CeGaT Presents Results of Corona Antibody Tests

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Tübingen, May 27, 2020: CeGaT GmbH started corona antibody testing May 11. In light of great public interest, CeGaT publishes statistics on the test results on its website. The statistics will be updated every Monday in the early afternoon by adding the data of the previous week.

8.8 percent of the 6,776 people tested have produced antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 – the percentage is not representative

On May 27, CeGaT and Tübingen’s Mayor Boris Palmer presented the results of the first two weeks of testing. In the period from May 11 to May 22 (9 days), 6,776 people have been tested. In 596 of them (8.8 percent), antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 have been detected. 

Managing director and co-founder Dr. Dirk Biskup explains the high proportion of positive test results: “As expected, especially people suspecting a past infection did the test- for example in case of unclear symptoms or travels to high risk areas. They want clarity about whether they have had COVID-19 or not. For this reason, the proportion of people with SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies determined by us cannot be extrapolated to the total population. The 8.8 percent is not representative of the immune status at the local, regional, or national level.”

Most of the people tested are from Tübingen and its surrounding. In 184 (10.4 percent) of the 1,774 tested persons living in Tübingen, antibodies have been detected – a clear difference to the 530 cases of confirmed diseases (0.6 percent of Tübingen’s population). Based on this, it can be concluded that the number of unreported COVID-19 cases in Tübingen does not exceed a factor of 17 (= 10.4 / 0.6).

Information on antibody status is crucial for decision-making

Dr. Dirk Biskup sees the antibody test as an essential tool for better understanding and managing the pandemic: “It was important for us to offer a high-quality test that is inexpensive and easily accessible to all people. It is important for individuals to know whether they were infected with the coronavirus or not”.

About CeGaT GmbH

CeGaT GmbH is a world leader in gene analyses for a wide range of medical, research, and pharmaceutical applications.

The company, founded in Tübingen, Germany, in 2009, combines the latest sequencing technology with its many years of medical expertise – dedicated to identifying the genetic cause of disease and supporting patient care. For research and the pharmaceutical industry, CeGaT offers a broad portfolio of sequencing services and tumor analyses. CeGaT generates the data basis for clinical studies and medical innovations, driving science forward with own findings. The owner-managed company stands for independence, an extensive personal customer service, and premium quality. CeGaT’s laboratory is accredited according to CAP/CLIA and DIN EN ISO 15189, hence meeting the highest international standards. To keep the responsibility for the whole project, and to maintain the best results, CeGaT carries out all steps in-house and under scientific supervision.

CeGaT Remains Up and Running During COVID-19 – Offering Genetic Diagnostics and Research and Pharma Solution Services

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CeGaT has taken all necessary precautions to protect the health of customers and team members and to safeguard uninterrupted business operations. All samples are processed as usual.

We take the situation seriously and monitor the current developments so that we can react quickly to new circumstances and take appropriate action. Our aim is to ensure continuous support to all customers.

To keep the risk of infection as low as possible, various protective measures have been put in place:

– Restricted access to CeGaT by external persons

– Implementation of strict hygiene regulations

– Cancellation or postponement of events, participation in trade fairs, and business trips

– Limited personal contact within the team

We would like to apologize for any inconvenience that may result.

If the circumstances require steps that deviate from the routine operating procedure, we will inform you directly. Please feel free to contact us at any time: info@cegat.com. Despite all uncertainties, we remain true to our mission to be your reliable partner.

CeGaT receives California CLIA State License and Accreditation

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CeGaT receives California CLIA State License and Accreditation – expanding diagnostic services in California.

CeGaT GmbH is a CLIA certified laboratory for high complexity testing (CLIA# 99D2130225) approved by US authorities (Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services- Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment Survey and Certificate Group) qualifying CeGaT to operate in 49 states or districts in the USA. CeGaT’s subsidiary B. Braun CeGaT, LLC, based in Pennsylvania, is responsible for North American operations.

In addition to the 48 states included previously, CeGaT has now received the CLIA license for California (#CDS00800902). We are excited to provide world-class genetic testing and diagnostics to customers in California.

Beyond CLIA and CAP, CeGaT is accredited according to DIN EN ISO 15189:2014. The company’s portfolio now comprises all significant accreditations and certifications necessary to distribute its human genetics services around the globe.

About CeGaT

CeGaT GmbH, Tübingen (Germany), was founded by Saskia Biskup, MD, PhD, and Dirk Biskup, PhD, in 2009. The basis of CeGaT’s success is an established high-throughput process for the use of next generation sequencing (NGS) in diagnostic testing and the up-to-date knowledge of hereditary genetic diseases. CeGaT is a diagnostics company which is renowned for identifying the pathogenic gene variations in patients. Single gene testing (which was state-of-the-art until 2010) would not detect the causative gene variation in 80-90% of all cases. Consequently, CeGaT has invented and established Diagnostic Panels. By simultaneously sequencing all genes associated with a certain disease using next generation sequencing platforms, the probability of finding the causative gene variation is extremely high. In addition, this approach is faster and considerably less expensive than classical gene-by-gene sequencing. CeGaT has more than 120 employees and a subsidiary company B. Braun CeGaT, LLC in the United States. CeGaT also is involved in the following companies: CeMeT GmbH (Center for Metagenomics), CAG GmbH (Center for Animal Genetics) and Cenata GmbH (prenatal diagnosis).

Contact:

Dawn Brooke
National Sales Manager
Phone: 844-692-3428
Email: dawn.brooke@bbrauncegat.com

Personalized cancer therapy: B. Braun and CeGaT found joint venture CeCaVa

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Melsungen/Tübingen – The medical technology and pharmaceutical manufacturer B. Braun Melsungen AG and CeGaT GmbH in Tübingen have announced the creation of the joint venture CeCaVa GmbH & Co. KG.

The newly founded company CeCaVa GmbH & Co. KG, which is based in Tübingen, is devoted to developing individualized vaccines that are to be used to treat diseases, particularly tumorous diseases. CeCaVa stands for “Center for Cancer Vaccines.”

The company focuses on developing patient-specific vaccines for treating tumors. In doing so, CeCaVa can build on the longstanding experience of CeGaT GmbH in the field of genetic tumor diagnostics.

Dr. Dirk Biskup, Managing Director of CeCaVa GmbH & Co. KG and CeGaT GmbH, explains the newly founded company’s approach: “We are convinced that individualized therapeutic approaches have the highest chance of success because tumors are extremely heterogeneous from a molecular genetic perspective. This also applies when the same tumor entity is concerned.”

CeCaVa has set itself the goal of being able to provide an individualized vaccine to every cancer patient. The vaccine can be tailored to the specific mutations in the respective tumor. Repeat injections of this vaccine should enable the patient’s immune system to better recognize and combat the tumor.

Aesculap AG, a subsidiary of B. Braun Melsungen AG, has provided operational support since the company was formed and will also send Christian Kraft to be one of the managing directors of CeCaVa.

Dr. Joachim Schulz, Chairman of the Management Board at Aesculap AG and member of the Management Board at B. Braun Melsungen AG, is confident about the joint undertaking: “Essentially what we are doing here is combining the comprehensive expertise of CeGaT, one of the world’s leading companies in the field of genetic diagnostics, with the expertise of B. Braun, in order to protect and improve the health of people around the world.”

The next step involves clinical trials that will develop the personalized vaccines into a marketable product. Discussions with partners for the clinical trials are already underway.

About B. Braun

With 63,000 employees in 64 countries, B. Braun is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of medical devices and pharmaceutical products and corresponding services. Through constructive dialog, B. Braun develops high quality product systems and services that are both evolving and progressive—and in turn improves people’s health around the world. In 2017, the Group generated sales of approx. 6.8 billion euros.

You can find information about B. Braun at www.bbraun.de

About CeGaT

As a service provider in the field of medicine and biotechnology, CeGaT offers decoding of genetic information and the medical interpretation of the data. CeGaT is the first company in the world to combine human-genetic diagnostics with high-throughput sequencing, a new method for analyzing genetic makeup. In 2010, CeGaT developed so-called “diagnostics panels,” which made it possible to simultaneously decode all of the genes relevant to a disease for the first time.

CeGaT and B. Braun have been cooperation partners for several years. B. Braun holds a 30 percent share in CeGaT. In June 2014, both companies, together with B. Braun Medical US, founded a subsidiary in the USA, B. Braun CeGaT, LLC, which is based in Pennsylvania. In addition, B. Braun Precision Medicine Technology (Shanghai) Ltd. (BBPM) was formed in China in 2018.

You can find information about CeGaT at www.cegat.de.

 

Shown in the picture (left to right): Christian Kraft (Managing Director of CeCaVa GmbH & Co. KG and CeGaT GmbH), Dr. Joachim Schulz (Chairman of the Management Board at Aesculap AG, member of the Management Board at B. Braun Melsungen AG), Astrid Harant-Strecker (Notary), Dr. Dirk Biskup (Managing Director of CeCaVa GmbH & Co. KG and CeGaT GmbH), Prof. Dr. Boris Hofmann (Senior Vice President B. Braun Innovation Hub and Digital Innovation, Aesculap AG), Dr. Sebastian Braun-Lüdicke (Vice President Legal Affairs & Intellectual Property, Aesculap AG)

Precision Medicine: B. Braun China enters a new business segment

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Braun China and CeGaT GmbH have founded a new B. Braun company in Shanghai to develop individualized or personalized medicine, also known as “precision medicine.”

Braun Precision Medicine Technology (Shanghai) Ltd. (BBPM) was opened on May 8th by Yunying Li, General Manager of the new company, in the presence of board member Anna Maria Braun, President of B. Braun Asia Pacific, and Stanley Su, CEO and Managing Director of B. Braun Greater China, as well as members of management from B. Braun China.

The collaboration between B. Braun China and CeGaT GmbH, a leading supplier in Europe for the decryption of genetic information and its medical interpretation, on the one hand, and B. Braun Precision Medicine Technology (Shanghai) Ltd. (BBPM), on the other, will allow B. Braun China to enter the market for individualized and personalized medicine. Using the latest technologies (next generation sequencing, NovaSeq), the patient’s genetic code is decrypted. This is the basis for a precise diagnostic and the development of therapies customized to patients.

The founding of B. Braun Precision Medicine Technology (Shanghai) Ltd. is a milestone for B. Braun in entering the market for personalized medicine and services in China. Just at the right time, because the market is characterized by remarkable fast growth in China.  Precision Medicine was included as one of the major projects in the country’s 13th five-year plan. A continuous increase in commercial interest and investment in the new segment of medicine is anticipated over the coming years. With its planned offering of diagnostics, personalized therapy offerings, products and services, B. Braun can position itself strategically in this field as a system partner for patients, doctors and hospitals.

About CeGaT: As a service provider in the field of medicine and biotechnology, CeGaT offers decryption of genetic information and the medical interpretation of its data. CeGaT is the first company in the world to combine human genetic diagnostics with next generation sequencing, a new method for decrypting genetic information. In 2010 CeGaT developed so-called diagnostic panels which, for the first time could be used to decode all genes related to a certain disease simultaneously.

CeGaT and B. Braun have been cooperative partners for many years. B. Braun is a 30 percent shareholder of CeGaT. In June of 2014, both companies founded a subsidiary in the USA together with B. Braun Medical US, called B. Braun CeGaT, LLC, headquartered in Pennsylvania.

View more information “About CeGaT“.