Momentum Bioscience and the EIC Accelerator: A Sepsis Test Wound Up

Momentum Bioscience, a UK company that began operating in 2008, developed SepsiSTAT, a molecular test designed to detect and identify infections directly from blood, so doctors treating suspected sepsis could switch from broad-spectrum antibiotics to targeted ones within hours instead of days. It was selected in the EIC Accelerator's January 2023 cut-off for SepsiSTAT, "disruptive diagnostic for bacterial infection directly from whole blood in patients with SEPSIS", with grant-only support. No project for the company appears on CORDIS, the EU's register of funded projects, so the amount and results are not public.

On 12 December 2025 the company's members resolved to wind it up, and Menzies LLP was appointed to run a creditors' voluntary liquidation, according to Companies House. The directors' statement of affairs, dated 8 December 2025, estimates that £195,197 of assets can be realised against £829,719 of unsecured claims, leaving a £755,145 shortfall to creditors; its intellectual property and a "Zeus IP Agreement" are listed with realisable values of "Uncertain" and "NIL".

Where Momentum Bioscience Stands Now

The company is insolvent and in liquidation. Its accounts and confirmation statement due in 2026 are overdue, the register shows, and in January 2026 the liquidators filed a notice of disclaimer of company property. Only nine months before the wind-up, in March 2025, the company had moved into custom-built labs at Milton Park with a team of 12 scientists to develop and test SepsiSTAT, according to UKSPA.

The Technology: Hours, Not Days

Standard blood cultures can take up to five days to identify the bacteria behind sepsis, so patients get broad-spectrum antibiotics in the meantime, which fuels antimicrobial resistance, UKSPA reported. SepsiSTAT aimed to capture and identify pathogens directly from blood, informing doctors within hours. UKSPA cited an estimated 48,000 sepsis deaths a year in the UK.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The award promised a disruptive diagnostic for bloodstream infection in sepsis patients. With no CORDIS project, there is no public record of the grant amount, milestones or results. The company's last filed accounts, to October 2024, describe it as "in the research and development phase of its technology" with losses since 2008. No SepsiSTAT launch, regulatory approval or published clinical validation has been found.

1. Diagnostic developmentUnverifiedNo project report.
2. Clinical validationUnverifiedNone published.
3. Market launchMissedNot launched.
4. Company survivalFailedLiquidation, December 2025.

The Money

By October 2024 Momentum had raised £20.1 million of share premium and accumulated losses of £17.7 million, with a loss before tax of £2.99 million that year. The statement of affairs lists convertible loan notes of £311,529, trade creditors of £295,746, £175,643 owed to employees and £46,800 to the Development Bank of Wales. The deficiency to members is put at £20.9 million, leaving nothing for shareholders.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

Faster sepsis diagnosis could save lives and cut antibiotic misuse, a goal shared across Europe. The EIC selected a company working on it; within three years, that company was wound up with its intellectual property of uncertain value. The public cannot see what the award bought.

The Verdict

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