Identifying UTI pathogens to target antibiotic treatment: Llusern Scientific, UK

Llusern Scientific is a medtech company from Wales, UK and was formed in 2020. It specialises in rapid molecular diagnostic tests. Llusern (formerly known as 123 USW) won seed funding from the Longitude Prize on AMR in 2016 for its molecular diagnostic testing platform Lodestar DX.

“Because of the Longitude Prize, we were able to develop a urinary tract infection test and it’s because of that initial help and the Discovery Award that we received from them, we were very clear what we were trying to achieve.” – Dr. Jeroen Nieuwland, Co-Founder of Llusern Scientific.

The Lodestar DX is a molecular diagnostic testing platform technology for the diagnosis of urinary tract infections at the point-of-care.  The test aims to provide information to allow tailored treatment decisions and avoid unnecessary and inappropriate use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.

Llusern Scientific’s vision is to make low-cost, point-of-care molecular diagnostics that are comparable in their accuracy to lab-based testing and that are available to all at the point of need. 

“Our vision is no one should die from a treatable disease, we really want to lead the way for being a purpose driven company in diagnostics.” – Dr. Emma Hayhurst, Chief Executive Llusern Scientific.

Speakers in this video from the Llusern Scientific team:

Dr Emma Hayhurst Co-founder & CEO, Llusern Scientific

Dr Jeroen Nieuwland Co-founder & CSO, Llusern Scientific