BOULDER, Colo. and BALTIMORE – She’s Independent, a member-led angel investor organization committed to advancing equal opportunity and driving a positive recovery for women, announced a strategic investment in Astek Diagnostics.
Atek’s project is to bring its JidduTM analyzer, a revolutionary urine-based diagnostic tool, to market by 2025. The Jiddu analyzer is designed to temporarily identify urinary tract infections (UTIs) and assess antibiotic susceptibility in as little as one hour. This innovation addresses the pressing need for accurate antibiotic matching, reducing instances of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) resulting from the indiscriminate use of antibiotics.
Astek co-founder and CEO Mustafa Al-Adhami said that the device’s vision extends beyond urinary tract infections and that the underlying generation has already been validated by Astek’s team with 3 more types of patterns: cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with meningitis, effluent with surgical site infections and blood, with bacteremia.
She’s Independent’s investment follows Astek’s recent strategic partnership with MedStar Health, a $7. 3 billion not-for-profit health care system. This collaboration has sparked a great deal of interest in Astek’s technology, which shows promise in particular for the speed and accuracy of UTI diagnoses, the reduction of discomfort and complications. and health care prices for patients.
“Women, especially postmenopausal women and pregnant women, are disproportionately affected by urinary tract infections. In case of pregnancy, if a urinary tract infection is not diagnosed and treated in time, it can lead to a kidney infection, which in turn can lead to an early infection. labor, poor delivery, weight, etc. , Al-Adhami said. ” As a result, early detection of urinary tract infections and an accurate variety of antibiotics are very important for women’s health. We, our generation, are a game-changer. “
“A number of our investor members are excited about Astek’s technology,” said Natalie Levy, founder and managing partner of She’s Independent. “We are excited to be a component of this circular and are inspired by Mustafa and the company’s momentum so far. “
Al-Adhami said Atek’s other investors include Y Combinator, AYANA Capital, Wexford Scitech Venture Fund, Harvard Management Seed Capital, TEDCO, Maryland Momentum Fund, Goldin Ventures, Maryland Technology Development Corporation, Maryland Innovation Initiative, Maryland Industrial Partnerships, Key Technologies, Abell. Foundation, etc. et prominent angel investors. Al-Adhami said Astek also secured investments from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and others.
She’s Independent is an angel investment organization founded in Boulder, Colorado, that aims to attract more women to the investment ecosystem and more women-focused startups. As a member-driven investment organization, She’s Independent offers an entirely new way to achieve monetary independence for women. and influence through investment, access, and education. The organization’s purpose is to close the hole of investment force by attracting more women to the pay cap table, forums, and positions of influence.
Astek Diagnostics is a Baltimore-based precision diagnostics company that is developing the Jiddu analyzer to check bacterial infections and assess antibiotic susceptibility in multiple sample types: urine, CSF, effluent, and blood. Astek has prioritized the commercialization of a urine analyzer in 2025. A test that identifies a urinary tract infection and detects susceptibility to antibiotics within an hour. The company is part of the Y Combinator (S21) and has garnered support from Harvard University, NSF, FDA, BARDA, NIH, and angel and venture capital budget investors. .