Pfizer backs medtech startup Resistell

06.05.2022

The  EPFL spinoff addressing the problem of speed in the diagnostics of antibiotic resistance has initiated a research project funded by an independent grant from Pharma giant Pfizer. The project aims to assess the applicability of Resistell’s antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) to a novel antibiotic.

Founded in 2018, Resistell is dedicated to developing the world’s fastest antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) based on analysis of nano-scale vibrations of living cells. The startup’s first diagnostic product, Phenotech, currently under clinical validation for bacteremia and sepsis, is a compact and user-friendly device, with single-use sensors and a cloud-based automated data analysis platform. It provides AST results for Gram-negative bacteria in as little as 4 hours. The device achieved 100% accuracy in the pilot clinical study.

Thanks to an independent grant from Pharma Company Pfizer, the startup has now launched a research project to provide a preclinical proof of concept of its AST applicability for a novel antibiotic. Multi-drug resistance is one of the biggest global health challenges today, with insufficient availability of diagnostics and new effective antibiotics playing a major contributing factor. The positive outcome of the project may contribute to a paradigm shift in the management of infectious diseases and open the door to informed diagnostics based treatment decisions.

Pfizer grant programs support independent research, quality improvement and education initiatives that find innovative ways to improve patient outcomes in underserved communities around the world.

“Targeted and precise use of antibiotics is ever more important in the light of constantly increasing multidrug-resistant infections. Resistell’s rapid phenotypic AST enables adequate antibiotic therapy for critically ill patients, which not only saves lives but also extends the lifetime of novel antibiotics that are so scarce nowadays”, says Danuta Cichocka, Resistell CEO.

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