Perth infection management medtech Cytophenix prescribed $1.3 million in pre-Seed

Cytophenix, an infection management medtech using rapid antimicrobial susceptibility tests to quickly identify effective antibiotics for patients, has raised $1.3 million in pre-Seed funding.

Founded in 2023 by a team of expert researchers, clinicians, and engineers, including Dr Kieran Mulroney, Dr Christine Carson, Sherief Khorshid, Teagan Paton, James Telders and Tim Inglis, Cytophenix is a spin-out from The Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and the University of Western Australia, based at the Centre for Entrepreneurial Research and Innovation (CERI) in Perth.

The antimicrobial susceptibility tests (AST) technology can be life-saving for people with serious infections, such as bloodstream infections that cause sepsis, because administering the right antibiotic is time-critical. Every hour without the right antibiotic results in around a 9% increased risk of death. The rapid AST results – saving 1-3 days – give doctors certainty about the best antibiotic to use, also reducing misuse and overuse as well as the growing global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The funding follows European and Australian patent grants, preclinical trials demonstrating 1-3 day time savings versus current practice, and successful completion of CSIRO’s ON Accelerate program in 2024. Cytophenix was also awarded $1 million in non-dilutive grants from the CUREator program, managed by CSIRO-funded Brandon BioCatalyst.

The startup’s had more than $9 million non-dilutive development funding prior to the initial equity raise.

Their AST product, FloCAST, is a rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test that provides answers days faster than existing tests.

Dr  Mulroney, the CEO, said the funding came from clinicians, healthcare-focused family offices, founders, and returning investors and exceeds the initial target for the pre-Seed round.

“Our AI-powered, cloud-hosted platform, FloCAST is designed to help clinician administer the right antibiotics in hours instead of days, saving lives and helping to combat antimicrobial resistance globally,” he said.

“This investment will allow us to deepen relationships with international stakeholders and commence pilot trials which will accelerate our go-to-market strategy.”

The funding will be used to advance pilot trials, expand the team, and accelerate Cytophenix’s path to commercialisation.