Pattern Bioscience CEO Carey-Ann Burnham, PhD is the featured guest of the Illumina Ventures Spotlight Series for May. Pattern was created with intent to meet a desperate need; quickly determine appropriate antibiotic treatments for patients with serious bacterial infections. Getting prompt, appropriate treatment in this setting can mean the difference between life and death. The solution, Pattern’s single-cell microbiology technology, delivers pathogen identification and antibiotic susceptibility test results together within hours. In this 3-minute read Dr. Burnham discusses how this technology will impact patients and its potential to reduce healthcare costs.


What is your origin story? How was Pattern Bioscience created?


Carey-Ann Burnham:

The idea of Pattern came out of the realization from our founders that laboratory testing to support one of the most important health care decisions, the correct antimicrobial to use in the setting of infections, takes days with the current standard of care. Our founders had been working on molecular diagnostics and came to understand that detecting resistance genes can determine what you cannot use to treat infections. But you're still left with an open question, ‘what can you use?’ Knowing what you can use requires a phenotypic approach to susceptibility testing. Our founders were very motivated to do this—but ten times faster than the current standard of care. When the opportunity came along for me to join Pattern, I couldn’t pass it up! I was too excited to join the team that will change the way microbiology is practiced. I joined Pattern about 3 years ago, initially to lead the clinical and regulatory teams, and to help us prepare to execute our clinical trials. I have now moved into the CEO role, and I’m pleased to lead the team on a bold mission to change the way microbiology is practiced.


What type of impact do you believe Pattern will have on healthcare?


Carey-Ann Burnham:

I think Pattern will impact both individual patients and the healthcare system as a whole. For patients who are critically ill or in the hospital setting, Pattern will provide an answer allowing the second dose of antimicrobials to be optimized, targeted therapy. This is great in terms of getting people effective treatment, as well as the equally important consideration of getting people off antibiotics they don't need. Antibiotics can come with side effects and toxicity, including factors such as microbiome disruptions and other long-term effects. Getting the correct therapy and minimizing unnecessary antibiotic exposure are both important. Patients who are treated inappropriately have longer hospital stays and less favorable clinical outcomes. The long wait for the current standard diagnostics means that patients stay in the hospital longer. That adds to the cost of health care, but it also leads to increased risk for other side effects such as hospital associated infections. Altogether, better individualized treatment, more personalized treatment for infections, and enabling healthcare systems to treat patients more effectively and quicker, really benefits everyone.


How does Pattern stand out from the competition? In other words, what is your superpower?


Carey-Ann Burnham:

A unique aspect about Pattern is that when the company was founded, it was centered around a really important clinical question, how can we get patients with infection on the correct treatment as quickly as possible? The team worked to define the most ideal product to address this mission and then built a product that met that definition. The team was always working with the end in mind. We've designed a platform that is very compact and fits well in laboratories where space is at a premium. We've designed a workflow that is user friendly, and we focused on delivering the output that physicians need most to care for their patients, a phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility result. Beginning with the end in mind, we built our product to be extremely customer focused, and patient focused. I believe this is one of our superpowers.


What type of opportunities are available by being part of the Illumina Ventures portfolio?


Carey-Ann Burnham:

Being part of the Illumina Ventures portfolio has been absolutely terrific both for Pattern as a company and for me as an individual. The folks from Illumina Ventures, some of whom are part of our board, are true partners. They have deep expertise and help us think through hard decisions, both for our product and for our business. They help challenge and push me as a CEO and our company to be strategic and deliver the most value from our product. In addition, they do an excellent job of making connections. For example, right now we're actively fundraising, so they’re connecting us with partners in that space. They also connect us with other experts, such as those with deep expertise in navigating the regulatory landscape or reimbursement. Finally, the support of connecting us with other CEOs and other startups who might be going through similar struggles helps build a sense of community.