Resistell has developed a diagnostic device and rapid AST method based on detecting vibrations from living bacterial cells, enabling growth-independent results in hours rather than days. Its R&D device is named Phenotech Research. Clinical validation is underway: the first clinical study for bacteremia and sepsis at the University Hospital in Lausanne is halfway through and shows a large reduction in time to result and around 95% accuracy versus the gold standard. A second multi-site study with three European hospitals has just started. The company intends to use new funds to complete clinical trials and bring Phenotech Research to market. It plans to seek IVDR certification and to commercialize first in the research market while pursuing partnerships with the diagnostic industry, medical centers, and academia. Resistell develops a rapid phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility test that measures movements of living bacteria via nanotechnology and Atomic Force Microscopy to determine antibiotic effectiveness in hours rather than days. The method detects cessation of bacterial motion when an effective antibiotic is applied, enabling correct treatment from day one. The technology was researched at EPFL since 2012 by a team of physicists, physicians and microbiologists led by inventors Prof. Giovanni Dietler and Dr. Sandor Kasas, and the company achieved a proof-of-concept, a 3rd-generation prototype and successful tests on samples from University Hospital in Lausanne (CHUV). A European patent for the device and method was granted in summer 2018, and Resistell was incorporated in April 2018 in Basel; it is moving to new premises in Muttenz. The company aims to become the gold standard in phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility testing and is testing devices in a dedicated AFM laboratory at CHUV with Prof. Gilbert Greub as Chief Scientific Advisor. Management and board additions include CEO Danuta Cichocka, Derek Brandt and Michal Bartos joining the Board, and the startup has support from Venture Kick.

Total raised

$13M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Dec 2022