NIHR and the Office for Life Sciences (OLS) have funded seven new research projects aimed at bringing new technologies into the NHS to benefit patients, which includes BIVDA member, Genedrive.
The funding will enable the gathering of real world evidence for their products, which will help to accelerate adoption of these technologies. All of those selected have been recommended for early use in the NHS through NICE’s Early Value Assessment.
Genedrive’s MT-RNR1 ID kit, which has received £500k in funding, detects a genetic variant in critically ill babies that causes permanent hearing loss if given the antibiotic gentamicin. This affects one in 500 babies. The test provides results in just 26 minutes, allowing for an alternative antibiotic to be administered within the ‘golden hour’.
In the last year, the test has been implemented into routine clinical practice at all eight Greater Manchester neonatal units, with funding from Health Innovation Manchester (HInM). So far, the test has prevented the hearing loss of 11 babies at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and across Greater Manchester, with 4,000 babies tested to October 2024.
