QuantaMatrix, an in-vitro microbial diagnostic solution developer, has passed the Korea Exchange’s technology evaluation to go public on the Kosdaq market. The company is aiming to be listed under the financial regulator’s “technology exception policy.”

The diagnostics company said Wednesday it passed the technology review after receiving A-rating from both Korea Technology Finance Corporation and Korea Enterprise Data.

The company plans to submit a preliminary review application to the KRX and go for the initial public offering in the first half of 2020. The lead underwriters are Mirae Asset Daewoo and Daishin Securities.

QuantaMatrix specializes in R&D for a platform for customized healthcare, based on a rapid microbial diagnostic technology. The company was founded after being separated from Biophotonics and NanoEngineering Lab (BiNEL) of Professor Kwon Sung-hoon at Seoul National University College of Engineering in November 2010.

QuantaMatrix focuses on developing an antibiotic resistance test solution based on rapid microbial diagnosis technology. The company’s flagship product is the direct Rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test (dRAST), indicated for sepsis.

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory syndrome caused by a bacterial infection in the blood. Survival rates of a patient with sepsis go down by 7 to 9 percent per hour. Failure in early detection and treatment raises mortality rates to 30 to 40 percent. Since the time required for diagnosis is directly related to the life and death of the patient, confirmation of the bacteria and identification of antibiotic susceptibility should be made as soon as possible.

Existing antibiotic susceptibility tests require a complicated process, including blood culture, isolation culture, and the antibiotic susceptibility test. All the process takes about 60 hours, or three days of hospital work until the doctor can prescribe the optimal antibiotic.

QuantaMatrix's dRAST performs antibiotic susceptibility testing on positive blood culture samples by using bacterial fixation and microfluidic technology (microparticle and liquid control technology), microscopic imaging technology, and big data analysis. It can show the testing results within six to eight hours, dramatically reducing the testing time by 30 to 50 hours compared to conventional tests. This can overcome the time limit of sepsis treatment.

The company has conducted more than 10 clinical trials to demonstrate dRAST’s efficacy and safety that meet global standards.

It has obtained the New Excellent Technology (NET) certification, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s approval, the Ministry of Health and Welfare's New Medical Certification, and the CE certification in Europe.

The company is conducting a performance evaluation of the product at major local hospitals, including Seoul National University Hospital, and leading tertiary hospitals in Europe. As soon as the final review is completed at each institution, the company plans to start marketing it at home and abroad.

“Our technology and product dramatically raised the survival rate of urgent sepsis patients. The product will play an innovative role in the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis,” QuantaMatrix CEO Kwon said. “Through continuous R&D, we will further enhance our technological power and become a global leader of microbial diagnostics firm contributing to human health and welfare.”

The company’s other pipelines include Quick Anti-Tuberculosis (TB) Drug Susceptibility Test in TB, Heart Failure Prognosis Diagnosis Test in the cardiovascular disease area, and Early Dementia Diagnosis Test in Alzheimer’s disease.

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