12 September 2018 - - France-based MilliDrop, which designs and develops cell culture solutions based on millifluidics technology for bacteriological research and diagnosis purposes, has been awarded EUR 1.9m in non-dilutive financing from Bpifrance to accelerate the development of its blood infection diagnosis system for sepsis, the company said.

Millidrop receives this funding as a laureate of the "Concours d'Innovation" (Innovation Challenge) in the health category with its project "Droplet-Based Integrated Diagnosis from Blood Culture to Antibiogram," that was backed by the Medicen Paris Région competitiveness cluster. MilliDrop's goal is to speed up the microbiological diagnosis process for patients with sepsis.

Worldwide, one person dies every 3-4 seconds from sepsis, causing between 6 and 9 m deaths every year. In industrialised nations, sepsis remains a major cause of death and is responsible for more deaths than HIV, breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

Sepsis usually occurs following a bacterial infection which spreads to the bloodstream.

The emergence of antibiotic resistance has made it harder to treat. Administering an effective and targeted antibiotic as early as possible is crucial for patient survival and to avoid serious sequelae.

The "Concours d'Innovation" is an excellence-supporting device that operates in the digital technologies field and is financed by the Program of Investments for the Future.

This programme, which is jointly-ran by Bpifrance, ADEME and FranceAgriMer, aims to support innovative projects pursued by SMEs and start-ups.

It also aspires to nurture the emergence of world-class French champions in eight key areas: health; digital; French Fab; security and cybersecurity; transportation and sustainable mobility; renewable energies; storage and energy systems; innovation to enhance the quality of terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems; innovative agriculture.

Eight projects were selected by Bpifrance in the health category for the 2018 Concours d'Innovation 's first wave.