Carb-X awards up to $3.9m for neonatal sepsis diagnostic

Carb-X is awarding Baebies, based in Durham, North Carolina, USA, up to $3.9 million to develop a rapid diagnostic for neonatal sepsis, a severe condition related to bacterial infections which, according to studies, kills an estimated 1.4 million young children worldwide each year.  

Baebies will be eligible for up to $7.7 million in additional funding from CARB-X if project milestones are met, subject to available funds. 

Baebies is a developing a diagnostic platform that will first determine, from a small blood sample, if there is a bacterial infection, and if so, which pathogen is causing the infection, enabling physicians to determine which antibiotics would be effective in treating the infection. This diagnostic will also measure host response markers unique to neonatal populations. 

Eric Duffy, R&D chief of CARB-X, said: “Each hour delay in diagnosing infections and treating sepsis increases the risk of death and damage. Rapid diagnostics are essential tools in the race against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. They help curb inappropriate use of antibiotics and help speed effective treatment, which can save lives and reduce the spread of drug-resistant bacteria.”

Vamsee Pamula, co-founder and president of Baebies, added: “There is a critical need for a rapid and easy-to-use diagnostic platform for bacteremia – especially for the new-born population given the low circulating blood volume available for testing. Through this CARB-X partnership, the development of blood culture and identification of bacteria on our FINDER platform not only enables clinicians to receive results fast, but also conserves the limited blood volume by maximising the diagnostic yield. Minimising sample volume is crucial when it comes to testing infants. The extra ‘e’ in Baebies demonstrates our commitment to ensure a healthy start for every child and sepsis is a fatal condition affecting neonates and children everywhere. We are looking forward to applying our technology towards a solution for neonatal and paediatric sepsis.”

Sepsis is the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to infection caused by bacteria, including drug-resistant bacteria, which can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. Sepsis kills 270,000 in the U.S. each year. The toll is much higher in low- and middle-income regions where sanitation and health care are limited, particularly among children and new-borns.

The Baebies diagnostic platform uses digital microfluidics technology and would produce results from a small blood sample, in line with blood-sample volumes available from infants. It would detect the presence of bacterial pathogens direct from whole blood within 15 minutes, followed by a post-blood culture rapid 15-minute molecular test for pathogen identification and antibiotic sensitivity to identify which antibiotics could effectively treat the infection. The platform will also be able to measure expression levels of various genes from just 125 microlitres of whole blood to distinguish between different causes of inflammatory responses. The project is in the feasibility phase of development.