How Claryx Uses Genomics to Help Infection Prevention Teams Find Outbreaks Faster

Health care-associated infections (HAIs) remain one of health care's most persistent challenges. Although infection prevention teams have significantly reduced many device-associated infections over the past decade, outbreaks that span multiple units or originate from environmental reservoirs can remain undetected until they have already spread.

New York-based startup Claryx is aiming to change that.

The company officially emerged from stealth this week after announcing $3.5 million in preseed funding led by Outlander VC and introducing its genomic intelligence platform designed to help hospitals identify transmission events earlier and trace infections back to their likely source.

Rather than relying solely on traditional surveillance methods that identify outbreaks after case counts increase, Claryx analyzes the genomes of confirmed patient infections and compares them with genomic data collected from a hospital's environment, including air, water, and surfaces. The goal is to help infection prevention teams recognize transmission chains before they become large outbreaks.

The company describes the approach as "building the hospital immune system," allowing infection preventionists to identify where transmission is occurring and intervene sooner.

The need remains substantial. According to the CDC, approximately one in 38 hospitalized patients develops a HAI, contributing to an estimated 518,000 HAIs and roughly 72,000 inpatient deaths annually. These infections also carry an estimated annual economic burden of $28 billion to $45 billion.

One challenge, according to Claryx, is that conventional surveillance often detects outbreaks only after infection counts exceed expected baselines within individual units. Smaller transmission chains spread across multiple wards may never trigger those alerts, allowing outbreaks to continue unnoticed.

The company's platform builds on findings from an independent, peer-reviewed study, Real-Time Genomic Surveillance for Enhanced Healthcare Outbreak Detection and Control: Clinical and Economic Impact, led by Alexander J Sundermann, DrPH, CIC, FAPIC, conducted at UPMC Presbyterian and published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. During 2 years of real-time genomic surveillance, investigators identified 172 outbreaks that traditional surveillance had missed, involving 476 patients. Researchers identified transmission routes in 114 outbreaks, and 96% showed no further transmission after intervention. The study estimated that 62 infections and nearly 5 deaths were prevented while generating a 3.2-fold return on investment.

Claryx reports that its platform can process PCR results in approximately 6 hours and genomic sequencing in 72 hours, while continuously monitoring clinical isolates alongside environmental sampling. The system is designed to detect numerous bacterial, viral, fungal, and antimicrobial resistance targets while using clinical isolates that would otherwise be discarded after routine laboratory testing, avoiding the collection of additional patient specimens.

The company was founded in 2025 by brothers Kurt and Dirk Hackenberger after a personal family experience with a health care-associated infection. Their grandmother developed a severe infection following what had been expected to be a routine hospital procedure, an event that ultimately inspired the company's mission to better understand where infections originate.

"We believe preventable infections are a solvable problem," said Kurt Hackenberger, cofounder and CEO of Claryx. "Today, we can tell a hospital where an infection came from. We're building toward a future where it never had to happen in the first place."

For infection prevention professionals, technologies that combine genomic sequencing with environmental surveillance represent a growing area of interest as hospitals continue to explore ways to move from reactive outbreak investigations to earlier detection and targeted intervention. While widespread adoption will ultimately depend on operational feasibility, cost, and real-world performance across diverse health systems, advances in genomic surveillance may offer additional tools to support existing infection prevention programs rather than replace them.