UK based diagnostic company, FluoretiQ, has announced they have completed a funding round worth £1.1m for their antibiotic stewardship technologies.
FluoretiQ is an award-winning start-up innovating a range of antibiotic stewardship products aimed at reducing the ever-growing global burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The company has pioneered NANOPLEXTM – a proprietary diagnostic platform for identifying bacterial infections.
Their sizeable £1.1m pre-series A investment was led by early-stage life science investors, Deepbridge Capital LLP, with significant participation from MAINStream, OION, SAIC and existing investors. The considerable funding will enable the company to produce trial units of their first NANOPLEX product, a 15-minute UTI (urinary tract infection) diagnostic device.
Dr Savvas Neophytou, Partner & Head of Life Sciences at Deepbridge Capital LLP, commented: “FluoretiQ perfectly represents the type of highly innovative and growth-focused companies Deepbridge Capital is committed to supporting within the sector-specific Deepbridge Life Sciences EIS fund; a great example of the importance of the Enterprise Investment Scheme. Neciah has built a great team, eager to take on the significant challenge this market demands, and we are pleased to be working with them on this next exciting stage of their journey.”
Enhancing antibiotic stewardship
FluoretiQ is developing a range of antibiotic stewardship products that provide an accurate and rapid diagnosis of when antibiotics should be prescribed. NANOPLEX achieves laboratory quality results 200 times faster than laboratory analysis, helping clinicians meet their antibiotic stewardship targets. The cutting-edge technology utilises glycan-based probes to find and quantify important bacterial species directly from samples.
Combatting AMR
The FluoretiQ product range will provide vital weapons against AMR. Recent reports have illuminated the substantial scale of the AMR threat, estimating that by 2050, antimicrobial resistance will be attributed to 10 million cases worldwide, becoming the largest cause of death, exceeding cancer. In just the last five years alone, the number of deaths directly associated with AMR has increased by 181%.
FluoretiQ CEO, Dr Neciah Dorh, said: “Recent headlines in the LANCET also highlight the need for urgent action to get solutions to preserve the efficacy of current and future antibiotics. These funds will enable us to build cutting-edge, rapid diagnostic products that enable true antibiotic stewardship. We’re so fortunate to have a growing list of committed and visionary investors.”
Angel investor, entrepreneur and medical doctor, Dr Leonid Shapiro, commented: “I was impressed with both FlouretiQ’s innovation in bacterial detection and their quest to solve a much-needed problem in managing urinary infections in our nation’s elderly.”
