Longitude Prize on AMR
Incentivizing a fast, affordable and easy-to-use point-of-care test to stop “just-in-case” antibiotic prescribing and slow down drug resistance
What was the Longiude Prize on AMR?
The Longitude Prize on AMR was an £8m prize to incentivise the development of novel point-of-care diagnostic tests that rapidly and accurately identify the presence of a bacterial infection and the right antibiotic to prescribe.
The goal was to replace the 2-3 day lab test process that doctors and patients must currently endure, and end “just in case” prescribing that is prevalent as a result which promotes the development of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest challenges of our era and is ripe for innovation. By 2050 it is predicted antibiotic resistant infections will cause 10m deaths annually.
Funders
The £8 million Longitude Prize on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) was funded by Nesta and Innovate UK.
Learn how the winning device works
The PA-100 AST System changes this. Using a tiny urine sample and a smartphone-sized cartridge, it can identify a bacterial infection in just 15 minutes and pinpoint the right antibiotic within 45 minutes.
How the Challenge came to be
In 2014, Challenge Works, which exists to design challenge prizes that help solve pressing problems, initiated a competition for the UK public to decide the focus of the new Longitude Prize. Working with 100s of scientists, academics and others, the following issues were identified:
- Antibiotics – How to prevent the rise of resistance to antibiotics?
- Dementia – How to help people with dementia live independently for longer?
- Flight – How to fly without damaging the environment?
- Food – How to ensure everyone has nutritious sustainable food?
- Paralysis – How to restore movement to those with paralysis?
- Water – How to ensure everyone has access to safe, clean water?
The choice of challenges was presented on BBC Horizon in 2014, with a poll opened to the public afterwards. The winner, Antibiotics, was subsequently announced on The One Show, on BBC One and formally welcomed by then Prime Minister David Cameron.
