New study shows MHRA collaboration with hospital DNA sequencing service cuts time to diagnose infections
Source: gov.uk (2025-03-07)

In a UK-first, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Barts Health NHS Trust have developed a DNA sequencing approach that can be implemented onsite in hospitals so they can diagnose bacterial infections faster and more accurately.

This service will help doctors deliver better-targeted treatments earlier. For patients, this means a quicker recovery, fewer complications such as sepsis, and a reduced risk of spreading infections to others.

This technology is now being piloted to investigate and prevent hospital outbreaks caused by antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ — a growing global threat.

The new approach, published today (6 March) in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, confirms that the DNA sequencing method can reliably detect which bacteria are causing an infection and which antibiotics will work best to treat it. The approach delivers results within two days, significantly faster than traditional methods which can take approximately seven days and, in some difficult cases, up to eight weeks.

Since September 2024, over 2000 patient samples have been analysed using the approach across seven London hospitals, including the Royal London, Whipps Cross, Newham, St Bartholomew’s, Homerton, Lewisham, and Greenwich.

The goal is to make rapid DNA sequencing a routine part of hospital diagnostics across the NHS, bringing faster, more accurate infection testing to patients nationwide.

Health Minister Ashley Dalton said:

“This collaboration between the MHRA and the NHS shows British innovation at its best.

“This groundbreaking use of the technology in hospitals will cut diagnosis times down from weeks to just two days enabling doctors to provide the right treatment faster and saving lives, while also fighting the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.

“As we move from analogue to digital, we are delivering practical solutions for our NHS which will improve patient care and help our frontline staff work more effectively.”

Central to the success of this new service run by Barts Health is the MHRA’s work in developing reference materials – carefully controlled samples, recognised by the World Health Organization – that ensures patients receive consistent, trustworthy diagnoses. The MHRA is now working to standardise the technology, paving the way for wider NHS adoption. This could mean more hospitals can benefit from rapid, accurate bacterial infection diagnostics and prevent unnecessary broad-spectrum antibiotic use.

Dr Chrysi Sergaki, Head of Microbiome at the MHRA, said:

“The pilot has demonstrated that this new technology is already making a real difference to patients’ lives. When someone comes into hospital with a serious infection, every hour counts. Instead of waiting days or even weeks to identify exactly what’s causing their infection, hospitals can now get answers within 48 hours. This means doctors can start the right treatment sooner, helping patients recover faster and get back home to their families.

“At the MHRA, our role is to develop and provide reference materials that ensure hospitals using this technology can produce consistent, reliable and accurate results they can trust in a service such as this.

“We are building on this work, developing reference materials to help detect antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which will be crucial in the fight against superbugs.”

Ian Butler, Lead Clinical Scientist in Medical Microbiology at Barts Health NHS Trust, said:

“This is the first comprehensive clinical validation study of its kind in the UK — and one of the first globally — to test DNA sequencing with this new technology for diagnosing a wide range of infections.

“By analysing bacterial genetic material directly, we can detect infections more accurately, even complex infections, and much faster than traditional methods. This means we can precisely diagnose the infection and identify the right treatment sooner — especially for critically ill patients.

“This technology also holds promise for combating antibiotic resistance and managing hospital outbreaks in future applications. Here, the technology is already proving its worth: in November 2024 a pilot study using this technology helped investigate a drug-resistant E. coli outbreak at Newham Hospital affecting 58 patients. By identifying how resistance spread between bacterial species, the team was able to act quickly and prevent further transmission, as well as improve patient care.”

Antimicrobial resistance has become a serious global threat, causing at least one million deaths every year since 1990. Without urgent action, the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) Project predicts that drug-resistant infections could claim more than 39 million lives between now and 2050.

To speed up the accurate detection of pathogens and quickly identifying those that are resistant to antimicrobial medicines, the focus is now on optimising and standardising this new DNA sequencing hospital service so it can be replicated elsewhere.

Notes to editors
- Publication: Ian Butler et al. (2025) ‘Standardization of 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing using Nanopore Long Read Sequencing Technology for Clinical Diagnosis of Culture Negative Infections’ Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1517208/full
- Traditional diagnostic methods usually take around seven days from sample collection to identify bacterial infections. However, for certain infections, such as tuberculosis, a definitive diagnosis can take up to eight weeks. These wait times can delay treatment and infection control efforts.
- In addition to the MHRA, this project was made possible thanks to the National Measurement Laboratory (NML) at LGC, and United Kingdom Accreditation Services (UKAS) as part of the Healthcare Scientist Knowledge Transfer Partnership (HCS KTP) Programme, a 4-nation partnership programme between the NHS, the National Measurement System (funded by the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology), and UKAS. The bacterial outbreak sequencing work was delivered through a funding grant from Barts Charity.
- DNA sequencing is a technique that reads the genetic code (DNA) of bacteria, similar to reading the instruction manual that tells bacteria how to function. This allows scientists to precisely identify which type of bacteria is present and which antibiotics it might be resistant to, helping doctors choose the most effective treatment.
- The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK by ensuring they work and are acceptably safe. The MHRA is also a designated WHO Collaborating Centre for Biological Standardisation and plays a key role in the development and distribution of international reference reagents to ensure global standards in diagnostic testing.
- The MHRA has a key role in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. We rigorously use our science and data capabilities to enable innovation in new diagnostic approaches and also are working with innovators and stakeholders to identify approaches to accelerate patient access to novel anti-microbial products.
- The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.
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