Ontera and QuantuMDx Collaborate to Advance Sepsis Diagnosis

Improving outcomes for sepsis patients and promoting antibiotic stewardship

“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.” —  Murielle Thinard McLane, CEO of Ontera

Ontera, Inc., and QuantuMDx Group Limited have announced a collaboration to create a next-generation solution for blood stream infection and drug resistance detection. The technology will be based on QuantuMDx’s rapid cell/sample preparation technology, Capture-XT®, and Ontera’s powerful nanopore biosensor, currently utilized in their SAM and DUO Nano platforms.

The combined technologies should 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.1 If it’s not recognized early and managed promptly with targeted antibiotics, sepsis can lead to septic shock, multiple organ failure and death.

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

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

“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,” says Jonathan O’Halloran, Chief Scientific Officer at QuantuMDx. “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.”

“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,” says Murielle Thinard McLane, CEO of Ontera. “We have set out on a mission to democratize access to molecular information to create a more sustainable planet. This collaboration with QuantuMDx is a major proof point along that mission.”

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Notes:

1) WHO 2019

Sepsis arises when the body’s response to any infection injures its own tissues and organs. If not recognized early and managed promptly, it can lead to septic shock, multiple organ failure and death. It is a serious complication of infection in all countries and particularly in low- and middle- income countries it represents a major cause of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. (WHO 2019)

About Ontera
Ontera, a leader in silicon-based nanopore sensing, was founded with the idea that better information is needed to enhance human and environmental health in a sustainable way. The company aims to democratize access to molecular information through its series of nanopore based platforms, making it accessible at the point of need: easy, fast and cost effective. For more information, visit ontera.bio.

About QuantuMDx
QuantuMDx Group is a multinational company with a global vision of empowering the world to control and eradicate disease by making transformative, quality point-of-care diagnostic technologies universally accessible. QuantuMDx has operations and strategic partnerships in the United States, Asia, Europe and Africa – keeping it at the forefront of molecular diagnostics. For more information go to: www.quantumdx.com

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