Roberto de la Rica, CEO of Nanodecal: "The support of CDTI Innovation allows us to move towards a rapid and decentralized diagnosis of respiratory infections"

Respiratory medicine faces a growing challenge: to quickly detect pathogens that cause infections in patients with chronic lung diseases so that the most appropriate treatment can be applied from the first moment. In this context, the company Nanodecal is working on the development of new diagnostic tools that allow respiratory samples to be analyzed directly at the point of patient care.

The company, a spin-off of the Illes Balears Health Research Institute (IdISBa), is developing a technological platform capable of analyzing lower respiratory tract samples quickly and decentrally. This progress could significantly improve clinical decision-making and contribute to a more accurate use of antibiotics.
 

From biomedical research to the creation of a company

Nanodecal was born from the research activity of its founder and CEO, Roberto de la Rica, at the IdISBa. For years, his work focused on the development of new diagnostic technologies applied to respiratory medicine, in close collaboration with clinical professionals. This interdisciplinary environment allowed us to identify a clear need in medical practice: to have tools capable of analyzing complex respiratory samples quickly and directly in the clinical environment.

As a result of that research, the team developed two patented inventions with potential to transform the diagnosis of respiratory diseases, which eventually led to the creation of Nanodecal. "The company arises from our scientific activity and collaboration with health professionals," explains De la Rica. "At Nanodecal, we develop technologies capable of analyzing lower respiratory tract samples directly at the bedside, with the aim of facilitating faster and more accurate diagnostics."

The company’s mission is to bring these technological advances to the clinical arena to improve medical decision-making. In addition, its ultimate goal is to contribute to a more personalized respiratory medicine in which treatments can be more accurately adjusted to the situation of each patient.


Detail of the PaST Kit, a rapid diagnostic tool that allows you to analyze respiratory samples and obtain results without sending them to a centralized laboratory
 

SOON: a platform for analyzing respiratory samples in minutes

With the support of CDTI Innovation, Nanodecal is developing the PRONTO platform, a technology designed to quickly and decentralize the analysis of sputum samples, that is, mucus from the lower respiratory tract.

In clinical practice, this type of sample can be complex to analyze, since it has a dense and heterogeneous consistency that hinders its processing in rapid diagnostic tests. According to De la Rica, "Our technology incorporates an innovative method that transforms sputum, a dense and solid sample, into a liquid in just one or two minutes", and adds: "This greatly facilitates their analysis and allows the process to be integrated into a rapid diagnostic kit."

Once the sample is processed, the system uses antigen detection tests capable of identifying biomarkers even at very low concentrations. The combination of both elements allows to obtain practically immediate results, directly at the point of patient care.

As the CEO rightly states, this capability opens up new possibilities for clinical practice: "The platform provides actionable information in real time and allows us to move towards a more accurate and personalized respiratory medicine."
 

A clinical challenge: detecting respiratory infections early

The first product based on the PRONTO platform is aimed at the detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that can cause serious infections in patients with chronic lung diseases.

This microorganism represents a major medical challenge due to its ability to resist conventional treatments and form biofilms in the lungs, which favors the persistence of the infection. In many cases, these infections can develop into chronic forms that progressively impair lung function and require prolonged treatments. "The pathogen can withstand conventional treatments and promote the persistence of infection. In addition, in certain patients this can lead to chronic infections that are difficult to eradicate," explains De la Rica.

One of the main problems today is that the identification of the bacteria can take several days when using conventional microbiological methods. This delay can make it difficult to choose the most appropriate treatment in the initial stages of infection. The diagnostic kit that Nanodecal is developing seeks to reduce that time drastically, allowing the presence of the pathogen to be detected directly from the sputum sample.
 

Improving the antibiotic prescription in respiratory diseases

Early detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is especially relevant in patients with chronic lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or bronchiectasis. In these cases, the presence of the bacteria can have a significant impact on the clinical evolution of the patient and on the choice of antibiotic treatment.

Currently, the lack of rapid diagnostic methods obliges in many cases to make therapeutic decisions based on risk estimates. Clinical guidelines recommend adjusting empirical treatment based on the likelihood of infection, which can lead to situations of overtreatment or undertreatment.

"The guidelines recommend that the doctor estimate the risk of infection to adjust antibiotic treatment, but that approach can lead to both over-prescription of state-of-the-art antibiotics and under-prescription in patients who are infected," says the CEO.

In this line, having a rapid diagnostic tool would allow these decisions to be based on objective microbiological data from earlier stages, reducing uncertainty in clinical management. According to De la Rica: "This approach could contribute to a more rational use of antibiotics and help prevent the evolution of infections into more difficult to treat chronic forms."
 

A sample of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a pathogen that can cause serious respiratory infections, especially in patients with chronic lung diseases
 

Diagnosis at the point of patient care

One of the differential elements of the PRONTO platform is its ability to perform diagnostic analyses directly in the place where the patient is treated, without the need to send the sample to a centralized laboratory. This decentralized diagnostic model could have a significant impact on daily clinical practice, for both healthcare professionals and patients. "The system allows us to have the necessary information to adjust the treatment within the time of the consultation itself," explains De la Rica. “This avoids relying on centralized analytics that may require days of waiting.”

The possibility of obtaining results in the same clinical act facilitates therapeutic decision making and reduces the need for medical revisits to modify treatment based on microbiological results. In addition, the rapid and decentralized diagnostic approach could contribute to optimizing healthcare resource management and improving the patient experience.
 

Potential impact on millions of patients

Chronic respiratory diseases represent one of the main public health challenges worldwide. It is estimated that more than 480 million people in the world live with COPD or bronchiectasis. Therefore, recurrent bacterial infections can play a key role in the progressive deterioration of lung function and in the quality of life of patients.

In this sense, Nanodecal’s objective is to contribute to improving the management of these infections through diagnostic tools that allow pathogens to be detected earlier and more accurately. "We seek to promote a more accurate and rational use of antibiotics in patients with chronic respiratory diseases," explains the CEO.

In addition, De la Rica says that “early detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa could facilitate the establishment of appropriate treatment from the initial stages, reducing the risk that the infection will evolve into chronic forms that require more complex and prolonged therapies.”

Ultimately, the development of this type of diagnostic tools could contribute to improve the quality of life of patients and promote more personalized and sustainable therapeutic strategies.
 

The impulse of CDTI Innovation through Neotec

Nanodecal is supported by the CDTI Innovation through Neotec, an initiative aimed at promoting the creation and consolidation of technology-based companies in Spain. "The collaboration of CDTI Innovation has been key to reducing the technological risk associated with a project as ambitious as SOON," says De la Rica.

Neotec’s support has allowed the company to advance the scientific and technical validation of its platform, as well as strengthen the technological base of the project at an early stage. "The program has allowed us to strengthen the technological base of the project and bring it closer to a more solid stage from the industrial and investment point of view," adds the CEO.

In addition, according to De la Rica, the funding has helped boost the R&D activities needed to scale technology manufacturing and advance the development of new products based on the PRONTO platform.
 

Towards a new paradigm in respiratory diagnosis

In the medium term, Nanodecal aims to expand the capabilities of its platform by incorporating new biomarkers and diagnostic tools that allow us to offer a more complete vision of the clinical state of the patient.

Among the lines of development that the company contemplates is the detection of biomarkers of inflammation and proteins related to resistance to antibiotics, which could provide additional information to guide the treatment.

"Our goal is to contribute to a paradigm shift in antibiotic prescription in the respiratory field," says De la Rica. "We want to move towards an approach guided by rapid diagnostic tools that allow better informed clinical decisions to be made," he concludes.

With the support of CDTI Innovation and the promotion of its technological platform, Nanodecal works to turn this vision into a reality that allows to improve the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory infections worldwide.
 

CDTI Innovation

The Center for Technological Development and Innovation, CDTI E.P.E. It is the innovation agency of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, whose objective is the promotion of technological innovation in the business environment. The mission of the CDTI is to ensure that the Spanish business fabric generates and transforms scientific and technical knowledge into globally competitive, sustainable and inclusive growth. In 2024, within the framework of a new strategic plan, the CDTI provided more than 2.3 billion euros of support to Spanish companies and startups.

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