The system was tested in a real-life situation and detected traces of Bacillus globigii, which is not dangerous, but is similar to and used to simulate anthrax.

The test took place during five nights in the Prague subway. It was one of the very few full-scale tests of release of infectious biological agents ever performed in Europe. Some ten spores per liter of air were enough for Q-linea’s system to give results. The company is participating in the EU project Twobias, which is developing a two-step alarm system for biologically hazardous agents. Q-linea was in charge of the step of identifying the infectious agent.

“We took samples every eight minutes and identified the infectious agent within 60 minutes, which was the requirement,” says Jonas Jarvius, CEO of Q-linea.

Kenth Henningsson, project engineer at the Swedish Defense Material Administration, has worked with protection against biological weapons for many years. “Anthrax is one of the most hard-to-analyze infectious biological weapons. No other system can simultaneously and continuously analyze large quantities of tests like this. My assessment is that there is a major need for this kind of system in both the US and the UK.”

Q-linea is also developing a system that can determine within a few hours whether you need antibiotics and if so, what kind. When it is launched in three years, it will be an important weapon against the acceleration of antibiotic resistance, because patients will be able to get the right antibiotic much faster than today.

“To serve investors abroad and to get a better overview, we have compiled a Hotlist of 37 of today’s most investable companies in Stockholm and Uppsala. We are currently in contact with 7 investors who will meet companies in the region this spring. Q- linea is an extremely exciting company with a unique technology, and has captured interest from India, the US, and Europe,” says Ylva Hultman Erlandsson, Business Development Manager Life Science, at Stockholm Business Region Development.

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This article was sponsored by Stockholm Business Region.

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