Startup of the Week: En Carta

  • En Carta develops molecular diagnostic platforms designed for home use: as easy to use as a rapid test, delivering results in 30 minutes with the same accuracy as a lab test.
  • They already hold FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for the early detection of Borrelia, the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease, which reflects both the clinical urgency and the strength of their technology.
  • En Carta’s platform is reprogrammable & evidence-based: one device, multiple diseases, each requiring only a cartridge carrying its own chemistry, which they can develop in about a month. The startup has already published peer-reviewed results on 6 pathogens.

 

Website: https://www.encarta.bio/

 

En-Carta-logo

 

Tell Us About En Carta

 

En Carta was founded in 2022 and is based at Paris Biotech Santé, within Hôpital Cochin. Their mission is straightforward: bring molecular diagnostic precision out of the lab and into people’s hands. In 4 years, they became a clinical phase company with a first in human, they have raised €5M to date and have signed a contract for 2M+ units with the best European distributor. 

Their next phase is focused on certification, industrialisation and commercial launch.

 

Become-Startup-of-the-Week-Banner

Want to be featured as TechRound’s Startup of the Week? Find out more about this weekly feature, and how to get involved, here.

 

What Makes En Carta Unique?

 

The platform, built on proprietary technology, is reprogrammable: they can target a new pathogen by developing a new cartridge in about a month, without touching the hardware. That is a fundamental advantage in a world where new infectious threats emerge constantly.

Then there is the performance: lab-grade molecular accuracy, at home, in 30 minutes, at an affordable price point, a powerful complement to the lab and the clinic.

And finally, En Carta’s go-to-market approach: they are bringing consumer health distribution logic, pharmacies, e-commerce, telemedicine, to a product category that has traditionally lived inside clinical settings. That combination is what sets them apart.

 

Is There A Market For En Carta?

 

Lyme disease is a growing public health challenge, with about a million new cases diagnosed every year across the United States and Europe, and likely more given how significantly the disease is underdiagnosed. Today, patients often have to wait for symptoms to worsen before getting a conclusive diagnosis.

En Carta changes that by enabling early detection of Borrelia, right at the tick bite site, before the disease progresses. But the opportunity goes well beyond Lyme. They are already co-developing a molecular STI test with a commercial partner, and their platform has clear applications in emerging infectious diseases.

The at-home diagnostics market is expanding rapidly, driven by consumer expectations, telemedicine adoption and growing pressure on healthcare systems to decentralise care. The FDA Breakthrough Device Designation they received for the early detection of Borrelia is a recognition of how urgent this need really is.

 

Where Can We Find En Carta?

 

En Carta’s headquarters are at Paris Biotech Santé, within Hôpital Cochin in Paris. Two of their co-founders are based in North America, one at Boston University and one at the University of Toronto, reflecting their transatlantic reach. As for their products, availability through pharmacies, e-commerce and telemedicine platforms will follow regulatory approval. In the meantime, everything starts at www.encarta.bio.