Collaboration to create solution for sepsis and drug resistance

QuantuMDx and Ontera have announced a collaboration to create a solution for blood stream infection and drug resistance detection.

The technology will be based on QuantuMDx’s cell and sample preparation technology, Capture-XT and Ontera’s nanopore biosensor, currently utilised in its SAM and DUO Nano platforms. 

The combined technologies aim to enable clinicians to quickly interrogate blood specimens of those presenting with sepsis signs and symptoms, allowing guided ‘right first time’ care management, at the bedside. 

Sepsis affects more than 30 million people worldwide every year leading to an estimated 6 million deaths.

QuantuMDx’s Capture-XT technology captures, concentrates and enriches targeted pathogens from a large sample volume, enabling visual diagnosis and downstream utilisation, such as drug-susceptibility analysis, PCR, NGS and now nanopore detection, with this collaboration.

Jonathan O’Halloran, chief scientific officer at QuantuMDx, said: “Sepsis is one of the hardest diseases to detect. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, due to the low concentration of organisms in the blood stream that cause disease. Our early prototype testing has already shown sensitivity in the range required for this kind of test and performed in minutes from spiked bacteria in whole blood. We haven’t even pushed the technology yet, but it has the potential to become a paradigm-shifting, powerful device. And, by including drug resistance in the assay to enable right first time prescribing, the impact of this partnership could be profound.”

Ontera’s single pore platform provides amplification of multiple bacterial targets, differentiation between antibiotic resistant and susceptible strains. The company uses silicon nanopore for quantitative measurement of nucleic acids, proteins and small molecules, avoiding time-consuming laboratory procedures that can delay lifesaving, fast and precise treatment.

Murielle Thinard McLane, CEO of Ontera, said: “Today, 30% of patients receive inappropriate antimicrobial therapy. By not only identifying sepsis but also resistance to most common antibiotics in less than 30 minutes, we will transform the sepsis landscape and impact lives. We have set out on a mission to democratise access to molecular information to create a more sustainable planet. This collaboration with QuantuMDx is a major proof point along that mission.”