Cytophenix, a medical technology company that helps doctors quickly find the right antibiotics for patients, has raised AUD $1.3 million in pre-Seed funding.
The company uses rapid tests to check which antibiotics will work best against infections, helping patients get faster and more effective treatment.
Cytophenix was founded in 2023 by a team of researchers, doctors, and engineers, including Dr. Kieran Mulroney, Dr. Christine Carson, Sherief Khorshid, Teagan Paton, James Telders, and Tim Inglis. It is a spin-out from The Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and the University of Western Australia, and is based at the Centre for Entrepreneurial Research and Innovation (CERI) in Perth.
Cytophenix’s test can save lives for people with serious infections like sepsis, where finding the right antibiotic quickly is very important.
Every hour without the correct antibiotic increases the risk of death by about 9%, so doctors need results fast to start the right treatment.
The company’s rapid test gives results 1–3 days sooner, helping doctors choose the best antibiotic quickly. It also helps prevent misuse of antibiotics and fights the growing global problem of antibiotic resistance.
The new funding comes after Cytophenix received patents in Europe and Australia, completed early trials showing its tests can save 1–3 days compared to current methods, and successfully finished CSIRO’s ON Accelerate program in 2024.
The company also received $1 million in grant funding from the CUREator program, which is managed by Brandon BioCatalyst and supported by CSIRO.
Before raising its first round of equity funding, the startup had already received over $9 million in non-dilutive funding for product development.
Its main product, FloCAST, is a rapid test that identifies which antibiotics will work best — delivering results several days faster than current methods.
Dr Mulroney, the CEO, said the funding came from clinicians, healthcare-focused family offices, founders, and returning investors and exceeds the initial target for the pre-Seed round.
“Our AI-powered, cloud-hosted platform, FloCAST is designed to help clinician administer the right antibiotics in hours instead of days, saving lives and helping to combat antimicrobial resistance globally,” he said.
“This investment will allow us to deepen relationships with international stakeholders and commence pilot trials which will accelerate our go-to-market strategy.”
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