Diagnostic Test from Israel Aims to Stop Superbug Surge

The Fellowship  |  April 5, 2019

An Israeli startup might have discovered a way to help doctors prescribe the right antibiotic for every patient. Writers at Israel21c tell us more:

One of the ways superbugs develop is when a patient is prescribed the wrong antibiotics. The bacteria “learn” from that incorrect treatment and can share their newfound resistance with other bacteria.

“The body becomes an incubator for resistant bacteria,” explains Diane Abensur Bessin, CEO of Nanosynex,  an Israeli startup working on a novel approach to help physicians avoid mis-prescribing antibiotics.

“If we give a patient the correct treatment at the right dose, then no resistance will be created, the patient will be cured faster, and other patients won’t be infected by resistant bacteria,” Abensur Bessin tells ISRAEL21c.

Nanosynex’s solution is a diagnostic test that determines which bacteria in a patient’s body are resistant to which antibiotics – all in just four hours. That compares favorably with the day or two or more required for traditional diagnostic tests. The result: physicians can more quickly prescribe the antibiotics that will work.