In Just 90 Minutes: Matching the Effective Antibiotic to the Specific Bacterium

Every year, about two million people in the US contract infectious diseases, 90,000 of whom die as a result. The proliferation of resistant bacteria that cause infectious diseases is due mainly to the unnecessary use of antibiotics, which leads to the development of bacterial strains resistant to various types of drugs. Indeed, infectious diseases that are resistant to drug treatment have become a global problem that is becoming worse, and the direct damage to health systems is enormous. In the US alone, the cost is estimated at $28-45 billion a year, both as a result of unnecessary hospitalization days and unnecessary, expensive treatments.

"The direct economic damage of resistant bacteria is currently estimated at about $20 billion a year, and the additional indirect damage at $35 billion," notes Miron Krokhmal, CEO of BactoByte, which has succeeded in developing a unique system that allows laboratories to provide an answer about the type of infection of the patient and [suggest] the effective antibiotics for it in only 90 minutes from obtaining the sample for testing.

"We know different types of resistant bacteria, like killer bacteria, when a person is infected with a bacterium that antibiotics cannot handle," he says. "This is happening because of the increased use of antibiotics all over the world, which has led to a situation where doctors don't know whether the antibiotics they prescribe to the patient will actually be effective or not."

"This can be seen in mild diseases, such as strep throat, where the doctor prescribes a certain antibiotic and tells the patient in advance that after receiving the result from the test, he may recommend stopping its use or replacing it with another drug. Indeed, in 30% of cases, the doctor replaces the antibiotics after the test. It can also happen with serious illnesses, and then we have quite a problem."

Why?

"Because as of today, testing and diagnosing the bacterium takes at least 48 hours, and in serious diseases that progress rapidly, any period of six hours is considered acute, so without immediate treatment, the person may die. Unfortunately, this is indeed what's happening to this day."

Preventing recurring infection

At the head of BactoByte are its three founders: Miron Krokhmal, Vladimir Glukhman, and Valery Brodsky, all three serial entrepreneurs. Krokhmal, the CEO, holds a master's degree in information technology management from NYU and specializes in international business and senior management. Glukhman, who serves as CTO, holds a PhD in microbiology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Brodsky, VP Engineering and Software Development, holds a master's degree in computer science from the Open University and specializes in machine learning. Chairman of the Board of Directors is Daniel Wolterman, former CEO and President of the Memorial Hermann Health System in Texas, US, who also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of NuVasive.

As is the case with other revolutionary inventions, here too, the development came about quite by chance. "The idea was born in 2017 when Vladimir, a microbiologist who had previously researched the subject of bacterial identification, contracted an infection that spread very quickly in his circulatory system," says Miron Krokhmal. "At first, he was given some antibiotics but they didn't work and his condition deteriorated, reaching a serious, life-threatening condition. Only after the laboratory answered and accurately identified the bacterium, was he given the correct and effective antibiotics, and his life was saved.

"When Valery and I went to visit him at the hospital, we began to discuss the subject and realized that faster testing was needed to identify infectious bacteria. We actually took a method that Vladimir invented himself and brought it to the medical world, creating a quick kit for identifying various bacteria in the clinical laboratory, with the classification of the appropriate antibiotics for each bacterium. The proper medical care that our system makes possible also prevents the recurrence of the infection (which is what happened to Vladimir at the hospital), in the process saving a fortune for the health system."

Miron notes that according to the World Health Organization forecast, more than ten million people in the world will die as a result of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Beyond the unfortunate mortality aspect, antibiotic-resistant bacteria also cause huge economic damage to the various health systems, and the cost of ineffective treatment currently stands at more than $30,000 per patient.

What makes your system unique?

"All other methods that try to shorten the identification process fail in most cases because they are based on predicting the bacterial response to antibiotics. The problem is that the mutation time of the bacterium is very short and its variability very high, so it is difficult to accurately predict the response. Our system is different because it examines the single cell of the bacterium that causes the infectious disease in the patient, similarly to what is done in the famous petri dish. This is a system with a dual-core activity: both a biotechnological core, which allows us to produce a rapid response in the bacterial cell, and analytical software that interprets fluorescent microscopy, which gives us accurate identification of the type of bacterium and its sensitivity to the various types of antibiotics. Our method of operation is unique and no one else in the world uses this combination. Because of the dual core, we both generate the data and decode it in a unique way, which gives us the highest level of performance on the market."

Quick and simple testing in the lab

BactoByte registered a patent for its system in Europe at the end of last year and is now working on registering it in the US as well. In addition, the company is currently engaged in verifying the effectiveness of the method in urine and blood tests, to receive FDA certification and begin marketing the first system, which will focus on blood tests.

"To date, we have raised $4.5 million from two venture capital funds and a group of private investors, and now we are raising another round of investments intended for conducting clinical trials for FDA approval," says the CEO. "Our ultimate goal is to reach a situation where every type of testing, whether it is blood, urine, breath, etc., has a dedicated 'kit' for rapid testing in the laboratory, placing our system at the heart of microbiology in every medical institution, wherever it may be, in Israel and around the world," he concludes.

In association with BactoByte