2024 Antimicrobial Resistance Innovators

Stuart Hannah
Chief Executive Officer

Microplate Dx, an agile diagnostics company based in Glasgow UK, originally as a spinout proposition from the University of Strathclyde. Microplate Dx specialises in developing a platform technology for rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) of bacterial and fungal infections.

To tackle antimicrobial resistance and improve stewardship, Microplate Dx has developed an antibiotic susceptibility test ‘Rplate’™ with the potential to measure any patient sample type and provide a personalised summary output of which antibiotic to use with bacterial or fungal infections. Microplate Dx specialises in rapid in vitro diagnostic tests, enabling clinicians at the point of care (POC), to rapidly select the optimum antibiotic from a broad panel to treat a patient’s infection in under 1 hour, benefitting doctors and patients.

Since March 2022, Microplate Dx has secured over £3M in private equity and grants, developed two robust patents, conducted pre-clinical studies with UK and European healthcare partners and won two OBN Awards and the Barclays UK ‘Startup Award’ in 2023.

The Netherlands-based leading global provider of Sample to Insight solutions that enable customers to gain valuable molecular insights from samples containing the building blocks of life. They specialise in isolating and processing DNA, RNA, and proteins from various samples. Their assay technologies prepare these biomolecules for analysis, while bioinformatics software interprets data for actionable insights. Automation solutions integrate these components into cost-effective, efficient workflows, providing valuable molecular information.

QIAstat-Dx Plus AMR Panels enable fully automated molecular assays, detecting multiple pathogens and AMR genetic determinants in just one hour. With less than two minutes of hands-on time and a seamless sample-to-result workflow, QIAstat systems prioritize ease of use. QIAGEN aims to be a pivotal player in combating AMR, offering rapid and accurate diagnostics for swift and effective treatment.

QIAGEN serves over 500,000 customers globally in Molecular Diagnostics, Applied Testing, Pharma, and Academia, including numerous Nobel Prize winners. As of September 30, 2023, the company employed over 6,000 people across 35+ locations worldwide, contributing to scientific breakthroughs and enhancing life.

Nadia Aelbrecht
Head of Franchise, Syndromic Testing

Dr Patrick Druggan
Chief Scientific Officer

Motivated by personal experience, Simed Global was formed to develop instant diagnostic devices for the early detection of population diseases.

The vision is to empower DiagnostiCX & screening with portable, user-friendly devices capable of delivering rapid and accurate results, ensuring timely interventions, saving costs and ultimately saving lives.

The CX device enables clinicians to conduct patient tests with a straightforward saliva swab, delivering results within just 60 seconds. Employing highly sensitive detection methods and artificial intelligence, the platform system can detect as low as 55 viral particles in 200 µL of saliva, equivalent to 275 viral particles per mL. This point-of-care test boasts a 100% sensitivity and 98% specificity.

iFast is a spinout from the University of Southampton, their system enables hospital labs to conduct antimicrobial susceptibility testing more quickly with less labour and higher throughput than currently available, without disturbing their workflow.

It enables clinicians to receive full AST results in three hours from a blood culture bottle, compared with 48 hours, without any significant cost premium. One system can process 25 samples per day. It works by measuring the electrical properties of 5,000 individual bacteria and comparing samples exposed to antibiotics with control samples that have not. This unique approach means fewer bacteria are needed than conventional approaches and results can be obtained much earlier.

iFAST secured a pre-seed at the start of 2023 and successfully validated its technology through three hospital evaluations. The company is progressing toward launching its product by the end of 2024 into the UK market, targeting a £1 billion market opportunity and presenting a groundbreaking solution to address an unmet need.

Toby King
Chief Executive Officer

An in vitro diagnostics company addressing the large percentage of antibiotics prescribed for community-acquired acute respiratory infections (CA-ARTI). Their Amplified Lateral Flow (ALF) at-home and point-of-care Respiratory Multiplex test and Bacterial/Viral Differentiation test aims to improve CA-ARTI and Viral vs. Bacterial diagnosis at the point of care, thereby reducing the misuse and over-prescription of antibiotics globally.

Studies have demonstrated that community-acquired acute respiratory infections (CA-ARTI) account for a disproportionately large percentage of antibiotic prescriptions. This is despite most of the cases being viral in origin. Senzo aims to address this problem by improving CA-ARTI and Viral vs. Bacterial diagnosis at the point of care, thereby reducing the misuse and over-prescription of antibiotics globally.

This breakthrough technology is targeting the world’s most urgent medical challenges where earlier and more prevalent diagnoses can make the biggest impact.

A Dublin-based clinical developer of a rapid bedside test for bloodstream infections, commonly associated with Sepsis – which kills more than 11 million people around the World every year. While many of these lives could be saved through earlier intervention with effective antibiotics.

Novus Diagnostics clinical diagnostics technology test, Septec, can diagnose if an infection is present, and classify the causative pathogen within 15 minutes. Rapid diagnosis and early treatment are crucial in preventing many sepsis-related deaths. The current gold standard, blood culture, takes 1-5 days for results, causing a delay in initiating effective antimicrobial therapy. Clinical guidelines recommend starting treatment within 1 hour of suspicion, well before blood culture results are available. Clinicians often resort to broad-spectrum empiric antibiotics, which are suboptimal in over 30% of cases. Septec enables the physician to immediately prescribe a more targeted treatment regime for each individual patient –leading to better patient outcomes, reducing the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics and, ultimately, saving lives.

Keith O’Neill
Chief Executive Officer