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The Bern-based company Ender Diagnostics got off to a flying start thanks to spit tests they invented. It is expanding worldwide.
The Bern-based startup Ender Diagnostics is doing good business «thanks to» Corona. The company was founded in April 2020, almost out of necessity. The founders made no progress with their company, which specialized in infection tests in horses, because of Corona. They changed business, adapted the test procedure to people and Covid, and developed a spit test. Over 100 people are now employed. Research director Alexander Lüthi has had two crazy years – and believes the company will continue to grow.
SRF News: You were already working in diagnostics before the corona pandemic, but actually wanted to test horses. Wasn’t it a great risk to switch to corona tests for people without knowing how long the pandemic will keep the world busy?
Alexander Lüthi: In the beginning it took a dip in the deep end. And I was the last to jump – my colleagues were braver. I don’t regret it though.
We had to develop the know-how for tests for humans first.
We knew from the beginning that when we switch to human diagnostics, it would be a relatively turbulent time. We didn’t yet have the know-how to bring the product to market. We knew we had a lot of work to do. Fortunately, we found very good people very quickly who worked with us to solve these problems.
The company has grown quickly and has investors on board. Are you under pressure to keep the growth at this steep rate?
Yes, yes. Our principle is: growth must make sense. If we expand into fields where the product is needed, that will work out well. I am very confident.
Legend:
These PCR spitting tests were developed by the Bern company.
ZVG / Ender Diagnostics
You are living an entrepreneurial dream, almost like a fairy tale – how are you privately?
Yes, of course, private life is no longer the same as it was three years ago. That’s the way it is and I miss it. I also try to set more priorities there, which means: More at home with the family, if possible. We are now actively planning this time so that I am more at home with the children who have already suffered last year. Yes, I’m not always at home anymore.
On the one hand, as an entrepreneur, you are a winner of the pandemic. On the other hand, as a private person, you probably want the pandemic to end quickly. Is that a dilemma for you?
It is quite a dichotomy. But it is also gratifying to see that our products advance society. That was my goal from the start: Leave the pandemic behind us as quickly as possible so that we can live again as we did three years ago. At the moment it doesn’t look like it. Still, I hope that at some point we will be able to shift down a gear.
If we dare to look into the future: will corona tests – like security checks – be part of flying in the future?
I think it will be for the next couple of years at least. It has been seen in the context of the fight against terrorism that certain rules that were introduced at the time still apply today.
For traveling you will have to be tested even longer.
Unfortunately, it will be similar with Corona: For a few years you will have to test for trips to some destinations. But I hope that vaccination will make it obsolete at some point.
And what about the future of Ender Diagnostics?
So far we have partners in the USA who have already introduced our concept. In addition to the USA, there is more: We are also in talks with partners in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
The interview was conducted by Sonja Mühlemann.