Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the healthcare sector. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked startups tackling tuberculosis.
Global Startup Heat Map highlights 5 Top Healthcare Startups tackling Tuberculosis out of 143
The insights of this data-driven analysis are derived from the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 1.379.000+ startups & scaleups globally. The platform gives you an exhaustive overview of emerging technologies & relevant startups within a specific field in just a few clicks.
The Global Startup Heat Map below reveals the distribution of the 143 exemplary startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research. Further, it highlights 5 startups tackling tuberculosis that we hand-picked based on criteria such as founding year, location, funding raised, and more. You get to explore the solutions of these 5 startups & scaleups in this report. For insights on the other 138 tuberculosis solutions, get in touch.
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Plasmonic Diagnostic offers Non-Invasive Diagnostics
The tuberculosis pandemic kills over a million people every year, with the greatest burden on tropical countries. Conventional diagnostic methods are both time-consuming and ineffective. Moreover, since TB is a communicable disease, it places healthcare providers at risk. This is why healthcare startups are working on more effective and non-invasive diagnostics for the early detection of TB.
Plasmonic Diagnostics is a US-based startup developing diagnostics for infectious diseases. The startup’s non-invasive and low-cost molecular detection system detects lipoarabinomannan (LAM) in urine samples. Based on fluorescent sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the test offers high sensitivity. It also reduces the time-to-detection for TB and is manipulable for the detection of other infectious diseases as well.
Arkangel AI provides Chest X-Ray Analysis
Pulmonary tuberculosis, the most common form of TB, affects the lungs and has a high risk of turning into an active infection that could turn fatal. A chest X-ray is an effective method to correctly diagnose TB in the early stages, improving patient outcomes. However, the limited number of trained radiology personnel, particularly in developing countries, presents a challenge. To address this, MedTech startups are leveraging AI to scale up chest X-ray analysis for tuberculosis triage.
Canadian startup Arkangel AI uses deep learning to analyze chest X-ray images. With a single X-ray scan, the startup’s solution detects pulmonary tuberculosis, as well as other respiratory conditions such as COVID-19, edema, fibrosis, and pneumothorax, within seconds. The startup’s solution also detects parasitic and ocular conditions from images of blood samples and fundus, respectively. By early detection of preventable diseases, the startup’s solution improves patient outcomes.
Quratis develops a TB Vaccine
In many countries with a high TB burden, children and adults are given the BCG vaccine. To date, it remains the only licensed vaccine for TB. However, it has less-than-optimal efficacy and doesn’t always provide long-term immunity. Consequently, startups and companies alike are developing new vaccines, as well as boosters for the BCG vaccine.
Quratis is a South Korean startup developing a novel TB vaccine. The startup’s subunit vaccine, QTP101, targets multiple antigens associated with virulence and latency. It utilizes the startup’s proprietary cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) platform and peptide nucleic acid (PNA) technology. Further, in animal models, Quratis has demonstrated the efficacy of QTP101 as a BCG booster vaccine.
Astrego provides Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST)
Antimicrobial resistance is an emerging challenge threatening the efficacy of antibiotic drugs. Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) lowers the efficacy of tuberculosis treatment regimens and causes one-third of all deaths due to antimicrobial resistance. To address this, healthcare startups offer AST solutions. Such solutions help physicians evaluate which antibiotics are more likely to be effective in treating tuberculosis infections in a patient.
Swedish startup Astrego offers in-vitro diagnostics solutions to tackle antimicrobial resistance. The startup’s PA-100 system uses a desktop instrument and specific panels for rapid screening. The automated solution provides personalized antibiotic prescriptions for tuberculosis, as well as urinary tract infections, respiratory conditions, and sepsis.
Everwell enables Patient Adherence
Tuberculosis is curable if the patient adheres to the prescribed medication. The treatment usually requires daily antibiotics doses for six months or more. However, as patients start feeling better, they often stop taking their medications before the end of the recommended period. This causes frequent relapses and is a major factor behind TB-related deaths. MedTech startups are working on solutions to improve patient adherence to TB treatment.
Indian startup Everwell develops HealthTech technologies for patient adherence. The startup’s digital adherence technology, 99DOTS, uses low-cost packaging with hidden codes to encourage patients to take their medications daily. It requires the patient to register daily adherence by communicating the hidden code via a toll-free call, SMS, or other channels. Everwell also offers Video-observed Therapy (VOT) and evriMED, a medication reminder, to further improve adherence.
Discover more Healthcare startups
The 143 startups tackling tuberculosis, such as the 5 examples highlighted in this report, focus on novel diagnostics and patient adherence, as well as vaccines. While all of these technologies play a major role in advancing tuberculosis care, they only represent the tip of the iceberg. To explore more healthcare technologies, simply get in touch to let us look into your areas of interest. For a more general overview, you can download our free Healthcare Innovation Report to save your time and improve strategic decision-making.
