For co-founders Amoga Tadimetti and Alison Burklud, the idea to start Nanopath, a women’s-focused molecular diagnostics company, was based on their own experience of creating a company focused on women’s health diagnostics. They said they want women to be properly screened because scientifically, there’s no reason they shouldn’t.
“We understand the biology of the disease, we don’t have the right tools to identify the bugs that cause these problems,” Burklund told TechCrunch in an interview. “You just don’t want to know, is there an infection? They want to know what is causing the infection. Is it susceptible to antibiotics? What is the relative concentration of that pathogen, these are all important criteria for a clinician to make a decision on treatment.
The company claims that it can detect DNA and RNA without using any nucleic acid amplification technology (NAAT) to diagnose possible diseases and get the results in 15 minutes, which is up to two hours for a general PCR test. NAATs are commonly used Today, they can diagnose diseases and often allow untrained staff to use them in a controlled setting – but there are risks of using them in decentralized settings.
Currently, however, Nanopath technology can only detect genetic combinations of human papillomavirus (HPV) and urinary tract infections.
As a Report According to Medscape, the average time a doctor spends with a patient is 13 to 16 minutes.
Burklund and Tadimety’s goal is to get their technology into medical offices around the country so women can get tested in 15 minutes, the average average appointment time.
“Having a place is very important. [patients] A single point of care can achieve outcomes, and treatment in that single office visit,” Birklund said. “Ultimately there may be a reimbursement model that supports that, but we want to make sure our business model really serves the needs of all patients.”
Nanopath has raised $10 million in Series A funding with participation from Norwest Venture Partners and the MedTech Convergence Fund, along with Ginger Capital and GreenD Ventures.
Funds from this round will go toward building the startup’s technical teams and driving mainstream distribution of their products — after conducting pilot studies and applying for FDA approval.
Even if the product clears those hurdles and makes it to market, the idea that they will come to chart a new direction for diagnostic testing is a big one. Although they claim to be able to provide a quick and accurate diagnosis, they are still competing against the major testing companies that are used nationally.
But for the founders, trying to reinvent the space is a big challenge.
“[Patients, now] “You have to wait a few days for the local lab to get the answer, and then the doctor has to monitor the patient and maybe change their treatment,” Tadimety said. They need it during that visit.
