What Resistell AG does

Resistell AG is a privately held Swiss diagnostics company founded in 2018 as an EPFL spin-off, headquartered in Muttenz near Basel. The company develops a nanomotion-based antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) platform that detects bacterial viability and antibiotic response by measuring nanoscale vibrations of living cells via micro-mechanical cantilever sensors, combined with proprietary machine learning classification models. This growth-independent phenotypic approach delivers AST results in approximately one hour, versus one to five days for conventional culture-based methods, enabling same-day targeted antibiotic therapy decisions for critically ill patients.

The company operates a dual-product architecture. Phenotech Multistar is the clinical IVD platform delivering 1-hour results with a modular design for simultaneous analysis of up to 12 patient samples, targeting hospital microbiology laboratories across Europe (CE-IVD certified). Phenotech Research is a research-use platform extending the same core technology into broader cellular analysis applications including viable but non-culturable cells, persister cells, tuberculosis, phage therapy, cancer cell analysis, and antifungal testing. Both products are anchored by a peer-reviewed Nature Communications publication (March 2024) demonstrating 90.5-100% training accuracy and 89.5-98.9% independent-test accuracy across antibiotic classes.

Commercially, Resistell is in a pre-launch scaling phase with a sales-led direct enterprise model targeting hospital laboratory directors and infectious disease specialists. The company has executed an international multisite clinical study (PHENOTECH-1) across Switzerland, Spain, and Austria with leading university hospital partners, raised a CHF 8.5M Series B first tranche in December 2022 from EIC Fund, TRUMPF Venture, OCCIDENT, Zürcher Kantonalbank, and others, secured a €1.54M Eurostars grant in March 2024 for a cystic fibrosis joint development with Cellectric and CHUV, and earned three consecutive TOP 10 Swiss Startup awards (2021-2023). Pricing is not publicly disclosed and no commercial revenue has been reported.

Name

Resistell AG

Legal name

Resistell AG

Website

https://resistell.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Resistell AG is a Swiss EPFL spin-off developing nanomotion-based antibiotic susceptibility testing platforms that deliver phenotypic AST results in approximately one hour, serving hospital microbiology laboratories across Europe with CE-IVD certified clinical and research-use products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

In-Vitro Diagnostics (Clinical Microbiology)

NAICS

In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) & Antibiotic Susceptibility Reference Networks (HLAJAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Microbiology & Sterility Assurance (Bioburden/Endotoxin/Sterility) (HLAGADAE), Microbiology & Infectious Disease Testing (Trial Support) (HLAGAEAF)

Keywords

• Antibiotic susceptibility testing
• Nanomotion diagnostic devices
• Phenotypic AST platform
• Rapid antimicrobial detection
• In-vitro diagnostics

Headquarters

HQ city

Basel

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Resistell AG develops and sells diagnostic instruments that perform antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) by detecting nanomotion (nanoscale vibrations) of living bacterial cells exposed to antibiotics, using proprietary cantilever sensors combined with machine learning classifiers. Its flagship Phenotech Multistar instrument delivers AST results in approximately 1 hour for up to 12 patient samples simultaneously, compared to 1–5 days for conventional growth-based methods, and is targeted at hospital microbiology laboratories for guiding targeted antibiotic therapy in critically ill patients with bloodstream infections.

Product overview

Resistell AG offers a dual-product platform architecture based on proprietary nanomotion technology for antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST). The core offering consists of two products: Phenotech Multistar (commercial clinical product delivering results in 1 hour for bloodstream infections) and Phenotech Research (R&D/research version for broader cellular analysis applications). Both products share the same underlying nanomotion detection technology platform using micro-mechanical cantilever sensors to measure bacterial vibrations and machine learning classification software for phenotypic analysis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Phenotech Multistar: Ultra-rapid Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST) Platform delivering results in 1 hour, using nanomotion technology for phenotypic testing independent of bacterial growth.
• Phenotech Research

Products and services

• Phenotech Multistar Ultra-rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) instrument for hospital diagnostic laboratories. Detects nanomotion of living bacterial cells exposed to antibiotics using cantilever sensors and machine learning classification, delivering phenotypic AST results in exactly 1 hour independent of bacterial growth. Modular design supports simultaneous analysis of up to 12 patient samples and is compatible with routine diagnostic laboratory workflows for bloodstream and other serious bacterial infections.
• Phenotech Research Research-use platform for nanoscale cellular vibration analysis independent of growth or reporter systems. Enables study of previously inaccessible growth phenotypes including viable but non-culturable (VBNC) cells and persister cells, with applications in tuberculosis, phage therapy, cancer cell analysis, and antifungal susceptibility testing. Targeted at academic, translational, and industrial research laboratories.

Quantifiable outcome

• Results delivered in approximately 1 hour vs. 1-5 days for conventional methods
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CellectriccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 March 2024Joint Eurostars project partnership to build Phenotech-CF, a rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing platform combining both companies' technologies for improved detection capabilities.
• iM4TBcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 March 2023Partnership for macozinone development, evaluating Resistell's rapid AST technology for susceptibility testing of this novel anti-tuberculosis compound.
• Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical study partner collaborating on Eurostars project for validation and clinical evaluation of rapid AST technology in hospital setting.
• University Hospital Ramón y CajalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical study partner conducting validation studies of antibiotic susceptibility testing technology in Madrid, Spain.
• Medical University of InnsbruckcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical study partner conducting validation studies of antibiotic susceptibility testing technology in Austria.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Accelerate Diagnostics: US-based commercial-stage rapid phenotypic AST company (Accelerate Pheno system) delivering results in approximately 7 hours for bloodstream infections. Closest direct competitor to Resistell in rapid phenotypic AST for hospital microbiology labs.
• Q-linea: Swedish diagnostics company developing the ASTar system for rapid phenotypic AST using a proprietary microfluidic single-cell approach. Targets the same 1-hour-class rapid AST category in hospital bloodstream infection workflows.
• Selux Diagnostics: Boston-based rapid phenotypic AST developer with Next Generation Phenotyping (NGP) platform targeting same-day results for bloodstream infections. Competes head-to-head with Resistell in the rapid AST category.
• Specific Diagnostics: Developer of the Reveal rapid AST system using proprietary volatile organic compound sensing for growth-based phenotypic AST in hours. Direct competitor in the rapid AST hospital segment.

Broad incumbents

• bioMérieux: Global leader in clinical microbiology with Vitek 2 AST system and Vitek MS MALDI-TOF identification platform. Incumbent supplier to most hospital microbiology labs and the principal workflow that Resistell must displace or augment.
• BD (Becton Dickinson): Major incumbent in hospital microbiology through the BD Phoenix M50 AST system and BD MAX molecular platform. Competes broadly with Resistell for the routine AST workflow slot in hospital labs.
• Bruker: Major diagnostic instrumentation company with MALDI Biotyper for bacterial ID and is developing rapid AST solutions (e.g., MBT ASTar). Operates broadly in clinical microbiology with overlapping capabilities.

Emerging players

• Pattern Bioscience: Early-stage rapid AST company applying machine learning and single-cell morphology to bacterial phenotypic AST, overlapping with Resistell's ML-based phenotypic approach. Emerging competitor in the same category.
• T2 Biosystems: Developer of T2 Magnetic Resonance-based rapid diagnostics for bloodstream infections (T2Bacteria, T2Candida). Adjacent in rapid phenotypic-style detection of sepsis-causing pathogens but with a different technology modality.

Others

• Cellectric: Swedish sample-preparation technology company that is a Resistell co-development partner in the Eurostars Phenotech-CF project. Comparable as an adjacent enabling technology provider in the rapid AST workflow for cystic fibrosis samples.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Resistell_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds10 records

Investors11 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Resistell AG