Surge, a biotech and AI innovator that makes technology to decode immune fingerprints, has received $2.6 million in funding.
The technology accurately identifies at-risk patients before surgery, allowing physicians to quickly predict the risk of postoperative complications.
The funding round was co-led by HCVC, a global early-stage fund for high-potential technology startups, and Boutique Venture Partners, a leading Silicon Valley-based fund. The round was also attended by experienced angel investors, including Nicolas Godin, Cardiologs COO/CFO. Surge received the 2022 iLab grant along with other non-dilutive grants to complete the fundraising.
Machine Learning Algorithms
Hosted in the US by StartX, a non-profit founding community, and supported in Europe by Agoranov, 50 Partners and Wilco, Surge’s flagship product uses innovative machine learning algorithms to decode a patient’s immune system from a blood sample.
Julien Hédou, President and Co-Founder of Surge said: “Our goal is to develop the reference solution for precision surgical medicine. We plan to expand and diversify the applications of our technology with immune profiling tools for all surgical complications. After all, we want to transfer our methodology to other therapeutic areas.”
With 30% of major surgeries currently resulting in complications and 40% of patients 65 years and older suffering from long-term cognitive impairment after orthopedic or cardiac surgeries, Surge’s solution enables targeted and personalized interventions to reduce the risk of postoperative complications for patients.
A patented solution
The technology combines a biological analysis of the immune system with an AI algorithm that allows it to calculate the risk of surgical complications for each patient and propose tailored preventive management strategies to optimize the treatment pathway.
Surge has received an exclusive license from Stanford University for its patented postoperative complication prediction technology, the result of more than ten years of surgical risk prediction research led by Brice Gaudillière, medical scientist and associate professor of anaesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine at the Stanford University, School of Medicine was developed.
In the summer of 2022, Surge also signed a research agreement with Stanford to develop biotech innovations.
Wound infections after surgical interventions
The funding round will allow the company to further develop its team and conduct clinical trials with other hospitals, such as the one started in Spring 2022 with Foch Hospital in Suresnes, France. The Foch study, launched in spring 2022, will validate Surge’s prediction of postoperative wound infections in abdominal surgery.
Alexis Houssou, Founder of HCVC Partners, said: “We are proud to support Surge in its quest to reduce the risk of post-operative complications. Its international, multidisciplinary team inspires respect. They have built very strong relationships that span both French and American academia, with partners such as AP-HP and Institut Pasteur, and Stanford has built a solid network that enables them to achieve their goals. “
Of the nearly 6.1 million and 5.1 million abdominal surgeries performed each year in the United States and Europe, respectively, approximately 30% result in postoperative complications such as infection, cognitive decline, or thromboembolic accidents.
burden of complications
Transparency Market Research reports that these complications typically require additional care or rehospitalizations, resulting in high healthcare costs and patient morbidity and mortality. The burden of complications is increasing as the population ages and the number of surgeries increases by almost 5% annually
Rami El Assal, Co-Founder of Boutique Venture Partners, said: “We are excited to be working with the team at Surge to help decode immune fingerprinting to accurately identify at-risk patients prior to surgery. What impresses us most about Surge is its ability to integrate a proprietary machine learning algorithm with single-cell and plasma proteomics data to predict surgical complications, including infections and cognitive decline.
“We were familiar with the work of Dr. Gaudillière at Stanford before we even met him and his approach to harnessing the power of single-cell mass cytometry to identify an immune dysfunction driving pathological stressors.”
