Bath-based InnotiveDx has won a £1m grant to advance its rapid UTI test, delivering results in under 60 minutes.
The funding from PACE (Pathways to Antimicrobial Clinical Efficacy) will support development of the InnotiveUTI test, which provides bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (checking which antibiotics will work) at the point of care. This tackles empiric prescribing, where antibiotics are given based on symptoms rather than confirmed results.
UTIs affect hundreds of millions globally each year and account for more than 20 per cent of antibiotic prescriptions, contributing to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), where bacteria evolve to resist antibiotics. This drives unplanned hospital admissions costing healthcare systems billions annually.
The company’s benchtop assay has shown accuracy above 96 per cent in blinded evaluations. InnotiveDx has built fully automated prototypes that can identify bacteria and test which antibiotics will work against them in less than an hour.
The grant will fund accuracy and reliability testing on thousands of clinical specimens before moving into a real-world clinical pilot study.
James Mainwaring, chief commercial and operating officer, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this £1m PACE grant; it is a tremendous validation of our technology, vision and all the hard work our team has put in since spinout. AMR is one of the most pressing challenges humanity faces and we are looking forward to tackling this problem with like-minded individuals from PACE and the wider portfolio of companies.”
Dr Beverley Isherwood, PACE programme director, said: “Congratulations to Innotive Diagnostics! We are delighted to welcome them into the PACE portfolio after a highly competitive diagnostics funding call.”
PACE will support InnotiveDx advance InnotiveUTI using a collaborative approach, helping them generate the essential validation data required to position their project for onward development, funding and investment.”
PACE is a public-private initiative between Innovate UK, LifeArc and Medicines Discovery Catapult, targeting early-stage antimicrobial drug and diagnostic discovery. The programme selects and invests in projects addressing infections with the highest AMR burden.
InnotiveDx is a privately owned in-vitro diagnostics company developing its system to diagnose UTIs and provide comprehensive bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility results where currently no point-of-care options exist.
