The startup Karius aims to help establish a world where infectious disease is no longer a major threat to human health.
“It’s an audacious vision,” said Dr. Brad Perkins, chief medical officer at Karius. “But I think it’s commensurate with the platform we’ve developed and continue to evolve.”
The Redwood City, California-based company has developed Karius Test, a liquid biopsy for infectious diseases that can detect more than one thousand pathogens from a single blood draw.
The test works by detecting microbial cell-free DNA (mcfDNA) in the bloodstream from likely pathogens causing an infection.“If we can accelerate and improve diagnosis while making it safer, the notion is that clinicians will ultimately be better able to treat infectious diseases,” Perkins said.
Karius says its tech…