Earlier this year, Emory University launched the Emory BioFoundry Institute (EBFI), an initiative designed to empower Emory researchers and encourage investment in order to transform groundbreaking ideas into real-world solutions that improve patient care and public health.
By providing targeted support to medical device and diagnostic technologies at pivotal stages of development, EBFI helps university-based startups bridge the funding gap of early stage development into market readiness, while simultaneously providing sustainable investment returns for outside funders. The institute joins Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory (DRIVE) and the Emory Drug Development Fund as part of Emory Innovations, Inc., an enterprise focused on quickly and rigorously vetting discoveries and inventions that hold potential for commercialization.
"A breakthrough discovery doesn't guarantee real-world impact," says Nassir Mokarram, executive director of EBFI. "We're closing the loop in the innovation ecosystem by providing strategically staged capital investments while connecting entrepreneurs and investors to our ecosystem, essential elements for successful translation of world-class academic research to tangible, societal outcomes."
Now, EBFI has selected its first investment. TopoDx is a MedTech startup with a platform technology that is focused on developing rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Born from a collaboration between researchers at Emory University and Georgia Tech at the Georgia Tech Quadrant-i, TopoDx combines expertise in pathology, physics and AI to address an expensive barrier in efforts to mitigate the global threat of antibiotic resistance: the lengthy process of identifying a drug-resistant infection.
A growing menace to public health and health care systems
Antibiotic resistance is a stealthy, but escalating, threat. Unlike fast-moving pandemics such as COVID-19, resistant bacteria spread more discreetly, quietly gaining strength in the background until treatment fails. While healthy individuals may not feel the immediate impact, the ripple effects are profound. If antibiotics stop working, routine surgeries, cancer treatments, and even childbirth could become far more dangerous. The entire medical system depends on effective antibiotics.
According to David Weiss, PhD, a co-founder of TopoDx and director of the Emory Antibiotic Resistance Center, current methods for determining which antimicrobial agent will effectively treat an infection haven't changed much in 40 to 50 years. Typically a culture is processed in a hospital's microbiology lab, which is often bottlenecked with samples, and can take three to five days to produce results. And when treating serious infections, every hour counts. In that three-to-five-day window, patients may receive ineffective treatments, increasing the risk of life-threatening complications and contributing to the spread of resistance.
Recognizing the need for better testing options, Weiss teamed up with Peter Yunker, PhD, a physics professor at Georgia Tech, to harness white-light interferometry, a technology that can measure bacterial colonies with minute precision. By growing the bacteria on a device for just a few hours, the team discovered they can image the population with an interferometer and use a customized algorithm to deliver results rapidly.
Born from this discovery, the team developed Cosmos, an AI platform that analyzes patient samples directly and delivers definitive pathogen identification and antimicrobial susceptibility (AST) in as little as four hours.
"Cosmos replaces labor-intensive steps, easing the burden on understaffed, 24/7 microbiology labs and accelerating results to curb infection progression. It also opens a multi-billion-dollar market ripe for innovation, says Yogi Patel, PhD, CEO of TopoDx and an Emory/Georgia Tech alumnus. "With EBFI's investment, we've validated our core technology on direct-from-patient samples with stakeholders, secured foundational IP, and built a working prototype. We've defined a clear regulatory path, advanced partnerships with leading diagnostics companies, and confirmed Cosmos' value in clinical settings."
With the initial steps complete, TopoDx is now equipped to continue progress towards realizing the full potential of Cosmos. Patel says, "we're now preparing real-world pilots and accelerating toward FDA clearance and commercial deployment — creating outsized value for patients, health systems and investors."
Unlocking the potential of what's next
For EBFI, the investment in TopoDx is just the beginning. Attracting outside investment and generating revenue from intellectual property is increasingly essential for realizing the impact of translational research.
"The Emory BioFoundry Institute is igniting a new era of innovation — attracting elite talent and empowering our Emory innovators to transform ideas, knowledge, and intellectual property into real-world solutions," says Michael Cassidy, executive director of Emory Innovations, Inc. "By unlocking our MedTech potential, we are paving the way for stronger relationships that elevate patient outcomes and expand investment."
With EBFI's expert-driven model and commitment to translational success, Emory is creating a template for how academic institutions can catalyze innovation and deliver meaningful impact.
"EBFI is a vital component of the innovation ecosystem Emory is building to pave the way for more faculty, staff and students to deliver breakthrough ideas and technologies," says Wilbur Lam, Emory's vice provost for entrepreneurship and a professor of pediatrics and biomedical engineering. "We look forward to the solutions EBFI will help deliver for patients and clinicians in the years to come."
Additional investors in this round include MedTech angel investors, Portal Innovations and Invest Georgia. The company has also received significant support from the Atlanta-based Georgia Research Alliance's grant funding program, which helps transform university innovations into startup organizations.
