BRUSSELS, BELGIUM and HASSELT, BELGIUM—. UgenTec, the Belgian PCR automation software company is approved for the SME Instrument Phase 1 by the European Horizon 2020 fund. The Instrument Phase 1 grant is worth €50.000 and will be used for a feasibility study of new PCR markets outside of clinical diagnostics.
UgenTec focuses on the clinical diagnostic market and their platform already supports tests for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, oncology and more. Its artificially intelligent software allows laboratories to automate the manual interpretation of raw results generated by PCR tests, resulting in faster & more standardized results.
“PCR is a widely adopted diagnostic technique” says Tom Martens, managing director at UgenTec “FastFinder, our solution for automated PCR interpretation, is being used in clinical diagnostic environments in multiple countries. Thanks to MINT Europe, these European funds can now be used to thoroughly investigate the potential in other diagnostic environments such as seed, food & animal health”.
"We immediately recognized the innovative nature of UgenTec's core technology" says Sofie Meerschaut, Senior Consultant at MINT, "thanks to close collaboration with UgenTec, we understand their current business success and the potential for other markets. The combination of this strategic understanding, both technically and businesswise, and our deep EC grant expertise, allows us to ensure access to EC grants for UgenTec."
The SME Instrument Phase 1 is one of two available grants and is widely used to perform a technical & commercial feasibility study before applying for the SME Instrument Phase 2. When the generated business plan is approved as sound & strategic the company receives access to the SME Instrument Phase 2. This additional grant is used to execute the business plan and unlocks €500.000 to €2.500.000 in funds.
About the Horizon 2020 project
Horizon 2020 funds high-potential innovation through a dedicated SME instrument, which offers business innovation support under the section Societal Challenges and the specific part Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies (LEITs).
Provided with about € 3 billion in funding over the period 2014-2020, the SME Instrument helps high-potential SMEs to develop innovative ideas for products, services or processes that are ready to face global market competition. Available to SMEs only, which can however organise a project in the way that best fits their business needs – meaning that subcontracting is not excluded – the new scheme has opened a new highway to innovation through phased, progressive and complimentary support.
During the first two years of implementation (2014-2015), more than 1200 SMEs were selected to receive funding under the SME instrument call; as such, 513 million Euros were invested in the success of innovative SMEs. By the end of 2020, the SME instrument should have supported some 7500 SMEs to get their innovations delivered onto the market.
MINT is the largest independent subsidy advice bureau in Flanders. As a funding expert, MINT is specialized in combining grants, tax incentives and sustainable savings in a smart way, in the various relevant fields of Science & Technology, Human Resources, Business Development and Corporate Social Responsibility. Driven by a broad engagement and by client demand, MINT has expanded its offer, in parallel with Funding Services, to incorporate complementary high quality Management Consultancy. Visit http://www.minteurope.com/ for more information.
