Occuity Secures £1.5M Innovate UK Grant as One of Just Eight Projects Funded
- Richard Kadri-Langford
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
Major Biomedical Catalyst award provides further external validation of Occuity’s patented optical technology platform and oculomics strategy
Occuity has secured a major £1.5 million Innovate UK grant after being selected as one of just eight projects funded from 347 applications to the Biomedical Catalyst 2025 programme.
With an overall success rate of approximately 2.3%, the result places Occuity within an exceptionally selective group of UK healthcare innovation projects and represents a significant endorsement of the company’s technology, team and commercial potential.
The grant will support a £2.14 million programme focused on Occuity’s SD1 technology, a handheld optical device being developed to support diabetes and pre-diabetes risk assessment through a simple, pain-free scan of the eye.
For Occuity, the award is important not only because of its scale, but because it provides substantial non-dilutive funding to advance a major new application of the company’s patented optical platform.
Commenting on the award, Dr Dan Daly, Co-founder and CEO of Occuity, said:
“This award is a significant endorsement of both our technology and our long-term vision. To be selected in such a competitive programme is a fantastic achievement for the team and reflects the strength of the platform we have built.”
Validating Occuity’s platform strategy
SD1 is being built upon the same core optical technology platform that underpins Occuity’s PM1 Pachymeter and AX1 Axiometer™.
The platform combines advanced optical measurement, precision miniaturisation, ergonomic handheld design and intuitive usability to deliver high-performance measurements through compact, portable devices.
By applying this technology to biomarkers within the crystalline lens, Occuity is extending its platform beyond ophthalmic measurement and into the assessment of wider systemic health.
This is central to Occuity’s long-term oculomics strategy: using the eye as a window into the health of the body and developing a portfolio of devices capable of supporting earlier identification and improved management of major diseases.
The competitiveness of the Biomedical Catalyst award provides strong independent validation of that strategy.
Supporting earlier identification
Occuity’s SD1 is designed to measure advanced glycation end-products, known as AGEs, within the crystalline lens.
These biomarkers accumulate over time and are associated with long-term glucose exposure and diabetes risk. By measuring lens fluorescence, SD1 is being developed to provide a rapid, non-contact assessment that could help identify people who may benefit from further investigation and referral into existing clinical pathways.
The strategic positioning of the SD1 is not to replace established diagnostic testing. Instead, SD1 is being developed to support risk assessment and help move people into appropriate clinical pathways earlier.
Designed for accessible community settings such as opticians and pharmacies, the technology is intended to offer:
A rapid, non-contact assessment completed within seconds
No blood samples or consumables
Earlier opportunities for further investigation and assessment
Greater access to preventative health interventions
Several successful programmes already exist to prevent or delay progression from pre-diabetes to type 2 diabetes. However, their impact depends on identifying people early enough and successfully connecting them with the support available.
SD1 aims to help make that first step more accessible.
A significant achievement for the team
Dr Alistair Bounds, Lead Scientist and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at Occuity, added:
“SD1 has the potential to support earlier identification of people at increased risk of pre-diabetes through rapid, non-invasive assessment in community settings. By helping refer people into existing clinical pathways sooner, we believe it could support earlier intervention and reduce the long-term burden of diabetes.”
The Innovate UK-funded project will support the continued development and clinical validation of SD1 and help define future routes into community and NHS pathways.
Being selected as one of only eight funded projects from 347 applications is a major achievement for Occuity. It further strengthens the company’s position in handheld, non-invasive optical technology and provides important external validation of its expansion into oculomics and systemic health assessment.