The company has taken its first investment capital and a cunning business development partner.
It is Nordiska Centrumhus that shares the Quretech Bio vision regarding new drugs against infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance by backing company growth in the region, reports Umeå Biotech Incubator.
“We have gone from being a small intimate research-based company to acquire capital and important skills that enable us to establish ourselves as a serious player,” says Fredrik Almqvist, Professor of Organic Chemistry at Umeå University and CEO of Quretech Bio in a press release. “Now we have found the right investor who wants to support us in the long term and would like to see the company development in the region.”
A critical time
Håkan Martinell is CEO of Nordiska Centrumhus, believes that the investment is well in line with Nordiska Centrumhus’s strategy to invest in companies and real estate based in Norrland. The investment is made through the fully owned Nordiska Centruminvest AB and comes in a critical time for Quretech Bio. The aim is to create stability and long-term value that is crucial to the future.
“Quretech Bio has several interesting projects in its portfolio with real potential in infectious treatment, one of today’s biggest challenges. Together with the company’s extremely competent employees, we now have a very interesting trip in front of us, where we seriously believe that the company can make a difference,“ he says Håkan.
Three main projects
Quretech Bio has three main projects aimed at treating tuberculosis, chlamydia and infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria. In the third category, there are sometimes life-threatening infections caused by Gram-positive MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and VRE (Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus).
In the fight against tuberculosis, which for patients today involves long and stressful treatment for over six months, Quretech Bio has substances that enhance the effectiveness of antibiotics. In addition, the new substance can render resistant bacteria sensitive to antibiotics again.
For chlamydia, a different strategy has been chosen. Instead of killing the bacteria’s growth, substances have been developed that effectively disarm the bacterium and prevent them from spreading the disease in the body.
Rapid development
Research on the various projects is developing rapidly on the academic side. Recently Fredrik Almqvist, together with Christina Stallings, researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, one of the shareholders in Quretech Bio, received a major research grant from the American National Institutes of Health (NIH) for further research into tuberculosis.
“The appropriations show how important this area is and that it is prioritized on many levels,” says Fredrik Almqvist. “Now we want to increase the pace of at least one of our projects and with our new partners on board, we can secure our patents and focus on solutions that can help millions of people in the future,” says Fredrik Almqvist.
Håkan Martinell, Nordiska Centrumhus & Fredrik Almqvist, Quretech AB Photo: Jörgen Johansson
