It started with a conversation between neighbouring tables at the Park’s Bradfield Centre.
Two Park members MicrosensDX and Camtech Innovations discovered they were working on complementary technologies which could one day help improve the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis.
Linked to an estimated 11 million deaths worldwide each year, sepsis remains a leading cause of preventable deaths. Earlier diagnosis can make a critical difference to patient outcomes, making faster and more accurate testing a major priority for healthcare providers.
For MicrosensDX CEO Simon Walker, the project has added significance. His son was admitted to hospital with suspected sepsis as a young child. The experience reinforced the importance of giving clinicians faster, more accurate information when every minute counts.
MicrosensDX is developing a biomarker-based blood test designed to help clinicians identify patients at risk of severe sepsis earlier, giving them clearer information when every minute counts. The test is being developed for use in frontline settings such as A&E departments and GP surgeries.
Camtech develops advanced molecular diagnostic platforms and is working on technology that can rapidly identify the pathogens causing an infection, helping clinicians determine the most effective treatment.
What struck Simon was how naturally the two technologies fitted together. “It’s a lovely story of meeting at the Park,” he said. “It’s early, but we’re doing both parts of the same jigsaw.” Camtech’s expertise in lateral flow diagnostics complements MicrosensDX’s biomarker approach, with the two companies now exploring how different pieces of the same diagnostic jigsaw could ultimately help clinicians diagnose and treat sepsis more quickly.
For MicrosensDX, the next milestone is clinical trials. The company hopes to begin patient studies over the coming year, initially generating data from around 500 patients to demonstrate the test’s performance in real-world clinical settings.
The longer-term ambition is to partner with an established global diagnostics company which can integrate the technology into existing healthcare systems and help bring it into routine clinical use. Simon believes that journey could take three to four years but says the goal is clear: to give clinicians faster, more accurate information when it matters most.
“In sepsis, minutes can make the difference,” he said.