Readily Diagnostics Gets Gates Foundation Grant for STI Testing

Readily Diagnostics, a Swedish innovator in point-of-care medical testing, has secured a significant grant of approximately €811,000 (9 million SEK) from the Gates Foundation. This crucial funding is earmarked for the development of an accessible and affordable diagnostic solution targeting prevalent sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The grant will fuel early-stage research and feasibility studies for a novel point-of-care test. This initiative aims to cover key infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis. A core focus will be on streamlining sample preparation, integrating antimicrobial resistance detection capabilities, and formulating a comprehensive product development strategy. This aligns with the broader global health objective of combating infectious diseases in resource-constrained settings.

Liza Löf, CEO of Readily Diagnostics, emphasized the company's mission: "Our commitment is to democratize molecular diagnostics. Access to accurate testing shouldn't be dictated by geographic location." She added, "This support from the Gates Foundation empowers us to demonstrate that a precise STI diagnostic can be both user-friendly and economically viable for widespread deployment, embodying the core of our technological advancements."

This development occurs within a dynamic European funding environment for decentralized and rapid diagnostic startups. Recent comparable investments include En Carta Diagnostics' €5 million for at-home STI and Lyme disease tests, Intu Diagnostics' €1.1 million for a lab-free molecular platform, and ShanX Medtech's €24 million for rapid antimicrobial susceptibility diagnostics. Additionally, NanoStruct raised €2.6 million for bacterial detection, and Eyedentity secured €1.3 million for its AI-driven diagnostics in Sweden.

Founded in 2022 and emerging from Uppsala University, Readily Diagnostics specializes in rapid, sensitive, and specific infectious disease testing. The current project targets three infections responsible for hundreds of millions of new cases annually. The company highlights that in many low- and middle-income countries, treatment often relies on symptom observation due to the unavailability, cost, or slow turnaround of accurate testing. This can lead to undiagnosed infections, inappropriate antibiotic use, and continued disease transmission, exacerbating the threat of antimicrobial resistance.

Readily Diagnostics is developing a point-of-care platform designed to deliver molecular diagnostic results directly at the patient's location, bypassing the need for central laboratories. Leveraging the company's established padlock-probe technology, previously applied to respiratory infections, the new system will be adapted for STI detection. The test is engineered for direct use with patient samples and is priced for primary care, family planning, and HIV-prevention services, areas where diagnostic access is often limited. Crucially, the platform will also identify genetic markers for antibiotic resistance in gonorrhea, a pathogen identified by the World Health Organization as an urgent threat.

The ability to ascertain antibiotic resistance prior to treatment is vital for clinicians to select the most effective therapy for individual patients and to preserve the efficacy of existing antibiotics. In line with the Gates Foundation's global access principles, the project is designed from its inception to ensure the resulting product is both affordable and broadly accessible worldwide, addressing a critical gap in global public health infrastructure.