-- CARB-X funding of up to $3.5 million highlights MicrobeDx innovative system for rapid microbial detection and antimicrobial susceptibility testing --
LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MicrobeDx, Inc., a biotechnology company addressing the global crisis in antibiotic resistance, today announced that it had entered into a collaboration with CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator), a global public-private partnership focused on funding the development of promising new antibiotics and rapid diagnostics. The partnership will advance the development MicrobeDx’s breakthrough diagnostic system, which utilizes a compact desktop device to detect the presence of bacteria in clinical urine specimens within 30 minutes and complete anti-microbial susceptibility testing within three hours, versus 48-72 hours under the current standard of care. While initially focused on urinary tract infections, MicrobeDx’s system may ultimately be utilized on a variety of bodily fluids, including positive blood cultures.
“MicrobeDx’s technology addresses a critical unmet need: rapid, accurate and cost-effective near-to-care testing that enables correct antibiotic therapy from the patient’s first dose,” said Dr. Bernard Churchill, Chairman and CEO of MicrobeDx. “We are both pleased and honored to be partnering with CARB-X to accelerate the development of our products and allow doctors to use them, and patients to benefit from them, sooner.”
“MicrobeDx aims to speed the diagnosis and treatment of UTIs, taking the guesswork out of treatment decisions in the first critical hours of illness,” said Kevin Outterson, Executive Director of CARB-X. “The world urgently needs new diagnostics and other products to protect us from life-threatening drug-resistant bacteria. The projects in the Powered by CARB-X portfolio are in the early stages of development, but if successful, they offer great potential in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria and in saving lives.”
MicrobeDx’s technology utilizes a transformational ribosomal RNA-based assay on an innovative microfluidic disc platform developed at UC Irvine that is both compact and cost-effective. By rapidly identifying whether bacteria are present and, if so, which antibiotics they are susceptible to, MicrobeDx’s system aims to reduce the number of unnecessary and ineffective prescriptions and facilitate the prompt and effective treatment of infections. The Company’s unique method has the potential to dramatically improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs and preserve the miracle of safe and effective antibiotics for future generations.
About MicrobeDx
MicrobeDx is an early-stage biotechnology company focused on addressing the global crisis in antibiotic resistance through real-time personalized antibiotic selection. Based on over 15 years of innovative research at UCLA and UC Irvine, MicrobeDx is harnessing the power of its ribosomal RNA-based technology on an innovative centrifugal disc microfluidic platform. Funded by benefactor donations, NIH/NIBIB and NIH/NIAID grants, private capital and now CARB-X, the MicrobeDx diagnostic system is currently in product development, to be followed by manufacturing and FDA clinical studies, with market launch expected in 2020. https://www.microbedx.com
About CARB-X
CARB-X is the world’s largest public-private partnership devoted solely to accelerating early development antibacterial R&D. Funded by ASPR/BARDA and Wellcome Trust, with in-kind support from NIAID, CARB-X is investing up to $455 million from 2016-2021 to support innovative antibiotics and other therapeutics, vaccines, rapid diagnostics and devices to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections. CARB-X focuses on high priority drug-resistant bacteria, especially Gram-negatives. CARB-X operates through Boston University. Other partners include RTI International, the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, MassBio, and the California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI). http://www.carb-x.org
Investor Contact:
Michael Churchill
416.678.0928
michael.churchill@gmail.com
Media Contact:
David Haake
310.237.3447
dhaake@microbedx.com
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SOURCE MicrobeDx, Inc.
