Maryland biotech company continuing mission to provide antibiotic sensitivity precision diagnostics
COLUMBIA, Md. (April 15, 2024) – 
TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced a recent $250,000 Seed Funds investment in Astek Diagnostics, a biomedical company.
“From the early days in my basement during the pandemic, TEDCO saw potential in our idea and supported us with our very first check,” said Mustafa Al-Adhami, CEO of Astek Diagnostics. “Today, our team stands strong at nine, having achieved the milestone of our first version of the product and partnerships with urology practices and hospitals across the globe.”
Astek Diagnostics, based in Baltimore, Md., is a biomedical company focused on creating a platform to determine antibiotic sensitivity. Through this venture, the company developed the JIDDU. This device is a diagnostic platform that provides physicians with information to diagnose and treat urinary tract infections, finding any antibiotic susceptibility and preventing the use of ineffective or excessive antibiotics—a practice that can cause the creation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
“Astek’s mission to create better diagnostics equipment could not only support patients, allowing them to get the best medication for their infections faster, but also help to alleviate the growing number of antibiotic resistances,” said Teddy Gresser, director of TEDCO’s Seed Funds. “This innovative thinking is a great example of the companies TEDCO’s Seed Funds look to potentially invest in.”
TEDCO’s Seed Funds, invest in early-stage technology companies that show promise of becoming venture fundable companies or are companies that, through a seed investment, will be sustainable through customer revenue, follow-on funding or other forms of corporate venture.
Astek is a long-standing TEDCO portfolio company, having received funding from TEDCO’s Pre-Seed Builder Fund, Life Science Investment Fund, Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII), and successfully participated in TEDCO’s SBIR/STTR Proposal Lab.
For more information on funding from TEDCO, visit https://www.tedcomd.com/funding.