Meet The Founders: FluoretiQ

Thank you to Dr. Neciah Dorh (CEO), Josephine Dorh (CTO) and Prof. Martin Cryan (Scientific Advisor) for providing us with this guest blog. 

July is healthtech and life sciences month at techSPARK, and as part of that we sat with the founders of FluoretiQ, a spinout from the University of Bristol.

We spoke with them about what they do, the problem they are tackling and what they are most excited about in the future. 

1. Who are the founders behind FluoretiQ? 

We are Dr. Neciah Dorh (CEO), Josephine Dorh (CTO) and Prof. Martin Cryan (Scientific Advisor) the founders of FluoretiQ, a spinout from the University of Bristol . Our journey began in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at University of Bristol where we united with a shared vision to reform diagnosis of bacterial infections. As engineers, we thrive on innovation and thinking outside of the box.

We recognised that the current gold standard diagnostics provides the necessary data but takes days to return a result, forcing healthcare professionals to rely on imprecise treatments. Our goal is to create diagnostics that ensure the right prescription, every time, ultimately benefiting patients, professionals, and public health.

2. Tell us about the problem that you are solving? 

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest and most pressing, global health challenges. AMR currently claims over 1 million lives each year and is escalating at double the predicted rate. This alarming trend means that the antibiotics essential to modern medicine are becoming a diminishing resource, making once routine illnesses,  life-threatening conditions.

Consider Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs), for instance. The current diagnostic process relies on a lab test that can take up to three days, leading to complex, lengthy, and subjective care pathways. With 400 million people experiencing UTIs annually, this delayed diagnosis and ineffective treatment disproportionately impact females, immunocompromised individuals, and older populations. The scale of this challenge is significant, with a 53% recurrence rate among those over 55 and 25% of sepsis cases originating from the urogenital tract. Our mission is to provide rapid, precise diagnostics, ensuring patients receive the right treatment immediately, reducing suffering and improving outcomes.

3. How does your technology solve the problem?

We share the belief that the true solution lies in effective antibiotic stewardship, ensuring the right drug is used for the right bacteria at the right time. However, achieving this has been impossible due to the multi-day wait times for current testing, until now.

Our technologies, Veri-5 and SCFI, operate at the intersection of Deeptech and Machine Learning. Veri-5 allows us to confirm infection directly from a sample in just 15 minutes, while SCFI determines antibiotic sensitivity in just  30 minutes. This drastically reduces turnaround time from days to minutes, empowering clinicians to make evidence-based decisions and ensuring the first antibiotic prescription is the correct one, safeguarding antibiotics for future use and preventing unnecessary patient follow-ups.

4. What’s been your proudest moments or milestones as a company so far?

Building our technology from the ground up has been an incredible journey. One of our proudest moments, early on, was having our first journal article accepted. It was crucial for us, as a science-driven brand, to have our work peer-reviewed and validated. More recently, presenting the validation testing of our Veri-5  technology, involving over 500 samples, at the AMR Conference in Basel was a significant milestone. 

5. How has being based in Bristol shaped your journey? What makes this a great place to build?

Being based in Bristol has profoundly shaped our journey. The city’s ecosystem fosters a culture of open-mindedness and collaboration, which enabled us to thrive. In the early days, this environment was instrumental in opening doors to crucial funding opportunities, providing access to invaluable scientific expertise, and connecting us with other vital industry clusters. Bristol’s collaborative spirit is great for supporting fledgling businesses.

6. What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a medtech company?

For anyone looking to start a medtech company, our most crucial piece of advice would be to engage deeply with clinical teams and patient groups from the very beginning. Developing a clear and profound understanding of the clinical challenges, directly from the perspective of the users and patients who are impacted, is vital. This deep dive into their needs and experiences will ultimately guide you in developing truly effective and impactful technology solutions that genuinely address real world problems and improve patient outcomes.

7. What excites you the most about the future?

What excites us most about the future is the profound impact we can create. We are passionately redesigning diagnostics for the good of patients, professionals, and public health. We eagerly anticipate getting our solutions to the marketplace, empowering clinicians and veterinarians alike with fast, precise, and point-of-care diagnostics to ensure accurate antibiotic treatments.