ShanX Medtech CEO Sophia Shanko Envisions a Test-Before-Treat World
“My mother would be in better health if this technology were available at the time,” shared Sophia Shanko, a young and bold biotech CEO leading ShanX (SXM, EIN) into the future of antimicrobial diagnostics.
What began as a small team located in the towering buildings near Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU Eindhoven), ShanX Medtech is now working with Erasmus Medical Centre to publish the findings of their first round of trials for their new antimicrobial resistance testing device.
New Technologies for Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing
A render of ShanX Medtech’s new AST system. They envision its use not just in hospitals but especially in General Practices (huisartsenpraktijk) across The Netherlands. Notably, the system uses a tablet to interface with the testing box so that it is easier to adopt for use by nurses, clinicians, and other healthcare workers.
Their company is pioneering a new antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) system based on their groundbreaking technology and approaches.
What is AST? Simply put, it tests which antibiotics are most effective against your specific infection. Let’s say you have a UTI, the most common type of infection which may require antibiotics for treatment. Their system would test a given sample and in as fast as one hour, give a result to your doctor which will share the best antibiotic to combat the infection.
This diagnostic system is a massive improvement over current procedures which require sending samples to labs and waiting for results which only emerge after an average of three (3) days in the context of The Netherlands. This 3-day turnaround time is critical and doctors often prescribe antibiotic medication in the meantime, with no guarantee of its effectiveness and thereby compromising patient outcome, increasing healthcare costs and the likelihood of developing antimicrobial resistance.
The ultimate goal of ShanX Medtech for this diagnostic test is to provide results in as fast as an hour, massively decreasing this turnaround time, giving doctors and patients the best treatment for the infection, and reducing the risk of developing antimicrobial resistance.
Time is Right, Right First Time!
ShanX’s AST cubes can be stacked and the progress of multiple tests can be observed through the accompanying tablet-based interface.
Sophia is driven to turn test-before-treat a reality, emphasizing that ShanX’s AST device is built to be as fast, accurate, affordable, and easy-to-use and believes that diagnostic treatments are critical in reducing the emergence of antimicrobial resistance, a sentiment echoed deeply by Prof. Constance Schultsz, our lead AMR researcher here at AIGHD.
After investing heavily on R&D, ShanX settled on their new KAIROS system which they used to conduct trials at Erasmus Medical Centre and now at the point of care. Their results are highly promising, sharing that it comes very close to our current gold standards when it comes to antibiotic susceptibility testing but way, way faster and user friendly.
The Value of AMR-Global Partnerships
Bridging public-private sector efforts to address AMR have borne many fruits, with ShanX’s new testing device being one of our proudest collaborative achievements. AMR-Global has offered ShanX expert knowledge, invaluable public-private sector networks, and supportive funding which has been crucial to their development and growth. These initiatives would not have been possible without Health~Holland, the various ministries, and scientific and private groups involved in AMR-Global.
“AMR-Global has provided us a platform to raise our challenges as a young company in the AMR testing field, ensuring that our voice is heard by the right people who can help foster continued innovation,” said Sophia who also advocates for others to join AMR-Global if they’re also working on antimicrobial resistance.
A Test-Before-Treat Future
With new technologies like ShanX’s KAIROS system on the horizon, we are investing in new possibilities to reduce and combat antimicrobial resistance and paving the way to a brighter and healthier future for everyone. It’s our continued responsibility to support endeavours like ShanX so that humanity can build a new arsenal of tools which can effectively address the problems that antimicrobial resistance poses.