startup speaks
“Made in India and for the world”
Pune based startup, Module Innovations which is set to launch an
effective preventive tool for urinary tract infection, envisions India as top
manufacturer and exporter nation of affordable diagnostics
U
BY RAHUL KOUL
rinary Tract Infections (UTI)
are the second most common
infections in the human body.
Globally 150 million people
suffer from these infections. Half of all
the women in the world suffer with UTI
at least once in their lifetime. One in
three women under age of 24 contracts
UTI. The problem is clearly big and i s
further accentuated by the 2-3 days
detection time the conventional
“culture” takes. It becomes worse in
rural settings, which are devoid of basic
facilities, leave aside culture lab.
Now taking a big step in this direction is
a small Pune based startup, Module
Innovations. The company is developing
USense, a platform based solution that
detects the presence of 4 specific
uropathogens (mainly 4, with E.coli
responsible for maximum cases) in 3060 minutes (48-72 times faster than
culture) by a color change. USense can
be deployed at the Point of Care and
works without electricity. This can be
used by a layman and should be highly
affordable making it a product of choice
for detection of UTI in rural and urban
settings. This helps not only the urban
labs and hospitals which are overloaded
with patients but also the rural primary
and secondary healthcare centers with
severe lack of trained manpower
and facilities.
There is a personal angle too. Story
dates back to the inception of the
company, when the Module Innovation
founder, Sachin Dubey’s sister-in-law
was pregnant. While the family was
elated, the happiness didn’t stay for long
as she was diagnosed with UTI. It took
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BioVoiceNews | June 2016
full 3 days when proper antibiotic could
be prescribed. The 3-day ordeal was
painful. This was the situation in one of
India’s big city. It was impossible to
imagine the plight of a patient from a
town or a village in India. It was then we
decided to intervene. The personal
incidences backed by the facts indicating
UTI to be a global problem made Sachin
and his friends to take up the challenge
and enter into this area.
The vision of Module
is to make strip and
solution based
detection
mechanisms for
microbial detection
in clinical and nonclinical
environments. The
detection platform
being developed at
Module can be used
for detection of
various viral and
bacterial diseases.
The company aims
to earn a name in
quality diagnostic
technology at
affordable prices.
The vision of Module is to make strip
and solution based detection
mechanisms for microbial detection in
cliniical and non-clinical environments.
The detection platform being developed
at Module can be used for detection of
various viral and bacterial diseases.
Module also presented a technology in
collaboration with Prof. Vincent Rotello
from University of Massachusetts,
Amherst, USA to the Wellcome Trust’s
Affordable Healthcare Programmed held
at London. Here it is developing a
colorimetric strip for detection of
bacteria in water in less than 5 minutes,
priced at less than Re 1.
Strong team and foundation
Module derives its name from Mohit
Dubey, Sachin's elder brother, with its
logo indicating fusion of two modules of
nanotechnology and biotechnology to
create endless opportunities. With the
human and technological inspirations
behind, Module was founded in June
2014. The core team is small with three
members and one more to be inducted
soon, but is immense