Medtech Startup Resistell Raises CHF 3.5 Million to Certify its Blood Infection Testing Device

17.12.2019 12:27, Joseph Heaven

Resistell AG, the Swiss startup developing the world's fastest phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility test, will use the funding to achieve CE-mark approval for its first device testing blood stream infections. OCCIDENT lead the oversubscribed series A round, which was joined by TRUMPF Venture, Alpana Ventures, Zürcher Kantonalbank, HEMEX and private investors.

Resistell won support and training from Venture Kick in 2018, CEO and co-founder Danuta Cichocka roadshowed with Venture Leaders Life Sciences in June. The Muttenz, Switzerland-based startup also ranked at the TOP 100 Swiss Startup Award this year.

Resistell team: Amanda Luraschi, Christèle Aubry, Grzegorz Gonciarz, Piotr Grygo, Grzegorz Wielgoszewski, Danuta Cichocka, Michal Swiatkowski and Eric Delarze.

“Venture Kick helped us refine our business case and gave us many precious hints on how to make it more compelling for investors. We met half our seed investors during our second Venture Kick pitch presentation,” said CEO and co-founder, Danuta Cichocka.

"Winning the pitching competition in Boston during the Venture Leaders Life Sciences roadshow, resulted in fantastic PR for our Series A financing round. The recognition from the U.S. convinced investors that Resistell is an attractive case on the global startup scene," Cichocka said.

“In this round it was very important for us to attract new institutional investors who on one hand will contribute to the strategic development of the company and on the other hand will be able to support us in the long run. We met one of our new institutional investors during the TOP 100 Investors Summit that preceded the award ceremony. The TOP 100 Swiss Start Award is one of the most prestigious startup recognitions in Switzerland. For many investors, the inclusion on that list is a prerequisite for investment. And I will repeat again, a startup cannot afford to miss such a great PR opportunity."

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest global health challenges today. The emergence of multi-drug resistant pathogens has made it increasingly difficult to choose the right antibiotic in time for critically ill patients. As a result, physicians are frequently turning to broad-spectrum antibiotics to reduce the risk of administering non-effective drugs. Excessive use of these powerful medicines then triggers the development of multi-drug resistance. Unless we can halt this trend, the world faces a death toll of up to 10 million people per year by 2050.

To positively influence the outcome of antimicrobial treatment, it is essential to speedily determine which antibiotics the pathogen still responds to. The EPFL spin-off Resistell has been able to successfully achieve reliable antibiotic susceptibility results up to 100 times faster than conventional, culture-based methods. Resistell’s test is based on measurement of vibrations of living bacteria from the sample by using nanosensors. This reduces the time-to-result from several hours or days to less than two hours. Patients can be treated with the optimal medication from day one.

The need for rapid, antibiotic susceptibility tests is unquestionable. Some market analysts estimate the potential market size for these tests at CHF 4.5 billion in 2026 (Coherent Market Insights 2018).