UgenTec develops superfast coronavirus detection software
Laboratories all over the world are drowning in COVID-19 testing works. UgenTec’s biotech software helps them analyze DNA samples up to 30 times faster, giving lab technicians much-needed breathing space. With this software, UgenTec joins the ranks of other Flanders-based biotech firms that are contributing to fighting the coronavirus.
Groundbreaking software
"A hundred samples can be analyzed in fifteen seconds, which is thirty times faster than manual analysis," says Wouter Uten, CEO of Flanders-based biotech company UgenTec. "Our software is unique in that respect. Instead of lab techs manually analyzing the samples one by one and entering the resulting data, these tasks are performed automatically at the touch of a button, using artificial intelligence," Uten explains. "This eliminates human error. During the corona crisis, we adapted our software to facilitate the testing of COVID-19 samples.”
In global demand
Interest from abroad is enormous. UgenTec's software is already being used in Belgium, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom, but demand is also high far beyond Europe. "We have received requests from Ecuador, Argentina and the United States. Test volumes worldwide are now so high that lab technicians can no longer handle them manually. As a result, our software is becoming a necessity,” Uten claims.
Boosted by the crisis
UgenTec was founded at the Hasselt Corda Campus in 2014. Over the last 6 years, the company has grown exponentially, a success partly due to the corona crisis. “We were already growing strongly in the international market, but the corona crisis has certainly given us a boost,” according to Uten. UgenTec aims to become market leader in its field. “We are working hard on additional functionalities to further simplify laboratory work,” Uten continues. “This way, we want to grow even more internationally”.
Reported by
Het Belang van Limburg newspaper and De Tijd newspaper
