Meet Venture Leader Danuta's Cichocka Fast Diagnostics of Antibiotic Resistance's Startup

13.05.2019 14:35, Guillaume Tinsel

Ten Venture Leaders will represent Switzerland in Boston in June. Meet Danuta Cichocka, co-founder and CEO of Resistell. Learn more on phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility test and Danuta's expectations on her roadshow in Boston.

I am Danuta Cichocka, co-founder and CEO of Resistell, EPFL spin-off developing world fastest phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility test (AST). Resistell addresses the problem of speed in diagnostics of antibiotic resistance, a key driver in therapeutic success. Currently, phenotypic ASTs take days. Because of that most treatment decisions are empirical and the adequacy of antibiotic therapy is not guaranteed. We have founded Resistell to provide the physicians with the diagnostic tool that will enable them to choose the most efficient but also most narrow spectrum antibiotic for the patient. We want to contribute to better treatment, especially of live-threatening diseases such as bacteremia and sepsis, but also prevent spreading of antimicrobial resistance.

What attracted you to Boston as a business development destination?

Boston is the top life sciences cluster in the U.S. It has one of the largest concentrations of life science elite academics, research facilities, biotechnology companies, ranging from start-ups to billion-dollar enterprises. This makes it a top hub for innovation and attracts top life science venture investment that is constantly growing over recent years. Resistell’s ambition is to grow and expand. To achieve that we need to learn from the world leaders.

What do you hope to achieve from the trip? What are your expectations and goals?

It will give me the opportunity to expand my knowledge about the US market, market entry requirements and establish the first contacts there. I am particularly interested in relations with regulatory authorities (FDA), hospitals and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs). We are currently preparing for the clinical validation of our device in Europe. The next step will be the validation in the US. It’s very important to understand regulatory landscape as well as health care ecosystem there before we start planning the trials for this market.
Resistell has also just opened A financing round. We’re aiming to raise $3 million. The timing is perfect for us to present the case to the US investors.

Why is Venture Leaders Life Science beneficial for your startup?

Venture Leaders Life Science is a prestigious programme that will help me to make a first step towards US expansion. It’s an excellent learning and networking opportunity. In addition, the programme has a very strong PR component, which is of large value, especially during fundraising.



What is pushing you towards international expansion?

Among developed countries, US is the largest market for life-science and med-tech highly innovative products. International expansion has always been on our agenda. Although Switzerland is a great place to launch a start-up, its market is too small to achieve multi-million revenues. In order to achieve expected ROI, Swiss health care start-ups need to anticipate and plan the expansion from the very beginning. Venture Leaders Life Science programme will facilitate that.

What do you foresee as the largest hurdles towards expansion into the American market?

Regulatory system for diagnostic devices differs significantly from the European one. Placing a new med-tech device and a test on the US market requires FDA approval. Reimbursements, which are a prerequisite for a commercial success in the health care sectors, are very complicated in USA. A thorough understanding of the US reimbursement schemes is a must. The acceptance of a very new and innovative technologies, like ours, in hospitals is always an issue and it takes time. The collaboration with local KOLs is very important. We currently work with European KOLs. We would like to launch such collaborations with the US partners.

What makes you most nervous or excited about the trip?

The time difference and the fact that daily contact with my team will be difficult, makes me a little nervous. I currently manage a team of 8 people. We’re in pre-clinical stage and make important decisions every day. On the other hand, I strongly believe in the added value of the programme and I am sure that I will come back full of new insights and ideas.

  Venture Leaders Life Sciences is sponsored by Rothschild & Co Bank, Kellerhals Carrard, swissnex Boston, Ypsomed, Paul Schererr Institute, Canton de Vaud, EPF Lausanne and ETH Zürich.