Module Innovations raises upto US$ 3.2 M from CARB-X

New Delhi: Module Innovations has declared that it is receiving funding of US$702,000 plus up to US$ 2.5 Million on meeting certain milestones from CARB-X based out of Boston University, US. CARB-X is funding Module to accelerate the development of their diagnostic system ASTSENSe.

The size of a small printer, ASTSENSe will identify drug-resistant Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) bacteria within 2 hours. Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) are one of the most common infections in the human body affecting 150 million people globally. While there have been significant advances towards bacterial diagnosis, UTIs largely are still treated on the basis of empirical broad-spectrum antibiotics. This practice fails in many situations when the infectious bacteria are drug-resistant.

Diagnosing a drug resistant UTI can take days. The most used method of microbial Culture, requires 2-3 days’ time, a laboratory and highly trained manpower. With ASTSENSe the results would be available within 2 hours rather than 2 days. The test is very easy to operate. Just add the Urine sample in the cartridge of ASTSENSe and run the test. Rapid results would enable clinicians to make more informed and accurate decisions about the antibiotic prescriptions. With the funding and network from CARB-X, we will move ASTSENSe to the market much faster. ASTSENSe is designed to be useful in every healthcare setting including Low and Middle Income countries (LMICs). said Sachin Dubey, CEO and cofounder of Module Innovations.

“Rapid diagnostics, like Module’s technology, are urgently needed to help ensure that UTI patients receive effective treatment as quickly as possible,” said Erin Duffy, Chief of Research and Development at CARB-X, a global non-profit partnership led by Boston University. “This technology, if successful, could provide health professionals with fast and accurate information, accelerating the delivery of effective therapeutics to patients, saving lives, and reducing the risk of contributing to drug resistance.

UTI are more common in females due to the anatomy of their Urinary Tract. Having suffered with UTIs myself I can say they are very painful. A less or in-effective antibiotic aggravates this ordeal further risking travel of infections to kidneys causing Sepsis, says Maya KV, Senior Scientist at Module Innovations who is part of the team involved in developing ASTSENSe.

According to a review on Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) chaired by Jim O Neil, if not controlled now AMR could kill 10 million people by 2050. AMR a pandemic as serious as COVID19 needs strong action. The efforts by Module Innovations and funders like CARB-X to fight AMR are essential to curb the looming threat posed by drug resistant bacteria.

Of the 63 companies funded so far by CARB-X, Module is the first Indian diagnostics company to receive the prestigious award. CARB-X selects projects after multiple rigorous rounds of interviews and stringent due diligence. With the mission to fund cutting edge science in AMR, around the globe, the CARB-X selection committee is comprised of eminent scientists, policymakers and experts.