- E25Bio, a company that enables faster and more accurate healthcare access through its point-of-care diagnostic technology, announced it raised $2.3 million
E25Bio — a company that enables faster and more accurate healthcare access through its point-of-care diagnostic technology — announced it raised $2.3 million in a seed round of funding led by The Engine (MIT’s early-stage investment arm). And this investment also includes participation from Alumni Ventures Group and angel investor Alejandro Chavez.
As typical detection processes for dangerous mosquito-borne illnesses can take days at minimum, E25Bio developed a rapid diagnostic test technology that can do so in minutes. And the first product is a simple and over-the-counter test for patients appearing with fever. This fever panel is considered the first of its kind to be able to screen for active viruses and enables more rapid and accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases in time to receive potentially life-saving treatment.
“Until now, no rapid diagnostic test has been able to simultaneously detect and differentiate dangerous infectious diseases from each other in their active state in enough time to enable clinical intervention,” said E25Bio CEO Jeff Takle. “There are outbreaks today in the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Brazil. All over the world, children and the elderly are at serious risk; we can help.”
Aedes mosquitoes thrive in high humid conditions and are endemic in regions that are home to more than one third of the world’s population. And Aedes-transmitted viruses like dengue, chikungunya, and Zika are responsible for acute febrile illnesses that affect nearly 700 million people each year worldwide. In severe cases, complications range from often fatal bleeding disorders to musculoskeletal and neurological syndromes.
“We share E25Bio’s mission to build a globally-impactful infection detection system that allows physicians, nurses and caregivers to restore patient health faster,” added The Engine general partner Ann DeWitt. “By being able to detect dangerous infectious diseases more rapidly, accurately, accessibly and affordably, E25Bio is transforming possibilities for health for hundreds of millions of people worldwide.”
Launched in 2018 by Drs. Irene Bosch and Lee Gehrke and licensed from MIT, E25Bio has completed clinical studies and has initiated regulatory submission in its first target geographies.
