequencing to oncogenetic analyses and prenatal diagnostics.

Centogene-Diagnostics

According to Centogene, the biotech today commands the largest mutation database for rare diseases with approximately 125,000 analyzed individuals from over 110 countries, allowing the company to gain global insights into the epidemiological basis of hereditary disorders.

The biotech is already partnered with key companies in the rare disease space, such as Shire, and recently entered a collaboration with US-based FDNA to support FDNA’s comprehensive database that combines phenotypic and genomic information associated with over 8,000 rare diseases and genetic disorders.

Despite the advances in genome sequencing, the diagnosis of a rare disease still often involves a diagnostic journey that lasts several years. As Arndt Rolfs, CEO and Founder of Centogene, commented in a press release, “There is a large unmet need for early and easy diagnosis and treatment of rare hereditary diseases.  This creates a tremendous market opportunity for us.”

Raising €25M in Series A is a huge sum for a European biotech company and it demonstrates that Europe is starting to compete with the US in fundraising. Centogene, which has been growing at a CAGR of over 40% over the past five years, seems to be well positioned to become a major player in the global diagnostics market.

Images via shutterstock.com /  Chepko Danil Vitalevich and centogene.com 

Newsletter Signup - Under Article / In Page

"*" indicates required fields

Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest biotech news!

Name*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Labiotech.eu

Suggested Articles

Show More