The problem
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is one of the top 10 global health threats facing humanity
AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, thus making infections much harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.
AMR overview
Mainly caused by overuse and misuse of antimicrobials
Leads to the emergence of new and more resistant strains of bacteria
The economic cost of AMR in the US alone is estimated at c.$55 billion per year
Inadequate diagnostics
Improper antibiotic prescription
Development of resistant strains & serious complications like sepsis
Even harder infections
Inadequate diagnostics
Super bug
AMR related to UTIs
High rates of resistance to antibiotics used in UTI treatment has been observed globally.
UTIs are among the most common bacterial infections leading to clinic visits and can cause serious sequelae, such as renal damage and urosepsis.
In 2019, the global incident cases of UTI were 0.4 billion, an increase of 60.40% from 1990. Consistent with the rapid increase in the UTI cases, bacterial AMR in UTIs has also rapidly increased.
8.1m
UTI-caused hospital visits per year in the US
$1.6B of annual cost from mistreated UTIs that require hospitalization
47%
treated with inappropriate antibiotics
Empiric therapy causes antibiotic resistant bacteria to increase by 300% per annum
25%
of sepsis cases are caused by UTIs
68,000 lives lost per annum in the US alone as a result of UTI-related sepsis cases
72h
test processing for urine cultures takes 24-72 hrs
Current testing is slow
50%
accuracy of dipstick urinalysis
Current testing is inaccurate
