PentaBase responds to the fight against COVID-19 in Denmark

30. October 20202. November 2020
by FundaAcili

PentaBase is acting in the fight against COVID-19 infections and makes it easier, more affordable, and quicker for both companies and private people to get tested.

Since the pandemic, we at PentaBase have done everything in our power to help Denmark and its citizens. Currently, Denmark, among many other countries, is experiencing a major increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. Today, we are the largest partner for Danish businesses where we ensure workstream can be kept running, despite the challenges of the virus.

Now, the national test facilities experience great stress that demonstrates longer wait time for bookings and response time for test results. This stress demands higher capacity of tests in Denmark.

– We have established a large test capacity, normally exclusively offered to our business customers, but now offered to everyone in need of a quick COVID-19 test – CEO of PentaBase, Ulf Bech Christensen, explains.

At PentaBase, we have chosen to meet the high demand for fast COVID-19 PCR tests by establishing test facilities and laboratories in several parts of the country and increasing the test capacity in Denmark. We have previously focused on stopping infection chains by offering our COVID-19 test service to businesses. However, today, we have chosen to make our tests more accessible to private citizens.

– Due to this, we have lowered our prices from Wednesday, October 28 significantly to make our services available for both private people and businesses. This applies to all our facilities in Denmark – Ulf Bech adds.

All bookings made after October 28 will have the difference from the new prices refunded.

Click here to book a quick test at one of our four facilities.

PentaBase has completed internal validation

30. March 202030. March 2020
by Emeli Elisabeth Hansen

Sunday night, the final data was ready.

PentaBase is proud to present that we have completed the internal validation of our first COVID-19 product. By a great effort from the PentaBase employees, we have developed and validated our own test for diagnostics of COVID-19. Since we started, our approach has been to incorporate our own sensitive DNA-technology for improved diagnostics of Coronavirus – and we believe that we have succeeded in this. We haven’t just developed a highly sensitive test, but we have also combined three analyses in a single tube with great success. It is fantastic to be able to reduce the consumption of limiting resources, in a time where less patients are tested due to the lack of reagents (see Figure 1).

During the last week, PentaBase has been in close dialogue with collaborators regarding the expansion of the Danish test capacity. Together, we are now planning and designing an approach, which can contribute to an expansion of the tests capacity in the Danish health care system. We are currently testing and comparing PentaBases RNA-purification in the current workflow, which is used in the healthcare system.

From the beginning, our main focus in this crisis has been to increase the number of Danes that can be screened for Coronavirus in order to contain the spread and minimize the impact on human lives and society. We hope that our technology can contribute to this.

For more information:

Visit our COVID-19 page: www.pentabase.com/covid-19/
Email us at info@pentabase.com
Call us at +45 36 96 94 96

Profile of the month

26. March 20208. April 2020
by Emeli Elisabeth Hansen

PentaBase has been named profile of the month by BioPeople – Denmark’s Life Science Cluster

Read the article here: Working to support Denmark combating the COVID-19 disease

Photo: Morten Albek

Our CEO highlights the fact that PentaBase is providing tools to fight against SARS-CoV-2:

”We have communicated broadly about our ability to help out detect COVID 19, because we have technologies and a knowledge that may support healthcare workers, scientists and patients combating the COVID-19 disease: SARS-CoV-2 oligonucleotides, SARS-CoV-2 test assay and instruments for SARS-CoV-2 detection,” Ulf B. Christensen says.

A devoted team of experts is behind PentaBase’s efforts to develop these necessary products:

“At PentaBase every single worker is highly specialised and trained in developing the assays for cancer diagnostics. The company divides the team into different specialised units, each of them experts in their area.”

Our chairman has signed up to help Danish authorities…

21. March 202021. March 2020
by Ulf Bech

As our board is international, PentaBase has canceled all physical board meetings until SARS-CoV-2 is under control and the restrictions on traveling across borders will no longer be into force. Furthermore, our weekly scientific and medical discussions with our chairman of the board are temporarily suspended. He is, of course, still paid by PentaBase and chairman of the board with the responsibilities that follow.

We are proud that he has signed up to help the Danish healthcare system as a volunteer in the fight against Coronavirus. He is a medical doctor of training.

Let’s all do our best to limit the impact of the virus outbreak. Stay healthy.

Eurostars Report

18. December 2019
by Emeli Elisabeth Hansen

Our SensiScreen^®Lung project has been used as show case in a joint Danish-Swiss impact study by Eurostars.

‘Eurostars promotes international cooperation. The project SensiScreen Lung is one of many examples of how companies, universities and other organizations have joined forces to develop new solutions. In this project PentaBase, a Danish biotech company, collaborated with Danish Technological Institute and Instituto Cantonale Di Patologia, a Swiss reference laboratory. The project ran from 2013 to 2016. There was high expectations for this project. The application received the best evaluation out of 600 applications.’ Eurostars, 2019.

Follow the link to find the full report and see page 38 to read about the PentaBase case.

https://innovationsfonden.dk/sites/default/files/2019-12/eurostars-a-joint-swiss-danish-impact-study_0.pdf

MedWatch Article

16. December 201916. December 2019
by Emeli Elisabeth Hansen

The Danish magazine MedWatch has released an article about PentaBase as top story in their newsletter today (12/16/2019). The article is about PentaBase and our newly received Innobooster-funding from Innovationsfonden.

The last two years, MicroSight® MSI test has been of highest priority for PentaBase and the product is soon ready to be released to the market. MicroSight® MSI is the first method to give an objective answer on a patients MSI status from known biomarkers – all this in less than two hours. It is therefore a great honor to have received Innobooster-funding from Innovationsfunden. The Innobooster-funding will be used to make the product fully ready for the market and for further optimization of MicroSight® MSI, which includes expansion of the test for use in more cancers.

To read the article please use the link below.

https://medwatch.dk/secure/laboratorie___diagnostik/article11807022.ece

Jens Lyager has joined PentaBase as Chief Commercial Officer

4. June 20194. June 2019
by michael

As part of PentaBase´s efforts to consolidate the market acceptance of our real-time PCR-based assays with game-changing sensitivity, Jens Lyager has joined PentaBase as Chief Commercial Officer.
Jens Lyager brings substantial experience in commercial development from top ranking life science companies launching innovative technologies. “I am impressed with the PentaBase product portfolio and especially with the ability it brings to truly monitor the real time effect of cancer treatments. It brings valuable information needed to optimize and personalize health care for thousands of cancer patients world wide”, says Jens Lyager.

Meet us at Vårmöte 2019 Patologi, 15-17 May in…

13. May 201914. May 2019
by michael

PentaBase is participating in the Vårmöte 2019 Patologi in Linköping, Sweden. Please drop by our booth and learn more about our innovative PCR-based assays for molecular pathology. We will be showcasing our SensiScreen® and PlentiPlex™ IVD products as well as our new MicroSIght assay for detection of Microsatellite Instability by real-time PCR.

PentaBase takes another leap forward with the appointment of…

4. April 20195. May 2020
by michael

CEO Ulf Bech Christensen (middle) welcomes Simon Rye Clausen (left), Henrik Schmidt (right) to the PentaBase board.

As part of PentaBase´s efforts to consolidate the market acceptance of our real-time PCR-based assays with game-changing sensitivity, the company has strengthened the organization in general and the Board of Directors in particular to focus the strategy of the company moving forward. Thus, the PentaBase Board has gained important experience by appointing two new Directors:

Simon Rye Clausen, MD
Simon has over 30 years of experience from the pharma industry. He has worked in Roche, Pfizer, Indivior and Eli Lilly pharmaceuticals, as well as being general manager of Life Technologies in Denmark. Simon was the original founder and CEO of the biotech company Genesto A/S and has serial experience in life-science start-up bridging into market opportunities of improved sales and marketing capabilities.
“I am excited by PentaBase and its technologies and solutions, which help patients with a disease specific genetic profile to get better treatment. Their products seem game-changing and set their own higher standard – while at the same time simply can be used on most PCR-platforms”, says Simon Rye Clausen, Chairman of the Board of Directors at PentaBase.

Henrik Schmidt, MBA
Henrik has worked 25 years in international business of medical diagnostics and devices, predominantly in Roche Diabetes Care and Medtrum Tech. Furthermore, Henrik has been involved in successful entrepreneurial businesses throughout his career.
“I see plenty of opportunities to engage with collaborators around the Globe with the easy-to-apply PentaBase assays to ensure optimized treatment to the individual patients for the benefit of the patient, relatives and payors hereby using scarce healthcare resources intelligently”, says Henrik Schmidt

The two Directors are developing the PentaBase strategy with the management team and its advisors, and wish to further strengthen the platform of knowledge and experience with quality diagnostic assays integrated at full into the clinical reality of patients’ lives.

PentaBase is now ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 13485:2016 certified

14. December 201814. December 2018
by michael

PentaBase is proud to announce that we are now ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 13485:2016 certified.

PentaBase is manufacturing and marketing oligonucleotides and in vitro diagnostic products based on standard and own proprietary chemistries, for researchers, IVD companies and healthcare customers worldwide. As part of our continuing efforts to provide high quality products and services to our customers, PentaBase has developed and implemented a quality management system that meets the requirements of both ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 13485:2016 quality standards. While ISO 9001:2015 is focused on continuous improvement of processes to meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders, ISO 13485:2016 is specifically focsused on the requirements for a comprehensive quality management system for the design and manufacture of medical devices.

PentaBase ISO 9001 Certificate

PentaBase ISO 13485 Certificate