DURHAM – Baebies will receive up to $11.6 million in non-dilutive funding to support the development of a near-patient and rapid diagnostic testing platform to identify sepsis, specifically for neonatal and pediatric patients, from CARB-X.
The award consists of nearly $4 million in initial funding and an additional $7.7 million in funding based on milestones achieved by the company, and comes from the global nonprofit partnership that provides funding and support for any project that aims to address drug-resistant bacteria as noted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.
“There is a critical need for a rapid and easy-to-use diagnostic platform for bacteremia – especially for the newborn population given the low circulating blood volume available for testing. Through this CARB-X partnership, the development of blood culture and identification of bacteria on our FINDER platform not only enables clinicians to receive results fas
/ April 20, 2021 /
Baebies, a growth-stage company developing innovative products to enable early disease detection and comprehensive diagnosis, announced today that CARB-X has awarded the company up to $11.6 million in non-dilutive funding. This funding will support the development of a near-patient and rapid diagnostic platform for sepsis - specially focused on addressing the unique needs of neonatal and pediatric populations.
The CARB-X award consists of $3.9 million in initial funding with up to $7.7 million of milestone-based funding. CARB-X, a global non-profit partnership, provides funding and support for projects that target drug-resistant bacteria deemed Serious or Urgent on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Antibiotic Resistant Threats list or Critical or High on the World Health Organization s Priority Bacterial Pathogens list.
Rapid diagnostic for neonatal sepsis receives CARB-X funding
CARB-X announced today that it is awarding Durham, North Carolina, biotech company Baebies Inc. up to $3.9 million to develop a rapid, easy-to-use diagnostic test for sepsis in newborns.
The diagnostic platform the company is developing uses digital microfluidics technology to test a small blood sample for bacterial infection and return results within 15 minutes. The test will also be able to determine the pathogen causing the infection and its antibiotic susceptibility, and measure host response markers unique to neonatal populations.
The project is currently in the feasibility phase of development, and if it meets project milestones, Baebies will be eligible for an additional $7.7 million from CARB-X (the Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator).