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Jordi Carrera and Rafel Bru, founders of deepull. Image / deepull
 29.04.2025

Deepull Raises €50 Million to Advance UllCORE Bloodstream Infection Test

The medtech company deepull, based at the Barcelona Science Park, has closed a €50 million Series C funding round to continue advancing the development of its UllCORE diagnostic test, which can predict sepsis in hospitalized patients. The round was jointly led by Columbus Venture Partners, Panakès Partners, and Mérieux Equity Partners, and included participation from other existing shareholders such as Asabys Partners, Innvierte-CDTI, We Venture Capital, UI Investissement, Axis-ICO, Aliath Bioventures, Gesamo, CGHealth Ventures i Kurma Partners.

Deepull’s UllCORE Bloodstream Infection (BSI) test received Breakthrough Device Designation (BDD) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at the end of 2024. This is a direct blood test that detects 95% of pathogens associated with bloodstream infections that can lead to sepsis within one hour, as well as certain genetic markers linked to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The PCR-based system extracts and analyzes total microbial DNA from 8 ml of blood in real time, bypassing the traditional blood culture process, which is slower and less accurate.

“This investment marks a crucial step for deepull as we move toward completing the clinical studies for our diagnostic system,” said Jordi Carrera, CEO of deepull. “With this support, we’re positioned to deliver a transformative diagnostic solution to healthcare professionals and patients around the world,” he added.

Sepsis causes or directly contributes to 1 in 3 hospital deaths in the United States, and septic shock carries a global mortality rate of 30–40%. The challenge of identifying bloodstream infections and effectively treating sepsis is well documented, as early diagnosis remains a major hurdle due to the nonspecific and hard-to-detect nature of its symptoms.

“deepull represents everything we look for in an investment: a visionary and proven team, a disruptive solution with clear healthcare impact, and a scalable model with global potential,” said José Mesa, partner at Columbus Venture Partners. “We’re confident that UllCORE can redefine standards of care in emergency rooms and intensive care units worldwide,” he concluded.

“We have been searching for an optimal solution in the sepsis space for a long time, and we are very pleased to support deepull. Their promising UllCORE system has the potential to overcome the significant challenges clinicians face in diagnosing sepsis,” said Alessio Piuma, director at Panakès Partners.

“We identified the company at a very early stage a few years ago, and we were excited by their disruptive technology, which has the potential to radically transform the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis,” said Valérie Calenda, managing partner at Mérieux Equity Partners.

Here’s the translation of that paragraph:

Since its founding in 2020, the company, led by Jordi Carrera (CEO) and Rafel Bru (CTO), has raised over €50 million in public and private funding, not including this new round. The founders are former owners of the startup Stat-Dx, which they sold to the multinational Qiagen in 2018 for €154 million, one of the highest deals ever recorded in the Catalan biotech ecosystem.

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