Pearl Diagnostics, Inc

Employee Size

2-10

Organization Type

Privately Held

Headquarters

Baltimore, MD

Founded

2014

Born from a Johns Hopkins University spinout founded in 2014, Pearl Diagnostics develops in vitro diagnostic assays that help clinicians detect lung infections through microbial extracellular vesicles. The Baltimore company’s MycoMEIA Aspergillus Assay is its signature achievement: a non-invasive urine test that delivers results in about three hours and received FDA 510(k) clearance in 2025. Pearl Diagnostics is woman-owned and operates under an ISO 13485 quality system.

• Prompt DiagnosticsBaltimore-based Prompt Diagnostics develops portable molecular diagnostic platforms that bring laboratory-quality PCR testing to the point of care, with results in under 20 minutes. Co-founded by biomedical engineer Alex Trick and Johns Hopkins professor Tza-Huei (Jeff) Wang, the company built its platform around magnetofluidic cartridge technology invented during Trick’s doctoral research. Prompt is applying that technology to infectious-disease testing, including work on HIV, syphilis, and drug-resistant gonorrhea in low-resource settings.BALTIMORE, MD
• AD
  Astek DiagnosticsFounded by Mustafa Al-Adhami after his grandfather’s painful UTI experience, Baltimore-based Astek Diagnostics develops the JIDDU medical diagnostic platform to confirm bacterial infections and indicate antibiotic sensitivity in about one hour. Its current focus is rapid UTI testing, with the company expanding the platform toward cerebrospinal fluid, wound effluent, and blood applications. A multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs has taken the technology from a whiteboard sketch to a functional, independently validated alpha product.HALETHORPE, MD
• ScreenHERFounded by Purdue-trained mechanical engineer and medtech commercialization leader Jennifer Estep, ScreenHER is a women’s health diagnostics company focused on making earlier cervical cancer detection more accessible. Its first platform application, UriCerve™, is being developed for rapid, non-invasive use at the point of care so clinicians can make decisions during the same visit. UriCerve™ remains under development and is not approved for clinical use.
• Novel Microdevices, IncBaltimore-based Novel Microdevices develops portable, sample-to-answer molecular diagnostic systems built around disposable microfluidic cartridges. Its battery-powered Novel Dx platform is designed to deliver lab-quality PCR results in about 15 minutes, including testing for respiratory infections and other diseases at the point of care. The company is establishing a GMP-compliant pilot manufacturing facility at its Baltimore headquarters to scale cartridge production.BALTIMORE, MD