Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest global health challenges today. The emergence of multi-drug resistant pathogens has made it increasingly difficult to choose the right antibiotic in time for critically ill patients. As a result, physicians are frequently turning to broad-spectrum antibiotics to reduce the risk of administering non-effective drugs. Excessive use of these powerful medicines triggers the development of multi-drug resistance. If this trend is not stopped, the world faces a death toll of up to 10 million people per year by 2050.
The EPFL spin-off Resistell developed a diagnostic device that allows for identifying the best antibiotic to treat a particular infection 100 faster than conventional methods. The test is based on the measurement of vibrations of living bacteria from the sample by using nanosensors. This reduces the time-to-result from several hours or days to less than two hours and patients can be treated with the optimal medication from the first day.
The need for rapid, antibiotic susceptibility tests is unquestionable. Some market analysts estimate the potential market size for these tests at CHF 4.5 billion in 2026 (Coherent Market Insights 2018).
One year following the receipt of its seed funds, the startup has now raised additional CHF 3.5 million in an oversubscribed series A round led by the OCCIDENT Group. TRUMPF Venture, Alpana Ventures, Zürcher Kantonalbank, HEMEX and seven private investors also backed the start-up. The funds will enable Resistell to achieve the CE-mark declaration for the first indication, bloodstream infections.
“In this round, it was very important for us to attract new institutional investors that will contribute to the strategic development of the company and support us in the long run," said the CEO, Danuta Cichocka.
In the summer of 2019, the company together with the microbiology team led by Prof. Gilbert Greub at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) have also received funding for an Innosuisse Innovation project with a total budget of CHF 1.3 million. This Innosuisse grant will co-finance clinical trials at CHUV and enable validation of the technology for new indications, such as tuberculosis and chlamydia.
(Press release/ran)
Photo: The Resistell team: Dr Amanda Luraschi (Clinical Microbiologist), Christèle Aubry (Microbiologist, PhD student in Innosuisse project), Grzegorz Gonciarz (COO), Piotr Grygo (Engineer), Dr Grzegorz Wielgoszewski (Engineer), Dr Danuta Cichocka (Founder and CEO), Michal Swiatkowski (Engineer) and Dr Eric Delarze (Clinical Microbiologist).
Please login or sign up to comment.
Commenting guidelines