A Shaker Heights-based biotech company has raised $20 million to develop a diagnostic platform that it says will simplify molecular testing for a range of infectious diseases.
IdentifySensors Biologics has secured funding from about 80 unidentified investors, most of whom are wealthy individuals, family offices or organizations, said Dr. Greg Hummer, co-founder and CEO. Half of those funds have come from an ongoing Series A round in which the company hopes to raise another $3 million.
The company is creating an “all-electronic process” to rapidly detect infectious pathogens. It uses graphene-based sensor technology to detect viruses and bacteria from a saliva sample. The process takes place on a portable Bluetooth device.
“We’re taking semiconductor circuits, the ones that exist in your phone and any electronic device,” said co-founder Matthew Hummer. “We’re turning that into a medical device where we can detect a very specifically engineered genetic sequence.”
IdentifySensors believes its digital-based platform could serve as an alternative to PCR testing, which is commonly used to test for infectious diseases like COVID- 19. Matthew Hummer described PCR testing as a “lab-centric process” that requires skilled people to administer. The company, he said, believes it can streamline the process and get results back to patients at a quicker pace.
“I like to refer to it as alien technology,” said Dr. Greg Hummer, who earned his medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine. “Because there’s nothing like it at all, and it works very well and so fast.”
IdentifySensors, which has 12 employees, is looking to make its Frst submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration within the next year. In addition to its home base in Shaker Heights, the company has a roughly 5,000-square-foot research and development facility in Gainesville, Florida.
The company has spent the past year working on its pilot production with a contract manufacturer based outside of Boston. For its initial FDA submission, IdentifySensors is focused on Ebola and Marburg, two deadly diseases that have led to recent outbreaks in several African countries.
After the company introduces its technology to the FDA, it hopes eventually to move to full clinical trials for some of its other targets. IdentifySensors is geared toward infectious diseases now, but the company sees potential in other areas, such as cancer diagnosis and other gene screenings.
“It’s an entirely new method of gene detection,” Matthew Hummer said. “A new method really hasn’t been invented since the 1980s when PCR was Frst brought to market. And, with a lot of advancements in advanced materials like nanomaterials and graphene, we’re just one among many trying to transition molecular diagnostics into a new digital paradigm.”
Further, he said IdentifySensors is working to “software-itize” the diagnostic industry and bring care closer to the patient. This will only become more important, he added, as the health care industry shifts more toward precision medicine.
While the company is rooted in the Cleveland area, oHcials said they haven’t yet tapped into Northeast Ohio’s biotech scene. They’ve recently started having more conversations with local parties about forming strategic partnerships and clinical relationships.
The company has engaged in discussions about the Cleveland Innovation District and resources available through the public-private initiative designed to create jobs and accelerate research, but said it was too early to share details.