If a disease spreads rapidly in an area or there is suspicion of infection with highly contagious pathogens, the causative agent must be identified very quickly. This is the only way to take targeted action in an emergency and contain further spread. The polymerase chain reaction, or PCR for short, is the detection method of choice here. altona Diagnostics GmbH is a medical diagnostics company founded in Hamburg in 2007 and based there, with a portfolio of more than 80 PCR-based, CE marked diagnostic tests for infectious diseases such as Ebola, dengue fever, and severe Herpes virus infections for patients with weakened immune systems.

Real-time PCR is a direct and rapid laboratory-based detection method – in contrast to serological diagnostics, which indirectly determine the amount of antibodies against pathogens in the blood and thus the pathogen itself. However, antibody formation takes several days to weeks. If highly contagious or dangerous infectious diseases are suspected, PCR is therefore the appropriate method. Even the smallest amounts of the pathogen’s genetic material are sufficient to reliably detect it on the same day in blood or other body fluids such as saliva, urine, or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The method was developed in 1983 by Kary B. Mullis, and is essentially based on the amplification, detection, and identification of a small part of the genetic material, DNA or RNA.

The founders of altona Diagnostics, including Dr. Ulrich Spengler and Dr. Markus Heß, began their collaboration at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg. There, they jointly developed innovative molecular diagnostic PCR test systems for laboratories, thus laying the foundation for the company’s future direction. Since 2024, long-time altona Diagnostics employees Dr. Sönke Friedrichsen and Hans Kuhn have been managing the company’s operations. Friedrichsen is responsible for scientific and technical operations, while Kuhn is responsible for financial and business management functions.

altona Diagnostics employs more than 350 people worldwide and, including its predecessor company, has been active in the field of molecular diagnostics for over 25 years. The company develops and markets diagnostic PCR tests for pathogens that cause infectious diseases such as influenza, COVID-19, malaria, and hepatitis. Two key areas in the company’s portfolio are PCR tests used for viral monitoring in transplant and immunosuppressed patients, and PCR tests for the diagnosis of tropical and emerging infectious diseases. For example, the company developed a PCR test to detect the Zika virus, which was transmitted by mosquitoes and caused a global stir in 2015. A major outbreak in South and Central America at that time resulted in the birth of children with severe malformations.

In such emergency situations, and also on an ongoing basis, altona Diagnostics collaborates with scientific, government and NGO institutions such as the WHO, PAHO, UNICEF, the Bernhard Nocht Institute, the Paul Ehrlich Institute, the CDC, and GAVI. “Technical and scientific quality and responsiveness allow us to work trustingly with these players,” explains General Manager Hans Kuhn.

The privately owned company distributes its approximately 50 CE marked real-time PCR test kits from its headquarters in Hamburg and through subsidiaries and distribution partners worldwide to private and clinical laboratories, clinics, and research institutions. Some of these PCR tests are compatible with so-called open PCR cycler devices and are therefore not tied to specific instrument systems. In addition, altona Diagnostics offers an automated PCR workflow, a complete package consisting of instrumentation, PCR-setup and special software.

altona Diagnostics aims to expand with a sense of proportion and integrity. This applies both to its market presence and its portfolio.