Predicting the next superbug, from a lab in Louisiana

The WHO has a sobering forecast: by 2050, antibiotic resistance could be one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Most diagnostic approaches react to resistance after it appears. A New Orleans company is taking a different angle.

Informuta, co-founded by Kalen Hall, is building a diagnostic that combines DNA sequencing with AI to predict how bacteria will evolve, not just how they’re behaving today. The goal is to get ahead of treatment failure in the sickest patients, before the first dose of the wrong antibiotic gets prescribed.

What’s interesting is where this is happening. Hall is unambiguous that Louisiana’s culture, the willingness of people here to help each other, has shaped how her team operates. Innovation in New Orleans tends to wear that signature.