53. Zonova

Driven by seeing patients die from infections caused by medical devices, a scientist founded a startup to save lives.

Founders: Dr Georgia Fleet and Carla Southworth
Year founded: 2023
Website: zonovatech.com

It was a shocking moment, when a critical care doctor told her that patients were dying from infections caused by medical devices, that drove Dr Georgia Fleet to take action.

Then a PhD student at UCL, she discovered that commonly used devices could harbour bacteria that caused diseases like pneumonia, and these were killing people. “That hit me hard, and I thought we need to find a way to prevent infections at this point, rather than trying to treat them after,” she says.

As Fleet discovered, when you go into hospital, you have a one in 10 chance of getting an infection. “70% of those are directly linked to medical devices, and this isn’t just for endotracheal tubes. It’s all plastic tubes enabling lifesaving medicines and care to be delivered,” she explains. The plastic surfaces provide conditions for bacteria to thrive.

As well as the danger for patients, the cost of treating these infections for hospitals can be up to £45,000 per case. Fleet spent five years working on an antimicrobial endotracheal tube. Instead of a coating, she used a fully embedded, broad-spectrum antimicrobial technology, which delivers durable protection without toxicity.

While it worked, it wasn’t commercially viable. Zonova was born from the decision to pivot to licensing instead of manufacturing. Fleet and co-founder Carla Southworth built a model that scales and brings in revenue ahead of regulatory approvals.

They say they are now in active conversations under NDAs with multi-billion-pound-revenue original equipment manufacturers across urology, wound care and orthopaedics. Collectively, they say, these potential partners could generate over £85bn in annual revenue.

The technology is also being piloted in three UK veterinary referral hospitals to get early clinical data.

Fleet was a winner of the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award for 2024/2025. She says this moment “validated not just my science, but my decision to take the huge leap from academia to being a deep-tech entrepreneur”. In Fleet’s words, Zonova has gone “from a high-potential startup into a nationally recognised, government-backed innovation”. She adds, “this is the validation that truly impacts patient lives”.

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Written By

Helena Young Deputy Editor

Helena is Deputy Editor at Startups. She oversees all news and supporting content on Startups, and is also the author of the weekly Startups email newsletter, delivering must-know SME updates straight to their inbox.

From interviewing Wetherspoon’s boss Tim Martin to spotting data-led working from home trends, her insight has been featured by major trade publications including the ICAEW, and news outlets like the BBC, ITV News, Daily Express, and HuffPost UK.

With a background in PR and marketing, Helena is particularly passionate about giving early-stage startups a platform to boost their brands. That’s one reason she manages the Startups 100 Index, our annual ranking of new UK businesses.

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