DZD Will Continue Clinical Validation and Product Engineering of its Novel Technology Designed to Reduce Time to Diagnosis from Days to Hours
Day Zero Diagnostics Inc., an infectious disease diagnostics company utilizing genome sequencing and machine learning to combat the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections, today announced it was awarded $8.2 million in additional option stage funding from CARB-X, the Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator, a global non-profit partnership dedicated to accelerating early antibacterial research and development to address the rising global threat of drug-resistant bacteria. The company received an initial $6.2 million CARB-X award in May of 2020. This latest award brings the total to over $16 million.
Day Zero Diagnostics is developing whole genome sequencing-based diagnostic technologies that can identify, within hours, both the species and the antibiotic resistance profile of a bacterial pathogen from a blood sample, eliminating the need for a culture. In cases of severe infection like sepsis, current approaches to antibiotic resistance testing take days, significantly increasing the risk of death. Antibiotic resistance was directly responsible for 1.3 million deaths globally in 2019, killing more people than HIV/AIDS or malaria. Day Zero’s revolutionary approach to diagnosing infectious diseases, particularly their antibiotic resistance profile, has the potential to save lives while reducing the economic burden of severe infections.
“We greatly appreciate CARB-X’s continued support as we pioneer a new class of infectious disease diagnostics that leverage whole genome sequencing and machine learning to enable rapid identification of pathogens and their antibiotic resistance profile. Day Zero Diagnostics is determined to bend the curve on antibiotic resistance growth by enabling rapid and accurate diagnosis,” said Jong Lee, CEO of Day Zero Diagnostics. “This latest CARB-X award validates the tremendous progress our team of scientists and engineers have made in bringing these novel technologies to maturity and demonstrating the tremendous potential of genome sequencing technology in combating antibiotic resistance. CARB-X’s continued support now focuses on productizing these technologies so we can help fight the global threat of antibiotic resistance.”
“We are pleased to support Day Zero Diagnostics’ development of its rapid infectious disease diagnostic technology,” said Erin Duffy, Ph.D., Chief of Research and Development at CARB-X. “Day Zero’s whole genome sequencing and machine learning technology is a novel approach that could change the way infectious disease is diagnosed, help curb antibiotic resistance, and save lives.”
Option Stage funding from CARB-X will enable Day Zero to transition into product development of its diagnostic system. The ultimate goal of the program is the launching of FDA cleared and CE Marked in-vitro diagnostic instrument and cartridge system. The system will provide a sample-to-answer solution that incorporates the capabilities of the company’s novel technologies, including Blood2Bac™, a proprietary sample preparation technology for ultra-high enrichment of bacterial DNA from clinical blood samples and Keynome®, Day Zero’s machine learning algorithm for species identification and resistance profiling. The company will also continue to expand MicrohmDB®, a proprietary large-scale database combining pathogen genomic sequences with their known antibiotic resistance and susceptibility profiles.
Day Zero Diagnostics announced the news today from IDWeek in Washington, D.C.
Acknowledgement and disclaimer:
Research reported in this press release is supported by CARB-X. CARB-X’s funding for this project is provided by Federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; under agreement number: 75A50122C00028, and by awards from Wellcome (WT224842), and Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The content of this press release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of CARB-X or any of its funders.