NEW YORK – Molecular testing startup En Carta Diagnostics said Wednesday that it has secured €1.5 million ($1.6 million) in pre-seed funding that will help the company to develop and evaluate its Lyme disease test kit.
The funding round was led by CentraleSupélec Venture with additional funding from unidentified angel investors. Paris-based En Carta plans to use the money to collect preclinical data on its prototype diagnostic kit that uses loop-mediated isothermal amplification and biosensors to aid in the rapid diagnosis of Lyme disease.
The firm said that it expects to present preclinical data in early 2025.
En Carta also said that additional funding may be forthcoming to finance the development of other products on its diagnostic platform. Its test cassette uses aptamers with high binding affinity and specificity for the target molecules, and it can be modified to detect a wide range of biomarker signatures.
"Today, we have a very robust platform technology leveraged for accuracy, speed, and cost, which are key in the point-of-care space," En Carta CEO Guillaume Horreard said in a statement. "As a first step, we are focusing on Lyme disease, where the sizeable patient population, accelerated growth of the problem, and need for rapid diagnosis following a tick bite make our product indispensable."
En Carta's technology was developed by researchers at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, the Pasteur Institute, and the Centrale Paris engineering school.