Cambridge-Based Couple's Startup 52North Develops At-Home Neutrophil Monitoring Platform to Save NHS £70 Million Annually

Although chemotherapy is a critical modality in cancer treatment, chemotherapeutic agents not only kill tumor cells but also suppress the patient’s immune system. If an infection occurs during this period, even if initial symptoms are mild, the condition may progress rapidly to severe complications such as sepsis and septic shock, thereby posing a life-threatening risk.

Neutropenic Sepsis (NS) is the most lethal side effect of chemotherapy, with a high mortality rate.According to reports in JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) and Intensive Care Medicine, sepsis and septic shock affect millions of people worldwide each year, with one-sixth to one-third of these individuals dying as a result. Given this risk, chemotherapy patients who exhibit even mild signs of infection while outside the hospital are referred directly to the emergency department.

Currently, blood cell count analysis is typically performed on large-scale laboratory equipment within hospitals, with no rapid testing solutions available for out-of-hospital settings. The Neutrocheck device, developed by 52North, enables out-of-hospital detection of neutrophils, helping patients quickly identify neutropenic sepsis (NS). Leveraging its pioneering home-testing technology, 52North was named a Life Sciences Innovator by the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) in 2023.

52North, named after the GPS coordinates of Cambridge (52°N), was co-founded in 2018 by the husband-and-wife team Umaima Ahmad and Saif Ahmad, and is headquartered in Cambridgeshire, UK.

Umaima holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from King’s College London and a Master’s degree in Entrepreneurship in Biological Sciences from the University of Cambridge. Prior to founding 52North, Umaima accumulated nearly a decade of experience in business development and legal affairs. She participated in the negotiation of multiple major mergers and acquisitions and licensing deals valued in the billions of dollars, spanning various pharmaceutical sectors. Saif holds a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from the University of Cambridge and is an oncologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

The idea for founding 52North by the Ahmads originated in 2017. At that time, Umaima Ahmad was pursuing a Master’s degree in Entrepreneurship in Bioscience at the University of Cambridge. She asked her husband, Saif Ahmad, to identify problems he encountered in hospital settings to develop a business plan. They proposed the Neutrocheck project, targeting neutropenic sepsis faced by chemotherapy patients.

The business plan was shortlisted for the finals of the 2018 Postdoctoral Business Plan Competition (now the Chris Abell Postdoctoral Business Plan Competition), ultimately winning the Second Prize and a £10,000 award.

Winning an award in the competition marked the beginning of this couple’s entrepreneurial journey. It seemed like a stroke of luck, yet also as if destined by fate.

Founders Umaima Ahmad and Saif Ahmad. Image source: 52North official website

In addition to the Ahmads, 52North’s core team comprises experts from multidisciplinary fields, including Dr. Mireia Crispin, a data scientist and assistant professor at the University of Cambridge (Chief Digital Officer), and Dr. Nicole Weckman, a biosensor engineer at Harvard University (Technical Advisor).

52North Team Photo | Source: 52North Official Website

In early 2023, 52North appointed Professor Leszek Borysiewicz, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and current Chair of Cancer Research UK, as its Non-Executive Director.

Due to the significant risks neutropenic sepsis (NS) poses to chemotherapy patients, guidelines mandate that they proceed directly to the emergency department for comprehensive blood tests upon exhibiting even mild signs of infection outside the hospital setting. While awaiting blood test results, patients receive intravenous antibiotics as a precautionary measure.

However, approximately half of the patients did not receive antibiotic therapy within the recommended timeframe, thereby endangering their lives. Among these hospitalized patients, nearly half were subsequently confirmed to have normal neutrophil counts, indicating that neither hospitalization nor prophylactic antibiotics were necessary.

For chemotherapy patients, this treatment approach is stressful, costly, and fraught with risks; for healthcare institutions, it also consumes significant time and resources.

To address these pain points, 52North developed Neutrocheck as a solution.

Neutrocheck is a home blood collection device that includes a small portable unit and a digital platform. It is also a fully integrated system based on clinical practice, artificial intelligence, and medical devices. By performing fingerstick blood sampling, it assesses patients’ risk at home, typically providing a “risk flag” result within minutes. It not only helps patients quickly identify their risk of developing neutropenia (NS), but also assists clinicians in accurately stratifying patients.

Through the Neutrocheck test, patients can assess their risk of neutropenic sepsis (NS) at home. Those who test positive for NS can immediately seek emergency medical care and receive priority treatment in hospitals. Neutrocheck also helps avoid unnecessary alarm; patients without a risk of NS do not need to visit the emergency department or take prophylactic antibiotics. Instead, they can simply remain at home or undergo follow-up examinations at community healthcare facilities.

Neutrocheck Appearance. Image source: University of Cambridge official website

Neutrocheck’s primary customer is currently the NHS. It not only alleviates the psychological and financial burden on emergency department patients, but also reduces the strain on the NHS and optimizes the allocation of emergency care resources.

“Neutrocheck can save them £70 million annually, and by identifying at-risk patients earlier, we can save 400 lives each year. Currently, 100,000 chemotherapy patients seek medical attention annually due to malaise; we can prevent half of the sepsis misdiagnoses among them,” said Umaima.

52North has been securing funding in stages since early 2022, raising a total of £3.4 million (approximately RMB 29 million) to date. Investors include SBRI Healthcare, MedTech Innovator, and Innovate UK. 52North aims to leverage these funds to advance Neutrocheck from a laboratory concept toward gradual commercialization.

By the end of 2022, 52North had begun manufacturing 10,000 Neutrocheck devices for use in Phase I clinical trials scheduled for 2023. These trials will be conducted at Cambridge University Hospitals and involve approximately 250 patients. In addition to validating the safety and efficacy of Neutrocheck, 52North is developing a digital platform to support the device, enabling patients to operate it via a mobile application.

52North stated that these clinical trial results will advance the process of obtaining EU CE certification for Neutrocheck, which may achieve the transition from clinical trials and regulatory approval to commercialization in 2024., benefiting more cancer patients.Furthermore, they will develop distributors in markets outside the UK, allowing them to focus on developing the next device.

Regarding 52North’s future plans, Umaima stated that they have not yet determined their next R&D focus. However, they can begin by optimizing Neutrocheck’s digital platform to enable the implementation of out-of-hospital testing for neutrophils and other blood cells, thereby reducing the workload in emergency departments and alleviating pressure on the NHS. In addition, 52North is also considering markets beyond chemotherapy; the detection of bacteria associated with urinary tract infections and the development of products related to rheumatoid arthritis are areas of interest to them, though this will be a long and arduous process.