Finding the key to detecting antibiotic

Finding the key to detecting antibiotic resistant bacteria

Vitamica is bringing a new nano-optical approach to the global challenge of detecting antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria. The method shows real promise at being able to distinguish resistant from susceptible bacteria in just a few minutes.

Afamily member suffering from a difficult to cure bacterial infection was the trigger for nano-optical physicist Dr Massimo Antognozzi at the University of Bristol to think hard about how to help prescribing clinicians make informed decisions on antibiotic use. Massimo was interested in how particles on a surface interacted with light, and had developed a technique that could visualise tiny movements within bacterial cells.

Was it possible that antibiotics could cause the pattern of light reflected from the moving contents of bacterial cells to change? And would cells resistant to the antibiotics have a different interference pattern from those that were killed by the antibiotic? Remarkably, the answer to both questions was ‘yes’, and this discovery led to the formation of spin-out company Vitamica in early 2018. During the two years since Vitamica was created, the need for a rapid method to help clinicians decide on antibiotic choice has become more pressing. Author of the UK Government’s report on antimicrobial resistance, Lord Jim O’Neill, recognised that the development of rapid diagnostics will reduce unnecessary prescribing and prevent antibiotics becoming an expendable commodity. Good progress has been made in the Vitamica labs towards developing a rapid diagnostic test, with the focus being on analysis of bacteria from patients with urinary tract infections. Collaborators with experience in clinical microbiology, artificial intelligence, automation and health economics have all contributed to the challenge of carrying forward Massimo’s original idea, committed to the cause of improving healthcare through prudent use of antibiotics. There are still pitfalls to overcome, and many questions remain on the journey from concept to clinical use of the instrument. However, throughout this, Massimo’s original vision is still strong; that every time an antibiotic is used, the doctor has access to convincing evidence that it will cure the infection.

Vitamica recently won the award for innovation at the 2020 Medilink South West Healthcare Innovation Awards.

“The commercial opportunity for a nearpatient, rapid antibiotic susceptibility test is a powerful driver of innovation, and the method being developed by Vitamica is distinctly different from other methods being applied to the challenge.”

Dr Paul Meakin CEO Vitamica