Specific Diagnostics

What Specific Diagnostics does

Specific Diagnostics is a privately held medical device company headquartered in Mountain View, California, founded in 2011. The company develops diagnostic technology centered on a patented low-cost small molecule sensor platform, positioning it within the in vitro and rapid diagnostics market. The granted patent position and the use of a small-molecule sensor chemistry rather than a sequencing or PCR architecture suggest the company is targeting a differentiated detection modality, likely oriented toward rapid phenotypic or susceptibility-style readouts given its funding profile.

The company’s strategic positioning is reinforced by its funding history. In 2018 it received $3.4 million from CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator), signaling an explicit focus on the antimicrobial-resistance / infectious disease diagnostics vertical. This was followed by a $12.5 million round led by Telegraph Hill Partners in September 2019, and an undisclosed non-dilutive award from the U.S. Department of Defense in April 2021. CARB-X is a mission-aligned, non-dilutive funder; the DoD relationship points to government and biodefense as plausible early customer or validation channels.

Specific Diagnostics operates with a headcount of 51–100 and remains privately held with no disclosed revenue, product commercialization milestones, named customers, or partnership ecosystem in the source material. Leadership comprises co-founder and CEO Paul Rhodes, founder and COO Ray Martino, and CFO Johnny Ek. The combination of sensor-based proprietary IP, government/AMR-focused capital sources, and small-to-mid headcount is consistent with a clinical-stage medtech company pre-commercial or in early commercial release.

Name

Specific Diagnostics

Website

https://specificdx.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Specific Diagnostics is a Mountain View-based medical device company (founded 2011) developing patented low-cost small molecule sensor technology for diagnostic applications, with funding tied to antimicrobial resistance and U.S. Department of Defense initiatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

In Vitro Diagnostics

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Microbiology & Infectious Disease Diagnostics (culture, rapid antigen, syndromic panels) (HLAAALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Molecular Diagnostics (PCR/NAAT/NGS-based IVD) (HLAHAAAD), Microbiology & Infectious Disease Testing Laboratories (HLAFAMAD)

Keywords

• Microbial diagnostics
• Clinical diagnostic instruments
• Molecular sensor technology
• Antimicrobial susceptibility testing
• Rapid phenotypic diagnostics

Headquarters

HQ city

Mountain View

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Diagnostic Test Kits and Reagents: Sale of proprietary test kits, panels, and reagents for use with company's diagnostic systems. Consumables model with recurring revenue from laboratories and healthcare facilities.
2. Diagnostic Instrumentation: Sale of diagnostic systems including BIOFIRE FILMARRAY TORCH, VITEK MS PRIME, BACT/ALERT VIRTUO, and related equipment.
3. Food Safety Testing Solutions: Products for food industry including pathogen detection, quality indicators, and environmental monitoring for dairy, beverages, meat, poultry, seafood, and produce.
4. Pharmaceutical Quality Control: Solutions for sterility testing, endotoxin testing, mycoplasma testing, and environmental monitoring for pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Specific Diagnostics is a medical device company that develops a patented diagnostic platform leveraging a low-cost small molecule sensor for clinical microbiology applications. The company's technology is positioned to deliver rapid, low-cost microbial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing for hospitals, clinical laboratories, and biodefense programs.

Product overview

bioMérieux offers a comprehensive in vitro diagnostics portfolio organized into distinct product lines spanning clinical diagnostics and industrial testing. The core clinical portfolio centers on the BIOFIRE® FILMARRAY® and BIOFIRE® SPOTFIRE® multiplex PCR systems (including the TORCH and SPOTFIRE platforms) for molecular infectious disease testing, VITEK® MS PRIME for mass spectrometry-based microbial identification, VIDAS® for immunoassay testing (including B•R•A•H•M•S PCT for procalcitonin), and BACT/ALERT® blood culture systems (VIRTUO and 3D). The industrial portfolio includes GENE-UP® for real-time PCR pathogen detection, VERIFLOW™ for DNA signature-based testing, TEMPO® for automated quality indicator enumeration, and 3P® ENTERPRISE for environmental monitoring. These products serve hospitals, labs, food safety testing, and pharmaceutical quality control applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Low-Cost Small Molecule Sensor Diagnostic Platform

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• NIH (National Institutes of Health)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020NIH awarded $77.7 million in contracts for rapid SARS-CoV-2 tests between 2020 and 2022, supporting development and deployment of rapid diagnostic technologies during pandemic response.
• Antimicrobial Stewardship Centers of ExcellencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of pioneering institutions engaged in global initiative to strengthen antimicrobial stewardship and diagnostic-driven care. bioMérieux partners with healthcare institutions to advance fight against antimicrobial resistance through shared expertise and collaborative programs.
• BioFire DefensecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBioFire Defense is a bioMérieux company mobilized for Ebola diagnostics to support ongoing outbreak response efforts in Africa. Represents internal strategic alignment for defense and public health applications.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Accelerate Diagnostics: NASDAQ-listed developer of rapid phenotypic AST ( Accelerate Pheno system), the closest direct competitor to Specific Diagnostics' rapid AST sensor-based approach; targets the same microbiology lab workflow with same-day susceptibility results.
• Qvella Corporation: Pre-commercial diagnostics company developing rapid molecular-based pathogen identification and AST directly from positive blood cultures; competes head-to-head with Specific Diagnostics in time-to-result for bloodstream infections.

Emerging players

• Selux Diagnostics: Early-commercial rapid AST platform using single-cell phenotypic analysis; addresses the same unmet need (faster AST for sepsis) as Specific Diagnostics with comparable stage and target customer.
• T2 Biosystems: Developer of rapid direct-from-blood molecular diagnostics (T2Candida, T2Bacteria) for sepsis; overlaps with Specific Diagnostics on rapid infectious disease detection, though on the molecular rather than phenotypic side.
• Copan Diagnostics: Specializes in automated specimen collection and pre-analytical microbiology (Wasp/Wasplab, eSwab); adjacent peer competing for the same microbiology lab budget and increasingly bundling rapid AST-adjacent workflows.

Broad incumbents

• bioMérieux: Global IVD leader with dominant microbiology franchise (VITEK, BACT/ALERT, BIOFIRE); the entrenched competitor whose installed base and clinical evidence depth Specific Diagnostics must displace.
• Becton Dickinson (BD): Major diagnostics incumbent offering BD Phoenix AST, MGIT, and broad microbiology solutions; competes in the same hospital microbiology purchasing decisions and benefits from multi-product bundling.
• Bruker Corporation: Operates the MALDI Biotyper microbial ID franchise and is expanding into rapid AST; a relevant incumbent pushing into the same rapid-microbiology whitespace where Specific Diagnostics competes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SpecificDx
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/about

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors3 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 Specific Diagnostics