Henley Business Angels invests in Astratus to accelerate rapid testing for antimicrobial resistance

Astratus, a University of Reading spin-out accelerating personalised antimicrobial prescribing through rapid testing, has received investment from members of Henley Business Angels (HBA) as part of a £385,000 funding round.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a growing global healthcare challenge, driven by the misuse and overuse of antibiotics. The economic burden of AMR is estimated at $66 billion globally, while deaths linked to AMR are projected to reach 39 million by 2050 — equivalent to three deaths every minute.

Faster, more scalable testing is increasingly seen as critical to improving antimicrobial prescribing and slowing the spread of resistance.

Currently, more than 20% of antibiotic prescriptions issued to NHS patients are ineffective against the bacteria causing infection, while around 25% of samples tested show antibiotic-resistant bacteria present. One of the key challenges is the speed and scalability of testing.

Existing microbiology testing methods create significant laboratory bottlenecks. Standard antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) processes are slow, labour-intensive, and difficult to scale, often taking between two and seven days to deliver results. These methods require trained microbiologists and are constrained by low-throughput workflows.

Astratus aims to transform this process through scalable rapid microbiology.

The company has developed what it describes as the first fully customisable, ultra-high-throughput rapid AST solution, capable of delivering digitised, same-day, actionable results directly from a sample.

The technology is five times faster than existing reference methods, requires only basic operator training, and supports high-throughput processing across multiple samples. This helps laboratories improve efficiency, reduce costs, and accelerate clinical decision-making.

Astratus has completed analytical validation studies in both human urine and veterinary samples, demonstrating its application across clinical and veterinary microbiology. Further trials are planned for 2026 as the company progresses towards regulatory approval and commercialisation.

The company is building a network of clinical and veterinary partners to support the evaluation, validation, and early adoption of its technology ahead of the commercial launch. Funding from this round will accelerate product development as the company progresses towards regulatory approval and first commercial deployment in veterinary microbiology laboratories.