Imagine waiting 36 hours for a lab report to determine if you have sepsis, a life-threatening infection that causes inflammation throughout your body.A team of entrepreneurs at UConn-affiliated startup RiboDynamics believes they can cut wait times to two hours with their new medical technology, which is based on biomaterial-based pathogen detection […]
Imagine waiting 36 hours for a lab report to determine if you have sepsis, a life-threatening infection that causes inflammation throughout your body.
A team of entrepreneurs at University of Connecticut-affiliated startup RiboDynamics believe they can cut wait times to two hours with their new medical technology, which detects pathogens in biological material based on the presence of specific RNA biomarkers.
“This is a life-changing technology for both patients and healthcare providers,” said Professor Dan Fabris from the Department of Chemistry. “This will allow patients to receive appropriate treatment without delay, increasing the chances of a quick recovery and hopefully avoiding the need to stay in intensive care. For hospitals and doctors, this could lead to faster diagnosis and significant healthcare savings – Save up to $70,000 per patient.”
The technology’s development over the past 10 years holds promise for many other pathogens as well, including HIV, hepatitis C, and COVID-19.
RiboDynamics identified as a promising startup
RiboDynamics participated this year in the Business School’s Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI) Summer Fellowship. The program helps UConn affiliates grow and get closer to market readiness.
RiboDynamics impressed the judges in the summer scholarship finals, and the company was invited to the Wolff New Venture Competition and won a $25,000 prize. The event takes place on Monday, October 1st. The third is the Summit Entrepreneurship Challenge hosted by CCEI.
Deng Limin, a postdoctoral fellow in the College of Arts and Sciences, participated in the CCEI Summer Scholarship on behalf of the company. She has played a key role in the development of the technology and the entire company.
“I had to learn to transform from a scientist to a businessman,” Deng said. “In the beginning, it was difficult to explain our work. We were trained to talk to other scientists and end users. We had to learn to explain our ideas in very simple terms that everyone could understand.”
“The CCEI Summer Fellowship really helps startups get to market. It’s the source of everything you need,” she said, adding that the camaraderie among all entrepreneurs is strong and they are always happy to share information and ideas.
Exploring RNA before ‘pop’
Fabris said he has been interested in RNA technology since the early 2000s, when it was popular in the scientific community and known to the public through mRNA vaccines. He started this specific work as a faculty member at SUNY Albany and filed a patent in 2006, which he later obtained.
“We have demonstrated the ability to detect Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli in milk and Zika virus in mosquitoes,” he said. “We are now testing applications in humans for diagnosing infectious diseases and other health conditions.”
Entrepreneurs are working with the Lahey Clinic in Massachusetts to investigate how well the test works on patients who have recently had hip replacements.
“We’ve come a long way in terms of technology and the development of the company,” Fabrice said. “We’re at a point where we need investors and then focus on sales and marketing.”
“As demonstrated by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare sector is severely lacking in reliable, high-throughput diagnostics for pathogens and infectious diseases,” he said. “The earliest possible diagnosis can improve overall outcomes for almost any type of disease.”
The 2022 Wolfe New Startup Competition will take place in October. 3, 5-7:30 pm, on the observation deck of the Hartford Graduate Center for Business Learning. It will also be live-streamed at: https://ccei.uconn.edu/wolff-new-venture-competition/. This event is open to the public.