Microplate Dx Secures £2.5 Million

Award-winning University of Strathclye spinout company, Microplate Dx Limited has recently closed a £2.5M seed funding round to develop its point-of-care diagnostic platform which can confirm the presence of bacteria and guide a patient’s doctor to effective treatment by rapidly identifying effective antibiotics to use and which ones to avoid.

Dr. Stuart Hannah, CEO at Microplate Dx, said: 

“Our mission at Microplate Dx is to improve the quality of lives for patients by providing antimicrobial stewardship cost-effectively. Any delay in identifying the correct antibiotic for treatment can put lives at risks and huge pressure on clinical decision making, especially when the antibiotic sensitivity data that Microplate Dx can produce in an hour or less compared to the current approach that can take two days using existing techniques.

“Early clinical benchmark testing relating to urinary tract infections has been positive and the company now intends to target scale-up both commercially and technically. Early prescribing of appropriate antibiotics to patients, so-called ‘personalised prescribing’, is vital to combat antimicrobial resistance on a global scale, and for serious infections, early intervention will save countless lives.”

“With the combined experience of our team and board, Microplate Dx has the right blend of commercial and technical expertise to maximise the chances of right product-market fit and scaling up.”

Ben Carter, Head of Life Sciences at Deepbridge Capital, said: 

“Microplate Dx is exactly the type of highly innovative and growth-focused Company that the Enterprise Investment Scheme is designed to empower. Working with partners at the University of Strathclyde, Scottish Enterprise, SIS Ventures and Thairm Bio highlights the positive impact of collaboration; supporting an ambitious organisation which is seeking to address one of the world’s most pressing scientific challenges. Dr Hannah and the team have made remarkable progress to date and we are delighted that our funding, provided by the Deepbridge Life Sciences EIS, can assist Microplate Dx’s exciting future progress.”

Combining novel hardware with proprietary data processing algorithms, Microplate Dx has developed a platform for rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing, enabling the optimum antibiotic to be prescribed by a clinician in minutes rather than days.

Investors in this funding round include existing investors Deepbridge Capital LLP and the University of Strathclyde in addition to new investors Scottish Enterprise, impact investor SIS Ventures and Boston-based life sciences investor Thairm Bio, in line with the company’s plans for US market entry.

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