Burlingame, Calif., April 16, 2020 --- Inflammatix, a pioneering molecular diagnostics company delivering precision medicine at the point of care, today announced the appointment of João Fonseca, Ph.D., as Chief Technology Officer. Dr. Fonseca will oversee Inflammatix’s molecular assay development and engineering teams as the company advances its rapid tests for acute infections, sepsis, and COVID-19 risk stratification.
“João is an exceptional scientist and executive with a successful track record for building breakthrough diagnostics products, particularly at the point of care,” said Tim Sweeney, Ph.D., cofounder and chief executive officer of Inflammatix. “He will play a critical role in bringing our novel tests to the clinic where they will help physicians take the guesswork out of determining which patients with infections need antibiotics, as well as which are likely to have or develop sepsis. He will also oversee our COVID-19 product development portfolio.”
Dr. Fonseca comes to Inflammatix with extensive credentials in science and medical technology. Since 2006, he has served as founder, CEO and chief scientific officer of biosurfit, a Lisbon, Portugal-based company whose blood tests utilize proprietary technology to diagnose multiple conditions at the point of care. The company’s tests are broadly available throughout Europe. Prior to biosurfit, Dr. Fonseca was a professor in physics and experimental physics at the Technical University of Lisbon and a researcher at the University of Lisbon. He also founded a non-profit organization that works with patients and researchers to advance novel cancer treatments and research. Dr. Fonseca has authored multiple publications in top peer-reviewed journals, is the author of 22 patents and has received numerous awards, including “Entrepreneur of the Year” by the Portuguese Young Entrepreneur Association.
“I’m excited to join Inflammatix in their mission of harnessing the immune system to tackle some of the world’s most pressing public health challenges, including antibiotic resistance and sepsis,” said Dr. Fonseca. “I look forward to helping the company deliver its rapid molecular tests into hospitals and clinics where they can benefit patients and to helping the company build a robust pipeline in additional clinical indications.”
About Inflammatix
Inflammatix is a molecular diagnostics company that is reimagining diagnostics by “reading” the patient’s immune system to deliver rapid results that improve patient care and reduce major public health burdens. The company’s initial focus is on acute infection and sepsis, where its HostDx™ tests combine proprietary biomarkers and advanced machine learning to help physicians quickly get the right treatments to the right patients. Each test will be developed to run on the company’s sample-to-answer isothermal instrument platform in under 30 minutes, enabling the power of precision medicine at the point of care. The Burlingame, Calif.-based company funders include Khosla Ventures, Northpond Ventures, Think.Health Ventures, Grey Sky Venture Partners and the Stanford-StartX Fund. For more information, please visit www.inflammatix.com and follow the company on Twitter (@Inflammatix_Inc).
