I-Corps: Improving care, decreasing cost, and preserving antibiotics through rapid diagnostics

George Washington University, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

Each year in the US, an estimated 263 million prescriptions of antibiotics are given in outpatient clinics, of which 50% are thought to be unnecessary. If one could improve diagnosis and management of even 1% of these outpatient visits, this could avoid as many as 1.3 million unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions annnually. The primary objective of this project is to determine if a rapid, point-of-care diagnostic?that informs clinicians if the patient has an infection, what is causing the infection, and how to treat the infection in an actionable time frame?could be commercial viable in the outpatient setting. In addition to reducing unnecessary antibiotic use, the use of this rapid diagnostic has the potential to reduce healthcare costs and improve patient outcome. To accomplish the goals of this project, a NSF I-Corps team has been assembled comprising a clinician-scientist board certified in Laboratory Medicine as the Entrepreneurial Lead, a Professor and Director of the Antimicrobial Resistance Action Center at the George Washington University as the Principal Investigator, and two mentors with complementary skills in creating, managing, and advising start-ups, including those involved in medical device and diagnostics. To determine if such a rapid diagnostic can be commercially viable, this I-Corps team will undergo rigorous entrepreneurship training and apply a systematic approach to elucidate their proposed product's commercial viability. The I-Corps team will attend the full course of entrepreneurship training, build and evaluate its business hypotheses, conduct at least 100 interviews of potential customers, users, and patients, and reflect/discuss on a regular basis. Through this process, the team also expects to gain valuable insights into the specification of the minimum viable product, culminating in a proof-of-concept demonstration and a go-no-go decision at the end of the seven-week entrepreneurship training.