Aid Genomics, an Israeli firm that develops molecular diagnostic technologies designed to elucidate the genetic DNA profiles of both diseases and patients alike, announced on Sunday that it is shuttering its research and development center and firing 400 employees. The news comes on the same day that America’s Asurion revealed that it is shutting down its Israeli research and development subsidiary Soluto, costing 120 people their jobs making for a total of 520 layoffs in Israel in one day.
AID Genomics is best known for having developed testing for the Coronavirus.
Founded in 2013, AID Genomics is focused on delivering advanced diagnostics solutions to facilitate better preventative strategies for healthy individuals and more personalized treatment strategies for individuals battling cancer. By combining bioinformatics with next-generation sequencing and artificial intelligence, AID Genomics declares that the company seeks to operate at the vanguard of precision medicine by unlocking the secrets hidden within DNA.
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However, AID GenomicsCEO and co-founder Snir Zano put much of the blame on the Israeli government, specifically its Ministry of Health. “We no longer believe the Ministry of Health. We invested tens of millions of shekels in developing our technology in Israel, but we were held back for many months. We no longer believe the State of Israel,” he told Calcalist.
And Aid Genomics also blamed government bureaucracy and high costs saying, “In addition, we suffered massive damage in the tens of millions of shekels with the Ben-Gurion airport tender. I don’t see any reason to have an R&D center in Israel when the regulator takes my innovation and transfers it to others. I invested NIS 300 million (approximately $88 million) and everything is being transferred to others. We are now laying off hundreds of people and it breaks my heart, but it is the state which chased us away from here.”