Project description
Turning the tables on antimicrobial resistance
Antimicrobial resistance represents the biggest threat to global health; many infections are becoming harder to treat as antibiotics become less effective. Sepsis affects more people than lung, breast and prostate cancer combined, develops quickly and attacks multiple organs, often leading to septic shock and death. Swedish company Gradientech aims to develop and bring to clinical practice an ultra-rapid diagnostic tool for antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) based on a proprietary technology platform. The novel tool combines advanced microfluidics with continuous image detection and analysis and will reduce AST time to 2 hours. The EU-funded QuickMIC project will develop a business plan for future clinical studies and commercialisation activities.
Objective
The aim of the project is to bring QuickMIC™, an ultra-rapid diagnostic tool for Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST) to the market and clinical practice. AST is usually carried out to determine which antibiotic will be the most appropriate in treating a bacterial infection in a particular patient. Sepsis is the major cause of death as a result of an infection today. It affects approx. 30 million of people every year worldwide. About 20 % of the patients do not survive the disease. Currently, it can take up to 48 hours for the current golden standard AST method to produce reliable diagnostic results. Therefore, doctors empirically treat sepsis patients with wide-spectrum antibiotics while the blood samples are being tested. The globally escalating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has resulted in empirical treatment being unsuccessful more and more often. Misuse of antibiotics additionally contributes to increasing resistance. The improvement of survival rates in sepsis and the decrease in AMR will only be possible with access to a quicker AST tool. To address this unmet clinical need, Gradientech is developing an ultra-rapid AST system, QuickMIC™, based on a patented technology platform. By combining i) advanced microfluidics and ii) continuous image detection and analysis, QuickMIC™ can reduce the time of an AST to two hours. Besides being the fastest AST under development, QuickMIC™ is also a low-price alternative compared to its direct competitors. By commercializing QuickMIC™, Gradientech will make an important contribution to fighting AMR in Europe. Moreover, we will significantly improve the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis. A continued development of QuickMIC™ will result in a CE-IVD marking by early 2019. In the Phase 1 project, we will develop a business plan that will guide the future clinical studies and commercialisation activities. If successful, the overall innovation effort will take Gradientech to a new level of competitiveness and growth.
Fields of science
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinesurgery
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriology
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsantibiotics
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug resistanceantibiotic resistance
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
75183 UPPSALA
Sweden
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.