Day Zero Diagnostics has raised $8.6 million in a Series A funding round to further develop a system that uses genome sequencing and machine learning to better diagnose infectious diseases.
The Massachusetts-based company has now raised a total of $11.6 million following a seed funding round in Aug. 2017 that brought in $3 million, according to information available on Crunchbase.
"We are excited to partner with investors who share our vision about the potential of genome sequencing and machine learning for changing the field of infectious diseases," Jong Lee, CEO and co-founder of Day Zero Diagnostics, said in a prepared statement. "This funding allows us to continue our diagnostic system development effort and to expand our R&D program to additional use cases in infectious disease where speed and precision matter."
According to a press release, the company is working to develop a sequencing-based rapid diagnostic system that can identify the species and antibiotic resistance profile of a bacterial pathogen. The system uses sequencing technologies and machine-learning algorithms to predict pathogen species and drug-resistance profiles.
The hope is that the system will help hospitals reduce mortality rates, lengths of stay and the overuse of expensive and ineffective antibiotics.
The Series A funding round was led by Triventures, a healthcare-focused venture capital fund that invests in health startups. Peter Fitzgerald, MD, PhD, a managing partner at Triventures, will also join Day Zero Diagnostic’s board of directors as part of the financing agreement.
"The team at Day Zero Diagnostics is one of the best we have seen, combining strategy driven leadership with world class technical talent," Fitzgerald said in a prepared statement. "As healthcare investors, we see the impact that antibiotic resistant organisms have throughout the healthcare system, and we are excited to invest in a company that has a clear vision for how digital technology and data can change the field.”
Danielle covers Clinical Innovation & Technology as a senior news writer for TriMed Media. Previously, she worked as a news reporter in northeast Missouri and earned a journalism degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She's also a huge fan of the Chicago Cubs, Bears and Bulls.