Tackling harmful bacteria by building a DNA library

A platform greatly speeds up the analysis and matching of bacterial DNA samples

Spotted: Antibiotics are among the most important discoveries of medical science, saving millions of lives each year and turning once-deadly pathogens into no more than a nuisance. As antibiotic use has soared, however, so has antimicrobial resistance, which is now associated with around 5 million deaths each year.

One way to reduce resistance is to develop more targeted antibiotics, but this is a lengthy process. Speeding this process up is the problem that startup Solu has set out to help solve. In collaboration with Stanford University and the University of Hamburg, Solu has developed software to better track, analyse, and manage bacterial genomics.

Solu provides a platform that includes: a “genomics bench in the cloud” for analysing bacterial DNA, a global pathogen database that can match sample DNA to thousands of known strains, and tools for detecting and managing outbreaks. Together, the platform is able to greatly speed up the identification and management of drug-resistant pathogens.

Solu was founded in 2022 and in 2023 the company raised €1 million in a pre-seed financing round led by Lifeline Ventures with participation from Wave Ventures. The funds will be used to expand operations and business reach.

Tackling anti-microbial resistance has become an urgent need and Springwise has spotted a number of related innovations in the archive, including a novel method for producing antibiotics and shape-shifting antibiotics.

Written By: Lisa Magloff