Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding the Government is allocating from the public purse to develop new sepsis diagnostics to determine whether a patient with sepsis has a bacterial or viral infection.
Developing new diagnostics that enable early detection of bacterial or viral infections and drive optimal antimicrobial usage is a priority for this Government. Since 2014, the Government has invested over £360 million in antimicrobial resistance research and development, including funding to support the development of diagnostics for infection.
Investments in early-stage funding for diagnostic research include the £10 million Longitude Prize for a diagnostic tool that can rule out antibiotic use or help identify an effective antibiotic to treat a patient. The National Institute for Health Research Medtech and In Vitro Diagnostic Co-operatives support the development of medical technology and the uptake of commercially supplied in vitro diagnostic devices, including for infection-related tests. The £14.25 million award is for five years until 2022.