Our Story: From a Three-Day Wait to a One-Hour Answer
It all started with a premature baby
When co-founder Dr. Krishnan Chittur's daughter was born, joy turned to fear within hours. Doctors suspected pneumonia, ordered a blood draw, and as a precaution started antibiotics immediately, before any results came back. For three days, a powerful drug flowed into his newborn's immature immune system while her parents waited, not knowing if she was truly sick.
Three days later, the lab cleared her. No pneumonia. Relief, but also a hard question. Why did confirming a simple diagnosis take three days, using a culture method essentially unchanged since World War I?
Chittur, an engineering professor at UAH, could not shake the question. Krishnan teamed up with Peggy Sammon, a local serial entrepreneur and advocate for health equality. Together as CTO and CEO, they developed a business plan, won some early funding and joined the emerging campus at the new HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.
From origin story to platform
2016
Company established and winning funding. Patents filed, angels invested, early lab team hired by Chief Scientist Paula Millirons, first bench prototypes, won 2 business competitions, and our first DoD contract.
2017
Expanding the team. Expanded our core team with microbiologists, engineers, FDA regulatory advisors, and clinical advisors. Outfitted our BSL2 lab at HudsonAlpha Institute For Biotechnology.
2018
Instrumentation designed. The first automated assay reader was launched along with the first process prototype of the CAPTURE cartridge. Tests began happening daily in the lab.
2019
Non-dilutive funding fraction. We performed on a Phase II Department of Defense contract that funded the on-board sample-prep process, enabling an austere-environment application. Published our UTI case study results with 95% match to gold standard.
2020
Prototype in 3rd party hands. In the middle of a global pandemic, our team stayed active designing and testing biothreat pathogens and clinic-based UTI pathogens. We won more contracts to accelerate development.
2022
Rapid Pathogen ID Testing. By this time, we had run several thousand lab tests and designed the higher volume cartridge design. These milestones helped us to close investments with two institutions.
2024
Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing. A companion technology was developed to rapidly report on antibiotic efficacy from fresh samples for applications in humans and animals.
2025
Validation. Our Rapid ID prototype systems were transported to MRIGlobal in Missouri for BSL3 testing of biothreats. We developed a lab process to rapidly detect the viral family of an unknown pathogen, “Pathogen X”.
2026 Current Status
Achievements. 8 patents, FDA Study Concurrence, $12M DoD contracts, $7M preferred equity raised, and validated RapidAST.
Preparing for clinical trials. Our Rapid ID prototype systems were transported to MRIGlobal in Missouri for BSL3 testing of biothreats. And we developed a lab process to rapidly detect the viral family of an unknown pathogen, “Pathogen X.'“
2027
Clinical trials. We plan to begin FDA Clinical Trials within a year for UTI indications.
2028
Commercialization. Near real-time infection detection, anywhere, anytime.