RECENT NEWS

Scientific imaging will be given a boost by a new company spun out from the University of Oxford. Oxford Imaging Detectors, which is developing high-performance scientific imaging detectors capable of studying structures and processes at the atomic level, has been set up by the university’s technology transfer company, Isis Innovation.

Following the 2009 contract agreement with Spire Healthcare, where 17 ABX Pentra 80 haematology analysers were installed within six weeks of signing, Horiba Medical continues its strong support of Spire’s UK pathology network. With 37 hospitals, Spire is the UK’s second largest private hospital group and has recently expanded its laboratory network to 18 with the opening of Spire Washington. Owing to its ongoing successful relationship with Horiba Medical, Spire has now installed a further ABX Pentra 80 haematology analyser in this new laboratory, as well as two ABX Micros ES 60 point-of-care (POC) haematology analysers in its Harpenden and Macclesfield Wellness Clinics.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has acquired TREK Diagnostic Systems, a provider of microbiology solutions, including blood culture, microorganism identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing products. The addition of VersaTREK platforms to its microbiology portfolio allows Thermo Fisher to offer automated systems for blood culture and the detection of mycobacteria for the first time. VersaTREK complements the company’s manual blood culture systems, to provide the most comprehensive choice of tests and culture media for use in the diagnosis of sepsis and tuberculosis.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has announced that the 2011 Oxoid W H Pierce Memorial Prize, which commemorates the late W H (Bill) Pierce, has been awarded to Dr Brian Jones, senior lecturer at the University of Brighton. The award acknowledges Dr Jones’ research into the human gut mobile metagenome, the mobile genetic elements (such as plasmids) that are associated with intestinal microbiota.

Life sciences and healthcare companies across the UK are being urged to sign up to a brand new service to boost their export success to India, a country where biotechnology alone is predicted to be worth £6 billion by 2015. The new service is being offered by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC), the business-led organisation backed by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) to boost UK-India bilateral trade. For a fee of £35 per month, UKIBC provides intelligence, events, reports, and creates ‘communities’ linking large and small companies in subsectors including medical equipment and technology, healthcare infrastructure, biotechnology, eHealth, pharmaceuticals, training and R&D in India. Online, the members’ life sciences and healthcare sector page will be updated regularly with new reports and analysis.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has announced that its Thermo Scientific Nicolet iS5 FT-IR spectrometer received a 2011 Scientists’ Choice Award for Best New Spectroscopy Product of 2010.

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ProImmune, a provider of services for immune monitoring, antigen discovery and immunogenicity risk assessment, has been accepted into the UK Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) monitoring programme by Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHR), confirming ProImmune’s compliance with GLP.

GSTS Pathology and Bedford Hospital NHS Trust have gone live with their new £1 million microbiology facility, housing a range of new equipment that will further improve the service GSTS provides to patients at Bedford Hospital. The investment modernises microbiology at Bedford Hospital, allowing staff to process more samples more quickly. It will increase quality and efficiency and ultimately provide an upgraded service both to patients and clinicians in the local area.

In March, The Binding Site Group, a manufacturer of immunodiagnostic products, moved its headquarters to larger, more ecofriendly premises in the centre of Birmingham, UK. Having achieved double-digit growth for many years, well above the industry average, this specialist protein company, has rehoused its 380 UK-based staff in a new six-storey building that will fulfil its need for growth over the foreseeable future. The new site is a reflection of the company’s success and shows its commitment to Birmingham, to its staff and customers, and to its future growth.

Beckman Coulter UK is hosting a urology symposium focusing on the early detection of prostate cancer, and the need to reduce unnecessary biopsies, on 14 April at London’s Wellcome Collection Conference Centre. The company recently launched a new assay (p2PSA) for the measurement of a cancer-associated isoform of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in serum. This isoform, when used in conjunction with Hybritech total PSA and Hybritech free PSA measurements, has been shown to provide greater specificity in the management of patients with raised PSA and can significantly reduce the number of prostate biopsies required.

Dict8 has recently launched Dict8 Flow, a new web-based medical workflow solution offering efficiency and cost benefits. To celebrate the launch, Olympus is offering three months of free workflow management with every DS-5000/ DS-5000iD, which is tailored to meet all professional dictation requirements.

Syngene has announced that the company’s gel documentation system is being used at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA to image gels quickly and safely. Researchers in the Department of Biological Engineering regularly use a Syngene gel documentation system to visualise, quantify and record images of DNA on 1D agarose gels stained with SYBR Safe from Invitrogen.

Oxford Biosystems has been appointed the exclusive distributor of Focus Diagnostic products in the UK. This agreement covers the Focus enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorescence assay (IFA) products as well as the new range of molecular diagnostic products.

The IBMS has announced the appointment of Jill Rodney as its new Chief Executive. She replaces Alan Potter who has retired after giving over 20 years’ service to the Institute. Jill, a pharmacist by training and latterly chief executive of Milton Keynes NHS Foundation Trust, took up her post in mid-January and brings a wealth of NHS experience to the Institute. Her thrust into health service management began at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, and she has an MBA and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Sera Laboratories International (Sera Lab) has launched a new Biological Products catalogue presenting its extensive range of animal and human material, disease state material and a new range of human tissues. The catalogue gives details of one of Europe’s largest ranges of biological products for use in life science research.

Leica Microsystems now offers a web-based training course for the Leica Bond Oracle HER2 immunohistochemistry (IHC) system. This eLearning course harnesses advanced training concepts to provide comprehensive training over the web, with convenient access allowing each student to study at the time and place that best suits their schedule.

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics and The Royal College of Pathologists once again joined together to raise awareness of the different pathology specialties and their role in modern healthcare during National Pathology Week. The theme of this year's initiative was ‘Pathology: the building blocks of life’, and focused on the role of pathology in improving the health of mothers and babies. Speaking at the official launch, Brent Bartlett, marketing director at Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics (pictured, right, with Dr Suzy Lishman and Professor Peter Furness), said: "We are very proud to once again stand side by side with The Royal College of Pathologists in championing the important role our discipline has to play in modern patient pathways. In today's austerity and efficiency climate it is essential that we work in partnership for the same aims and keep the focus firmly on what matters most – the patient"

Qlucore has appointed Ann Holmberg as its new sales director. Ms Holmberg (pictured) has an MSc in biochemistry and has worked as marketing and sales manager in the laboratory information management systems (LIMS) sector since 1992, covering the Nordic region.

The Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie in Berlin is using Tecan's Freedom EVO workstations for systematic high-throughput screening of bioactive small molecule libraries. Peter von Kries, head of the Institute's screening unit, explained: “The unit has a small team of staff performing library screens of around 20,000 compounds a day, and this high throughput is partly thanks to the flexibility of our Freedom EVO workstations.