Visby Medical Secures Additional $3.9M from CARB-X to Fight Antibiotic Resistance with PCR-Based Mutation Detection at the POC
Summary
This funding builds on a $1.2 million grant awarded in December 2023 and propels Visbys development of groundbreaking diagnostic tools that pinpoint resistance-conferring mutations in infections, starting with ciprofloxacin susceptibility.The additional funding will advance Visbys pioneering work funded by CARB-X, which has demonstrated its preliminary ability to detect Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) from urine and vaginal swabs and distinguish ciprofloxacin-susceptible strains. The company is also developing a digital companion app and AI-driven tools to make result interpretation seamless, while working on cost-cutting innovations for its platform.Ciprofloxacin is a former frontline antibiotic that has been sidelined due to widespread resistance. "Particularly for N. gonorrhoeae, which is a poster child for acquiring resistance, unlocking the treatment potential of ciprofloxacin could mean the difference between extending the lifetime of ceftriaxone either for decades, or only a handful of years. Follow Visby Medical on .CARB-X funding for this research is supported by federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; under agreement number 75A50122C00028, and by awards from Wellcome (WT224842), Germanys Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), and the UK Department of Health and Social Care as part of the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF). The content of this press release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views CARB-X or its funders.