BATH, England — November 26, 2025. Innotive Diagnostics (InnotiveDx) has been awarded a £1 million grant from PACE, one of the UK’s largest public-private initiatives supporting breakthrough antimicrobial technologies. The funding will accelerate development of the company’s rapid point-of-care urinary tract infection (UTI) diagnostic system, enabling extensive validation of its automated prototype platforms before advancing into real-world clinical pilot studies. The grant represents a major endorsement of InnotiveDx’s vision to deliver accurate bacterial identification (ID) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) within 60 minutes, addressing a critical global need in both infectious-disease diagnostics and antimicrobial stewardship.
Science Significance
InnotiveDx’s technology is built around a high-precision diagnostic engine capable of delivering bacterial ID and AST results with over 96% accuracy in blinded benchtop evaluations. Unlike standard microbiology workflows that require 24–72 hours, this system offers results at the point of care in under one hour, representing a transformative advance in UTI diagnostics. Speed and accuracy are crucial, as UTIs account for hundreds of millions of infections annually, contributing substantially to inappropriate antibiotic use. By enabling clinicians to rapidly determine pathogen identity and drug susceptibility, this system supports evidence-based therapy decisions, reduces empirical prescribing, and strengthens frontline responses to antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Regulatory Significance
The PACE-funded validation phase will generate the large-scale analytical and clinical performance datasets necessary for future regulatory submissions in the UK and internationally. Thousands of clinical specimens will be tested under controlled conditions to assess accuracy, repeatability, reliability, and robustness, all of which are essential components of IVD regulatory standards. As the system transitions from benchtop evaluation to clinical environments, InnotiveDx will be required to align with IVDR (In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation) principles, quality-system requirements, and strict verification and validation protocols. The grant ensures the company can meet these regulatory expectations, positioning the technology for successful market entry once clinical pilots are complete.
Business Significance
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Winning a highly competitive £1 million PACE award is a major commercial milestone for InnotiveDx, significantly enhancing its credibility within the diagnostics and AMR innovation ecosystem. This funding supports the company’s next stage of product maturation, bridging the gap between prototype success and real-world deployment. As rapid AST technologies emerge as a central priority in global antimicrobial stewardship efforts, InnotiveDx is strongly positioned for future partnerships, investment rounds, and potential commercialization pathways. The scalability of an automated UTI diagnostic system with such high accuracy could offer a competitive edge in a growing market seeking fast, reliable, and decentralized diagnostic tools.
Patients’ Significance
UTIs remain one of the most common bacterial infections worldwide, responsible for significant discomfort, recurrent complications, and millions of healthcare visits annually. Current diagnostic delays often lead to empiric overprescribing of broad-spectrum antibiotics, contributing to treatment failure, resistance, and avoidable hospitalizations. A rapid point-of-care diagnostic capable of delivering precise bacterial ID and AST in under 60 minutes can transform patient outcomes by ensuring timely, targeted treatment. This reduces unnecessary antibiotic exposure, supports faster symptom resolution, and improves care for vulnerable groups—including older adults, women, and individuals with recurrent infections.
Policy Significance
The InnotiveDx-PACE partnership aligns directly with national and global health-policy priorities aimed at combating antimicrobial resistance, a threat recognized by WHO, NHS strategies, and major public-private initiatives. With UTIs driving more than 20% of all antibiotic prescriptions, the ability to accurately diagnose and guide therapy at the point of care has major implications for antibiotic stewardship programs, health-system efficiency, and cost containment. The initiative also reflects policy momentum toward decentralized diagnostics, reducing diagnostic bottlenecks and improving access to precision testing in both primary and urgent-care settings. The project positions the UK as a leader in supporting innovative diagnostic technologies aimed at reducing AMR burden.
InnotiveDx’s £1 million award from PACE marks a pivotal step in bringing a next-generation UTI diagnostic platform closer to clinical adoption. By combining rapid turnaround times, AST capability, and robust automation, the InnotiveUTI system has the potential to reshape infection management and strengthen the global response to AMR. As the company advances toward large-scale validation and real-world clinical pilot studies, this technology stands poised to offer clinicians, patients, and policymakers an urgently needed tool to improve diagnostic accuracy, guide appropriate antimicrobial use, and reduce the escalating burden of UTI-related resistance worldwide.
Source: INNOTIVE DIAGNOSTICS LIMITED press release
