AltraTech and the EIC Accelerator: The EU's Second HIV Test Grant

AltraTech, based in Cork and led by chief executive Tara Dalton, is developing a portable molecular test that detects viral DNA, RNA, antibodies and antigens using peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes licensed from the US National Institutes of Health and a proprietary CMOS semiconductor sensor chip. Its EIC Accelerator project, UbiHealth, "Transforming Molecular Diagnostics through NanoTechnology", receives an EU contribution of €2,499,999 and runs from December 2024 to November 2026, according to CORDIS. AltraTech said the award was worth up to €10.5 million with equity, and would fund clinical trials on HIV patients, according to Silicon Republic.

It is the EU's second major grant for the same product. From December 2017 to November 2021, AltraTech received €2,969,000 under the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument for EASIVIRAL, a portable point-of-care HIV viral load test, according to CORDIS. The company's own timeline says it switched focus to a SARS-CoV-2 assay in 2020 and achieved a first end-to-end proof of concept in the HIV project in 2021, according to AltraTech. The UbiHealth report after one year describes detection of HIV RNA at 1,000 copies per millilitre from plasma on its chip cartridge, and a cartridge more sensitive than gold-standard optical detection at very low copy numbers, according to CORDIS.

Where AltraTech Stands Now

In March 2026 AltraTech announced a Gates Foundation grant to reach a detection limit of 200 copies per millilitre from whole blood by the second quarter of 2026, with miniaturisation into a low-cost cartridge and reader planned for 2026 and 2027, according to AltraTech. A pre-clinical study of HIV patient samples with San Cecilio University Hospital in Spain followed in March 2026, with results presented at a conference in May, according to AltraTech. The Cambridge Design Partnership is turning the technology into a product. The EIC picked AltraTech for its delegation at the BIO International Convention in 2026. Its Irish accounts were not accessible in free sources.

The Technology: A Chip That Reads Viral Genes

AltraTech says its test would enable quantitative HIV viral load testing outside hospital settings, in community clinics. AltraTech's PNA probes bind viral genetic material captured on beads, and its CMOS chip reads the result electronically instead of optically. It says the finished device will not need trained staff and will meet the WHO's REASSURED criteria for diagnostics in low-resource settings. It plans to license the platform to large diagnostics companies rather than sell it itself.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

UbiHealth runs until November 2026, so it is too early for a final judgement. The award was meant to fund HIV clinical trials. So far the record shows laboratory performance and a pre-clinical study on HIV patient samples; the automated instrument is still in design, and no clinical trial is listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.

1. WHO-level detectionDelivered1,000 copies/mL.
2. Patient-sample studyDoneMarch 2026.
3. Automated instrumentIn designCambridge Design.
4. HIV clinical trialsNot registeredNo trial record.

The Money

AltraTech describes itself as "a recipient of investment from the European Innovation Council"; the amount of any EIC Fund equity has not been published. Its other public backers include BARDA, the US biodefence agency, which funded a feasibility contract, and the Gates Foundation.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

A cheap, portable HIV viral load test would matter most in low- and middle-income countries, which is why the Gates Foundation funds it. For the EU, AltraTech is a test of whether repeated grants to the same product eventually yield something on the market.

The Verdict

AltraTech and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.