iFAST Diagnostics

We’re proud to share a major milestone from one of the innovative companies in the UKI2S portfolio.

iFAST Diagnostics Ltd has been awarded the UKCA mark, meaning its groundbreaking technology is now officially certified for use in hospitals across Great Britain. This is an exciting step forward not only for the company, but for patient care – and the future of how we treat serious infections.

Why faster answers matter when every hour counts

When someone arrives in hospital with a serious bacterial infection, clinicians need to act quickly. The sooner they know which antibiotic will work best, the better the chance of recovery. The challenge is that traditional antibiotic testing can take 24 to 48 hours – leaving doctors to make early treatment decisions without the full picture.

iFAST Diagnostics is changing that.

Their iFAST ONE system can deliver results in under three hours – up to two days faster than current standard testing – helping clinicians prescribe the most effective antibiotic for each individual infection, much earlier in the patient journey.

A major milestone – and the result of years of progress. 

The UKCA certification marks an important transition point for iFAST: from breakthrough science to real-world deployment.

The company has spent the last three years building a platform that can deliver accurate antimicrobial susceptibility testing results in a single working shift – helping clinicians determine the right antibiotic while treatment decisions are still being made.

UKI2S support from inception to market readiness

UKI2S has backed iFAST from the very beginning. We made our initial investment at the company’s inception, providing early-stage funding at a point when many breakthrough technologies are still in the high-risk phase.

Since then, UKI2S has continued to support iFAST’s growth – including ongoing involvement at board level, strategic guidance, and follow-on investment as the company progressed through key development milestones.

This support has helped iFAST secure significant downstream funding, including a £5 million seed round to accelerate product development and commercial launch.

As part of that round, UKI2S invested again alongside a strong syndicate, reinforcing our belief in iFAST’s mission and the team’s ability to deliver real impact.

Dr Toby King, CEO of iFAST Diagnostics Ltd, said: “We are super-excited to have achieved our UKCA mark. Hospitals using our system will have access to AST results in under three hours instead of 24-48 hours, massively improving outcomes for thousands of patients… all without increasing the overall cost of testing.”

He also praised the dedication of the founding team -Hywel Morgan and Daniel Spencer -and the wider iFAST team for reaching this stage within just three years of founding the company.