At a time when antimicrobial resistance is forecasted to cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050, the Longitude Prize's seed funding programme aims to drive much-needed innovation in the development of a game-changing, point-of-care diagnostic. 

We are pleased to announce the third round of Discovery Award seed funding, in which four teams from India will receive awards between £10,000 and £25,000, drawing on a grant from BIRAC, the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council in India.

Teams are at various stages in development of their tests to diagnose urinary tract infections and sepsis. 

From ultra sensitive magnetic biosensors to detect bacteria in the blood stream to a rapid card test for endotoxin detection at the bedside of patients, these teams aim to use their funding to work towards prototype development and validation.

Dr Renu Swarup, Senior Adviser, DBT and Managing Director, BIRAC comments: "Drug-resistant bacteria are a serious threat to millions of people in India and around the world. This is why BIRAC is supporting the Longitude Prize Discovery Awards to help further already promising research into the crucial development of a rapid diagnostic test to identify whether antibiotics are needed. Indian start-ups can be part of a global solution.”

Applications were submitted between July and September 2017 and the panel met in late October to decide the winners.

Browse the winners:

cAST

IDI Group

NanoDx Healthcare

SpotSense

We have awarded 29 Discovery Awards to date in 2016 and 2017 to teams around the world from countries including: India, Israel, Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, the USA and the UK. Our Round 1 and Round 2 winners have used the funding to support their work including hiring extra research staff, to help fund independent clinical validation and develop technical solutions for the challenges they face in making their diagnostic tests. 

If you are interested in funding awards, please get in touch.