NomadX Holdings LLC (“NomadX Holdings”), a private company pioneering new technologies for biological and chemical detection, announced today that it has commenced operations to commercialize a portfolio of innovative products that will enable faster, more accurate portable testing in food, water, and air safety, as well as human healthcare, applications.
NomadX Holdings, which is an acronym for Nano-Molecular Automated Diagnostics, was founded by Wilson Chatterji Ventures (“WCV”) and catalyzed through the asset purchase agreement of RamanID, Inc., founded by Ms. Reem Mahrat, earlier this year. The transaction was facilitated by law firm Foley & Lardner. WCV co-founder and life sciences and med-tech investor and expert, Anjan Chatterji, JD, MBA, LLM, will serve as Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of NomadX. Chris Wilson, WCV partner and a 30-year senior partner of a multi-billion-dollar hedge fund, has been appointed Chairman of the NomadX Board. Rounding out the NomadX senior leadership team are a group of experienced industry executives who will operate from the company’s offices in New York City, New Delhi, India, and Boise, Idaho. They include:
- Dakota Robinson (Chief Financial Officer): Mr. Robinson is a financial restructuring expert and U.S. Army veteran and West Point graduate with nearly a decade of relevant experience.
- Jennifer Williams (Chief Operating Officer): Ms. Williams is a marketing and organizational expert with a long legacy in healthcare-focused hedge funds in New York.
- Lyle Probst, MBA (President, North America): Mr. Probst holds 20+ years of experience within operations and product development and engineering in the diagnostic and related biodefense industries.
- Rupesh Chaturvedi, Ph.D. (Scientific Advisor): Dr. Chaturvedi is a 20-year, tenured professor at India’s prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University within its School of Biotechnology with experience in identifying and developing biomedical and life sciences solutions.
- Ishan Barman, Ph.D. (Scientific Advisor): Dr. Barman is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University with 15+ years of experience within biomedical imaging, engineering, and entrepreneurialism.
At the core of the NomadX cartridge-enhanced SERS (Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering) platform is a patented surface coating that is applied to silicon chips using metallic nanoparticles. The novel technology significantly enhances the electromagnetic and chemical spectral scattering signal of molecules within a sample to create a multi-plex platform. Internal validation studies have demonstrated that these enhancements allow the detection and quantification of a wide range of analytes at single-molecule detection levels. Further studies have shown that the NomadX platform is as fast and simple to use as an ATP-based test, with results that can exceed the sensitivity, specificity, and speed (1-2-minute results) of traditional PCR testing.
“We are pleased to announce the launch of NomadX Holdings, the natural selection in the evolution of food safety and human healthcare. The COVID pandemic saw a dramatic rise in the use of testing and created a positive perception of its value in the public.
Despite the rapid introduction of tests during this time, it was also clear that very little innovation has taken place in portable, rapid testing over the last 20 years. We also saw the potential for contamination and the testing industry pushed past its limits. This led us to look at ways to disrupt this market and to the founding of NomadX Holdings,” said Chatterji. “NomadX aims to commercialize a new generation of powerful detection systems that will enable anyone to perform accurate, rapid, and cost-effective environmental and biological testing. This is not just a step forward, it’s the true allowance of natural selection to advance the evolution of much needed preemptive and offensive technologies and applied applications that enable a safer, healthier future for us all.
The first commercial application of the NomadX platform will enable on-site testing for the food safety and public water utilities industries. Foodborne illness, alone, is a preventable public health challenge and multi-billion-dollar burden. The World Health Organization (“WHO”) estimated in 2022 that 600 million – almost 1 in 10 people in the world – fall ill after eating contaminated food and 420,000 die every year, resulting in the loss of 33 million healthy life years. The WHO also estimates 1.7 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with feces. Further, peer-reviewed studies have shown that approximately 80% of diseases and 50% of child deaths worldwide are related to poor water quality.
The NomadX platform utilizes label- and label-free testing, on a portable proprietary device, and can detect trace amounts of contaminants, including, but not limited to Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, PFAS, as well as clinical biomarkers, viruses, and other clinical applications using multi-plex technology on a single chip. With a minute or less of sample prep, rapid testing can be done at a very low cost on food, its packaging, and preparation surfaces, and can also be used for the automated detection of contaminants in water, air, and in vitro. The cartridge and sample, after testing, can be retained for confirmatory testing, as the NomadX protocol is non-destructive to the sample. Further, spectral data are analyzed with the NomadX data library and AI-based algorithm to produce results instantly for defined pathogen signatures, as well as those that have corollary signatures that have not yet been defined. The NomadX platform pipeline will expand to include early detection in the field of oncology and rare diseases, as well as potential therapeutics for companion diagnostics.
About NomadX Holdings
NomadX Holdings LLC, is pioneering new technologies for biological and chemical detection that include innovative products that will enable faster, more accurate testing in food, water, and air safety as well as human healthcare, applications. For more information about NomadX and its mission to become the natural selection in the evolution of diagnostics, please visit www.nomadxholdings.com.