Astek Diagnostics partners with Medstar Health’s research division

A University of Maryland, Baltimore County spinout, known for its diagnostic device which aims to identify patients with blood-borne bacterial infections, has partnered with a regional healthcare company’s research arm.

2022 RealLIST Startup Astek Diagnostics announced its partnership with the MedStar Health Research Institute on Tuesday. The collaboration’s objective, according to an announcement on Astek Diagnostics’ website, is to advance innovation in identifying urinary tract infections (UTIs) and detecting antibiotic sensitivities with the company’s Jiddu Analyzer.

This partnership with the research wing of MedStar Health, a major healthcare provider with operations spread out between Baltimore and DC, started with a pilot study initiated by Astek at the University of Maryland, Baltimore between June 2022 and May 2023. According to the release, the results from that pilot study caught the attention of MedStar and its director of spinal cord injury research within the MedStar National Rehabilitation Network, Dr. Suzanne Groah.

“I am excited about this collaboration as Astek’s technologic approach to the diagnosis of UTI takes into account our contemporary understanding of the urobiome in health and disease and has the potential to transform how we conceptualize, diagnose, and treat this common infection,” said Groah in the release.

After its pre-Series A raise of $1.4 million in November 2023. Since then the diagnostics company has hired its first chief commercialization officer, Scott O’Brien and the company has initiated the second phase of its accelerated study in December 2023. That portion is slated to be finished next month. Astek may be wrapped with its prototype by April 2024. On LinkedIn, Astek’s cofounder Mustafa Al-Adhami shared why the prototype and partnership might be important to women’s health.

“This collaboration has raised strong awareness around our technology and its impact on both improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs,” he said. “Our technology focused on UTI identification and accurate treatment via detection of antibiotic sensitivity within 1 hour is especially applicable to FemHealth [women’s health], given that women get UTIs up to 30 times more often than men.”

MedStar Health will provide a dedicated lab space in Hyattsville for Astek’s continued testing of its analyzer. On a call with Technical.ly, Al-Adhami said the lab space was on a “wish list” for him and his staff.

“They asked us for a wish list, and so we provided them with a long list of things that could be very helpful for us,” he said. “For example, our clinical trials, right? I mean, usually, these things are very expensive. So MedStar are willing to run the clinical trials for us [and provide] historical data for patients. The list goes on and on and on. But yeah, MedStar has been very, very generous with what they’re providing us with.”

This might allow Astek to refine protocols and enhance its technology with “fresher samples.” The collaboration may also set the stage for forthcoming clinical studies within MedStar Health’s facilities and prepare Astek to take its analyzer and test kits to market.