What Sepset Biosciences does

Sepset Biosciences Inc. is a privately held molecular diagnostics company headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia, that is developing a first-in-class blood-based in vitro diagnostic assay called Sepset-ER for early risk assessment of sepsis. The test detects a proprietary gene expression signature based on the dysfunctional immune response (cellular reprogramming, also termed endotoxin tolerance) rather than the presence of a pathogen, identifying patients at high risk of developing sepsis and associated organ failure within approximately 1-2 hours of blood draw at first clinical presentation in the emergency room or intensive care unit. The technology was discovered by Drs. Robert Hancock and Olga Pena at the University of British Columbia, patented in 18 countries (with grants confirmed in Europe, China, and Hong Kong), and validated across more than 3,000 patients in prospective multi-center international clinical studies, with the most recent validation published in Nature Communications 16(1):4442 (Malic et al., 2025).

The company's core technical components are a host-response gene-expression signature, a proprietary machine learning classifier, and a centrifugal microfluidics platform intended for bedside use. Sepset operates as a clinical-stage R&D company with 11-50 employees and a four-person executive team led by founder/CEO Dr. Robert Hancock. Its technologies have not yet received marketing authorization and are not currently available for purchase. Sepset is preparing for 510(k) regulatory clinical studies and plans to commercialize exclusively via out-licensing its gene signature to diagnostic companies that will perform the regulatory trials and market the test in their respective countries; out-licensees are already conducting trials across geographies covering roughly one third of the world's population, with Sepset retaining partial ownership and royalty rights.

Sepset was founded in 2016 as a spinout from the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD, now adMare) and UBC, and is majority-owned by publicly listed parent Asep Medical Holdings Inc. (CSE). Revenue has not been disclosed and the company remains pre-commercial, addressing a market opportunity anchored by an estimated $24 billion annual U.S. cost of treating sepsis and 49 million global sepsis hospitalizations per year.

Name

Sepset Biosciences

Legal name

Sepset Biosciences Inc.

Website

https://sepset.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sepset Biosciences is a pre-commercial molecular diagnostics company developing the Sepset-ER blood-based gene expression assay for rapid (~1 hour) sepsis risk assessment in hospital emergency rooms and intensive care units, commercializing via out-licensing to diagnostic partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Molecular Diagnostics

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)

akta.pro primary industry

Sepsis, Deterioration & Rapid Response CDS (HLACAGAF)

Keywords

• Molecular diagnostics
• Sepsis detection
• Gene expression assay
• In vitro diagnostics
• Blood-based diagnostics

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Out-licensing and Royalty Agreements: Sepset has out-licensed its technology to companies performing regulatory trials and marketing the test in countries representing one third of the world's population. Sepset benefits through partial ownership of these companies and royalty agreements.
2. In vitro Diagnostic Test Sales: Once regulatory approval is obtained, the company plans to commercialize its Sepset-ER blood-based gene expression assay through licensing partners for hospital and clinical use in ER and ICU settings.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sepset Biosciences is developing the Sepset-ER blood-based gene expression assay, a first-in-class in vitro diagnostic test that detects a unique sepsis gene expression signature based on the host's dysfunctional immune response (cellular reprogramming/endotoxin tolerance). The test provides rapid sepsis risk assessment within approximately 1-2 hours of blood sampling in emergency rooms and intensive care units, enabling earlier clinical intervention. The company plans to commercialize through out-licensing its gene signature to diagnostic companies that will perform regulatory trials and market the test.

Product overview

Sepset Biosciences is a medical diagnostic company with a single primary product offering: the Sepset-ER blood-based gene expression test. The company is in advanced development stages preparing for 510(k) regulatory clinical studies and commercialization. The test provides rapid (~1-2 hours) sepsis risk assessment by detecting a proprietary gene expression signature from blood samples, enabling physicians to make critical early treatment decisions for patients in the ER and ICU. The technology was validated on more than 3,000 patients and has been out-licensed to companies performing regulatory trials in countries representing one-third of the world's population.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sepset-ER: Blood-based gene expression assay test for early risk assessment of sepsis in emergency rooms and intensive care units. Provides results within approximately 1 hour after taking a blood sample.

Products and services

• Sepset-ER Test A first-in-class blood-based gene expression assay for the early and rapid risk assessment of sepsis. The test detects a unique sepsis gene expression signature based on dysfunctional immune response (cellular reprogramming/endotoxin tolerance) to identify patients at high risk of developing sepsis and organ failure within approximately 1-2 hours of blood sampling in the emergency room or intensive care unit. The test is intended for hospital and clinical use to enable earlier intervention and reduce mortality.

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

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Out-Licensed Diagnostic CompaniescoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerThe test has been out-licensed to companies performing regulatory trials and marketing the test in countries representing one third of the world's population. Sepset benefits through partial ownership of these companies and royalty agreements.
• University of British Columbia (UBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSepset's technology is based on extensive ground-breaking work led by Dr. Robert Hancock, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and Director of the Centre for Microbial Diseases and Immunity Research at UBC. The spinout was a collaboration between CDRD and UBC.
• Dr. John Boyd (St. Paul's Hospital)minorOthersDr. John Boyd, an emergency room physician at Vancouver's St. Paul's Hospital, serves as an advisor to Sepset, providing clinical perspective on the diagnostic test's utility in real-world ER settings.
• Diagnostic Companies (Prospective Partners)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSepset welcomes opportunities to collaborate with diagnostic companies that wish to transfer its gene signature onto a clinical platform. The company actively seeks new partnerships to expand distribution of the technology.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Prenosis (formerly Inflammatix): Prenosis (which merged with Inflammatix) is developing host-response diagnostics for acute infections and sepsis, including the Sepsis ImmunoScore, leveraging AI on gene-expression and clinical biomarker data. Directly comparable to Sepset on technology category (host-response), target use case (early sepsis recognition) and go-to-market (partnership with hospital systems and IVD platforms).
• T2 Biosystems: T2 Biosystems markets T2Bacteria and T2Candida, FDA-cleared direct-from-blood molecular diagnostics for bloodstream infections. While pathogen-detection based rather than host-response, T2 addresses the same sepsis-workup bottleneck (speed of pathogen ID vs. blood culture) and competes for the same hospital diagnostic budget.
• Immunexpress: Immunexpress developed SeptiCyte RAPID, an FDA-cleared blood-based host-response gene-expression test that distinguishes sepsis from SIRS in ICU patients. It is the closest functional analog to Sepset-ER - same biology (host immune-response gene signature), same use case (sepsis risk stratification), and same planned customer (ER/ICU physicians).
• Accelerate Diagnostics: Accelerate Diagnostics develops rapid identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (ID/AST) systems for bloodstream and other serious infections. Its Accelerate Pheno system targets the same clinical decision-point (timely, accurate antimicrobial therapy in suspected sepsis) addressed by Sepset-ER's risk-stratification assay.
• Cytovale: Cytovale commercializes IntelliSep, an FDA-cleared rapid (<10 minute) biophysical sepsis test for use in hospital EDs. It competes head-to-head with Sepset-ER for the same ER triage ordering slot by offering faster time-to-result and is a direct substitute product for early sepsis risk stratification.

Broad incumbents

• QIAGEN: QIAGEN supplies sample-preparation technologies and molecular diagnostic kits (e.g., QIAstat-Dx) used in infectious-disease testing, including assays relevant to sepsis workups. While broader than Sepset, its installed PCR/NAAT base in hospitals makes it a comparable IVD incumbent and a candidate for technology-transfer partnerships.
• Cepheid (Danaher): Cepheid's GeneXpert system (owned by Danaher) is a leading molecular diagnostic platform with broad infectious-disease menu used in hospitals. It is a relevant incumbent for the same hospital sepsis-workup slot, and a natural partner for any Sepset gene-signature platform transfer onto an installed clinical instrument.
• bioMérieux: bioMérieux is a global IVD leader whose BioFire FilmArray BCID panels and VITEK systems are entrenched in hospital sepsis workups. While broader than Sepset-ER, BioFire is the dominant molecular alternative in the ER/ICU and a likely licensee/acquirer candidate or competitive benchmark for any host-response sepsis product.
• Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD): BD is the dominant supplier of blood-culture instruments and bottles used in the current ~24-hour-to-three-day sepsis diagnostic standard that Sepset-ER aims to displace. The company also offers the BD MAX molecular system; it represents both a key competitor and a potential channel/licensing partner for next-generation sepsis diagnostics.
• Roche Diagnostics: Roche Diagnostics operates the cobas molecular and Elecsys immunoassay platforms widely installed in hospital core labs. Its broad infectious-disease and sepsis-related menu (including procalcitonin) makes it a relevant broad-incumbent peer and potential large-ivd license partner for the Sepset gene signature.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sepsetbio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sepset-biosciences

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 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 Sepset Biosciences