Inflammatix secured $102 million in new financing to help commercialize its point-of-care diagnostics portfolio aimed at profiling a person’s immune response to quickly ascertain bacterial and viral infections and help curb potential antimicrobial resistance.
The former Fierce 15 winner’s series D round was led by D1 Capital Partners alongside backing from the company’s previous investors Northpond Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Think.Health and OSF Healthcare Ventures.
While traditional diagnostic tests may focus on searching for pathogens in the bloodstream, certain acute, localized infections may not be detected, while some signs of sepsis can be missed altogether. As a result, many patients are given broad-spectrum antibiotics that may be unnecessary, which can contribute to the growth of stronger bugs.
According to Inflammatix, worldwide deaths caused by sepsis were already topping 5 million each year before the spread of COVID-19, and severe cases of the pandemic coronavirus can be categorized as a type of viral sepsis.
“By quickly providing actionable information about disease, Inflammatix expects to equip physicians to make better clinical decisions that benefit both patients and healthcare systems,” said CEO Tim Sweeney.
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The company’s tests—run on the cartridge-based Myrna system—aim to produce an accurate result specifying a particular pathogen in less than 30 minutes by scanning for mRNA biomarkers in the body’s immune cells.
The latest funding is slated to carry Inflammatix toward regulatory clearances for its Myrna system and the InSep test for sepsis and acute infections as well as to continue the development of its ViraBac EZ fingerstick blood test for determining whether an infection is viral or bacterial.
“We are enthusiastic about the transformative potential of Inflammatix’s host response diagnostic approach to significantly improve two major issues in healthcare today: the inefficient and often inaccurate diagnosis of infection and sepsis, and the over-prescription of antibiotics,” said James Rogers, an analyst at D1 Capital Partners.