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THE SHOWCASE MAGAZINE FOR WELSH LIFE SCIENCE 2015
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Life Science Industry Conference 3rd December 2015, Cardiff, Wales One Conference - Two Essential Streams
• Pharmaceutical Development
• Medical Technology
AWARDS Ad For more information visit www.ukhealthtech.com or contact tess.coughlan-allen@mediwales.com, +44 (0) 29 2047 3456
10th INNOVATION AWARDS
MediWales is proud to present its 10th Annual Innovation Awards Tuesday 8th December 2015, National Museum Cardiff 2
For more information about entering for an award or attending contact Julie on julie.alcock@mediwales.com, +44 (0) 29 2047 3456
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SHOWCASING ADVANCES IN WELSH LIFESCIENCE
Contents 4
The MediWales journey
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Made in Wales
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Clinical Trials Services Wales
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Strength of Welsh connectivity highlighted at MediWales’ Awards
23 Waking up to change- how
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Cerebra Innovation Centre celebrates commercial success with its first year of sales
24 IBI Group designed Cardiff
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Abel & Imray continues to supply an impressive offering to Welsh companies
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20 Cardiff Medicentre: Bringing
great life sciences ideas to life
22 Glyconics secures commercial
licence from Swansea University for COPD diagnostic signature TrakCel is helping cell therapies scale
PointMan™ technology paving the way for simple blood tests for cancers
26 Jubilee celebrations start early
The Magstim Company Ltd, an innovative and award winning Wales-based medical device manufacturer, has recently celebrated 25 years of success
roadside drug testing
38 £4m Welsh Wound Innovation Centre launch in Llantrisant
40 The South East Wales Academic
for CellPath
The Enterprise Europe Network: Delivering international business support and partnering on your doorstep
34 A UK first for Rocialle as it gains
36 Synergy creates speedy solution for
25 EKF Molecular Diagnostics’
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award
international certification for social responsibility standards
University Brain Research Imaging Centre starts on site
Digital health conference showcases international excellence in open innovation practice
33 NHS partnership recognised in
Health Sciences Partnership (SEWAHSP) Health Technology Challenge Wales
UK HealthTech 2014: Collaborating for success
29 Welsh design engineering
destined to prevent global water contamination
42 It’s all About Me 44 Building barriers to bacteria in medical packaging
30 Swansea University investor
readiness pilot ends on a high
32 Health Research Wales helps
Microvisk bring new technology to market
LifeStories is produced and published by MediWales. Designed by Teamworks. www.teamworksdesign.com For editorial and advertising opportunities please contact: Editor, Lucinda Scott-Morgan, lucinda.dargavel@mediwales.com The MediWales team Gwyn Tudor, Forum Manager: gwyn.tudor@mediwales.com Debbie Laubach, Operations Manager: debbie.laubach@mediwales.com
1st Floor, The Bonded Warehouse, Cardiff CF10 4HF Tel: +44 (0)29 2047 3456 Web: www.mediwales.com
Lucinda Scott-Morgan, Publications and Editorial Manager: lucinda.dargavel@mediwales.com
Tess Coughlan-Allen, Communications Manager: tess.coughlan-allen@mediwales.com
Julie Alcock, Project Manager: julie.alcock@mediwales.com
Thank you to our Corporate Sponsors and University Partner
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Grant Thornton
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The MediWales journey
MediWales is the Life Science Network for Wales – Creating opportunities for our members.
We have over 150 members comprising life science, pharmaceutical services and medical technology companies, and actively encourage engagement from the clinical research community with our membership
2002
1992
2006
WDA Review and additional government support awarded for first two members of staff
The Welsh Medical Technology Forum (WMTF) was established
1999-2000
Barriers to clinical access report presented to NISCHR
The first MediWales Innovation Awards ceremony was held in Cardiff
ÂŽ
FFORWM TECHNOLEG MEDDYGOL CYMRU
2005 2001
Renamed and rebranded MediWales
Registered as company limited by guarantee and advisory forum started
2010 2006
84 paying members
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2010
First MediWales Review magazine published
2005
Paid membership started with 50 paying members
WELSH MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY FORUM
including NHS Health Boards and Universities. An independent not-for-profit limited company our mission is to support our community through the 'advancement of human life science in Wales.'
Medilink UK Review rebranded as UK Lifescience Industry magazine and distributed nationally with our new partners UKTI, ABHI and KTN
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We create opportunities for our members by providing one-to-one advice on market access, commercialisation, international trade, finance and funding, the supply chain and working with the NHS. Driven by our members’ interests and sector needs, we run a very popular events programme which includes regulatory updates and advice on NHS procurement issues, finance and funding and clinical unmet needs. Through our extensive links with both UK and international organisations we help to identify local and international collaborative partners as well as increase the profile of
Wales' thriving life science sector. Our UK Lifescience Industry magazine has a readership of 40,000 and our highly successful UK HealthTech conference goes from strength to strength. MediWales’ UK partners include the Association of British Healthcare Industries, Medilink UK, the Knowledge Transfer Network and United Life Sciences - a partnership between the BIA, One Nucleus, BioNow and BioPartner. We are actively increasing our international profile through UK Trade and Investment and the Council for European BioRegions.
2013
2012
2014
Over 300 guests attended the Innovation Awards Dinner at National Museum Cardiff
Geldards LLP welcomed as first Corporate Partner, followed by GX Group and Abel & Imray
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Evidence presented to a Welsh Assembly enquiry into access to medical technology in Wales
2015
150 paying members
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Grant Thornton
2014
2012
UK HealthTech conference launched at City Hall, Cardiff
2014 2013
Picture of Health sector map launched with support from Swansea University and Welsh Government. Elite Electronic Systems become fourth corporate partner
Clinical Trials Services Wales Special Interest Group formed
Grant Thornton welcomed as corporate partner. Swansea University becomes our university partner
2015
MediWales joins United Life Sciences a partnership with:
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Made in Wales Wales’ global med tech companies operate and export worldwide ensuring high-value employment and significant contributions to the economy.
Based in Cardiff, South Wales, Huntleigh designs, manufactures and distributes a range of patient monitoring products, including foetal monitors, vital signs monitors and vascular assessment systems and it typically sells about 75% of its products to export markets throughout the world. All of that work is carried out in Wales.
“We think ‘Made in the UK’ is a good brand in its own right and so we do that.” Greg Baily Technical Director, Huntleigh
range of conditions using non-invasive procedures. These currently include the treatment of vascular and pigmented lesions, psoriasis, vitiligo and acne as well as permanent hair removal, skin rejuvenation and fat reduction. The Llanelli-based company exports to over 30 countries worldwide and continues to focus on the high growth export markets of Brazil, the Far East, India and South Africa as well as Europe and North America. Chromogenex supports small businesses in South Wales, which act as its suppliers.
“Most of our raw materials come from businesses in South Wales.
Chromogenex manufactures light and laser-based systems for the medical and cosmetic market, offering effective, non-invasive treatments for conditions such as acne and scarring, fat reduction, facial rejuvenation and hair removal. Practitioners worldwide use Chromogenex products to offer safe, effective treatments for a wide
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We are keeping a lot of people in jobs locally here.” Dave Morgan Finance Director, Chromogenex
Wales’ renowned expertise in product design, prototyping and advanced manufacture supports the rapid
commercialisation of products and this is just one of the reasons why many Welsh companies actively choose to manufacture at home. DTR Medical is located in Swansea, South Wales and its leading hero products are all “Made in Wales” – the Rotating Cervical Biopsy Punch, Frazier Suction Handles, Tibbs Arterial Cannulas, the Negus Aspirating Dissector and the Clearway Suction Handle. To bring these products to market, DTR Medical uses the local supply chain as well as its own cleanroom production. The production of the company’s Ear Speculums is also moving to Wales in April.
“We have been making medical devices successfully in Wales for ten years thanks to a great team of people, many of whom have been on a large part of our journey. We have benefitted from a great life science ecosystem which helps us make products
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Working with MediWales has brought other introductions, including to the SEWAHSP, formed by the higher education institutions and NHS organisations in South East Wales to accelerate health improvement, and Rocialle has hosted meetings with the First Minister of Wales, Rt Hon Carwyn Jones AM and with NHS Wales Chief Executive Andrew Goodall.
through our strong local supply chain and develop new innovations with our academic partners in Wales.” Andrew Davidson Managing Director, DTR Medical
Rocialle, the Mountain Ash-based manufacturer of sterile surgical packs and employer of 350 staff, is benefiting from engaging more with the Welsh healthcare community. Part of the multi-national company, Berendsen plc, it is only in the last few years that Rocialle has reconnected with Welsh Government, business and academic bodies. Rocialle has participated in the last two Medica and Arab Health exhibitions with stands in Welsh Government’s area and has commissioned overseas market reports. Subsidised participation in trade missions is further enabling Rocialle to develop international markets. The resulting increase in export sales rewards the efforts of both Rocialle and Welsh Government.
“It’s satisfying to see our export business grow as a result of the support we have received from Welsh Government and to be increasingly involved in identifying and meeting the needs of NHS Wales.” Stephen Burt Managing Director, Rocialle
Pelican Feminine Healthcare, located in Cardiff, manufactures a range of single-use instruments, specialising in Gynaecology and Obstetrics products, which include the market leading PELIspec. With state of the art manufacturing facilities in Wales and active research and development, the company has been instrumental in bringing many innovative products to the healthcare market. This, together with a positive input from specialist clinicians and other professional customers, ensures that Pelican Feminine Healthcare continues to provide clinically and cost effective products.
“This year promises to be an
and collaboration projects with partners across the UK. We are looking forward to launching our new product portfolio securing our position at the forefront of innovation.” Nicholas Price-Jones Business Development Manager Pelican Feminine Healthcare
West Wales company Magstim produces a range of one the most widely used TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) Stimulators in the world. These stimulators are used by neuroscience researchers to investigate the connectivity of the brain, with results that have implications for the diagnosis and treatment of Multiple Sclerosis, Central Motor Disorders, Motor Neurone Disease and Spinal Injury.
“Magstim has played a crucial role in supporting researchers and clinicians in neurostimulation and nerve monitoring for 25 years. Built on a commitment to innovate and adapt, the quality of Magstim’s medical devices has positioned us as a world leader in our industry. In the coming 25 years, the role of Magstim will be to retain its position as a leader at the forefront of Neuroscience technology and
interesting and exciting time
continue to support the local
for the company as we continue
economy in West Wales.”
to progress with a number of key product development
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Robin Davies Managing Director, Magstim
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Clinical Trials Services Wales
The Special Interest Group (SIG), Clinical Trials Services Wales was formed to allow MediWales members involved in the delivery of clinical trials to meet the needs of their international customers from “molecule to market” and together they represent a significant global force. Wales has unrivalled connectivity across life science business and clinical research facilities alongside a uniquely accessible NHS which is able to deliver contract research and trials through a single point of access - Health Research Wales. The members are working together to deliver on a commitment to provide a more integrated streamlined service, saving customers time, and money, and delivering the highest quality of service through a network of trusted partners. The group’s aim is to extend each organisation’s visibility on the world stage through promotion at international events, press coverage as well as a strong online presence and each individual organisation will act as a referral point to all of the other members of the group.
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Re se ar ch
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A global force for clinical trials
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“Until recently, the fact that all facets of clinical trials can be performed in Wales has not been readily visible to a more global audience. The fact that this is a significant opportunity has been seized upon through the development of a focused SIG on ‘Clinical Trials Services Wales’ as part of MediWales. This now allows the major role players in Wales to interact in order to develop an even stronger offering, which can benefit from focused marketing in order to attract business to Wales in the long term. For Neem Biotech, a SME that is moving the first product from its pipeline into Phase II clinical trials, this is very exciting as we can now focus on working with local companies for our future pipeline development plans. Furthermore, as a company involved in pre-clinical research we see this as an opportunity for us to expand our client base by being part of the Welsh clinical trial supply chain.” Michael Graz Managing Director, Neem Biotech
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BIOTEC SERVICES INTERNATIONAL BTG (PROTHERICS) GE HEALTHCARE GEOFISH MEDICAL MARKETING NEEM BIOTECH NORGINE PACKAGING COORDINATORS INC PENN (a PCI Company) PHARMAFLOW Q CHIP QUAY PHARMA
The result of these pressures is a requirement for service providers to reduce cost, increase flexibility and perform activities faster. They are also looking for creative and adaptive solutions to running studies on a global basis and increasingly in emerging markets. As part of the Clinical Trials Services Wales group we are in an excellent position to take advantage of these requirements. The collaborative group allows us to cover all aspects of clinical trial delivery from research and development to formulation, production, packaging, storage, distribution and trial administration. The expert knowledge and facilities along with a focus on quality, speed, flexibility and innovation makes Wales the perfect base to execute global clinical trials.” Luke Beedle Sales Support Manager, Sharp Clinical Services
SHARP CLINICAL SERVICES UK SIMBEC - ORION GROUP SPRINGDEW
Cli Di nica st l T rib ri ut als ion He alt h Cli Re nic se al arc Tri h als He alt h Re se ar ch
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Fo De rmu ve la lop tio m n en t M a Fo nuf rm ac ula tur tio e n
“The clinical supplies landscape is changing around the globe. Drug companies are under increasing pressure to expedite products through the clinical phases and bring them to market. Reduced budgets, narrower pipelines and increased competition has placed a greater focus on drug candidates at each phase of clinical development as companies and shareholders look for a return on their investment.
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RUSKINN TECHNOLOGY
“The landscape of clinical trials is continually evolving, new drugs are being developed that address previously unmet disease states and an ever changing patient population. As such, opportunities for the Welsh Life Sciences companies, whilst changing are still plentiful. As the market evolves life sciences companies need to continue to invest to meet the ongoing demands of the industry and remain competitive in a heavily regulated and overcrowded industry. At PCI, we have identified Wales a key part of our continued global strategy. In 2014 PCI invested heavily in the Welsh life sciences arena with the acquisitions of Penn Pharma and Biotec Services International ensuring a robust European base for our Clinical Trials business.” Sue Miles Managing Director, PCI- Packaging Coordinators Inc
TRAKCEL VIRIDIAN PHARMA WORLD COURIER
HEALTH RESEARCH WALES ABM UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD ANAESTHESIA INNOVATION CEDAR HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH CENTRE SURGICAL MATERIALS TESTING LABORATORY WELSH WOUND INNOVATION CENTRE
BANGOR UNIVERSITY CARDIFF UNIVERSITY SWANSEA UNIVERSITY
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Strength of Welsh connectivity highlighted at MediWales’ Awards The MediWales Innovation Awards 2014 celebrated the fantastic achievements of life science companies and individuals from the NHS in Wales. A priority sector in a tough economy, Welsh industry’s innovative partnerships with the NHS and academic institutions significantly contribute to the health and wealth of Wales. The Awards Dinner, supported by National Institute for Social Care and Health Research (NISCHR), Abel & Imray, Geldards LLP, GX Group, Elite Electronic Systems, Swansea University and Grant Thornton was held at Cardiff’s National Museum on Wednesday 10th December to an audience of senior industry, NHS and government representatives.
Director of NISCHR (The National Institute for Social Care and Health Research), John Bisson, opened the ceremony by presenting the Innovation within the NHS award. A further 3 awards were awarded to NHS Wales departments in addition to the 6 prestigious awards presented to industry.
Over the past five years, NISCHR has worked with MediWales, to recognise innovation within the NHS, as well as partnerships with industry and the awards form part of the NISCHR industry agenda and provide an important platform for innovation and collaboration between NHS, industry and academia.
NHS Awards Kindly Supported by Innovation within the NHS Award Sponsored by Rocialle, the Innovation within the NHS Award was won by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s Department for Acute Medicine which sees 1000 acutely unwell patients per month. Led by three consultants, this department has transformed services to respond flexibly to patients’ needs as in or outpatients. AMPLIFiRE (Assessment of admissions to Medicine for personal Preferences, Life circumstances and Frailty using Information technology to drive timely Re-Enablement) is a software package, developed by the Board, which allows patients to document their own social history and preferences for care with the help of an iPad style tablet computer.
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Awards sponsors
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Partnership with UK/ International Industry Award A true industry - NHS collaboration was recognised this year - led by Dr Lewis of Hywel Dda University Health Board this project was a randomised trial of auto-servo ventilation in people with sleep apnoea and severe (stable) heart failure and was a collaboration between Hywel Dda Health Board and PhilipsRespirionics International (Home Care Solutions® section). Together, Hywel Dda and Philips, developed a novel protocol, which tested the efficiency of a new type of ventilator, the Auto-SV, in managing people with both sleep disturbed breathing and severe heart failure. The results demonstrated that these ventilators were safe, as they did not adversely affect blood pressure, improved sleep efficiency, abolished sleep disturbed breathing and improved blood markers for heart damage. This award was sponsored by Abel & Imray.
Collaboration with a Welsh Company Award The award for the NHS’ Collaboration with a Welsh Company, was presented to Aneurin Bevan Health Board for the Welsh Wound Innovation Centre which is funded by the NHS and Welsh Government to lead on wound healing within the NHS across Wales. Sponsored by Teamworks Design, this was awarded for the collaboration between staff at Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr, the Welsh Wound Innovation Centre (WWIC) and Direct Healthcare Services. The Welsh Wound Innovation Centre and Direct Healthcare Services worked jointly to develop a new mattress surface which would conform to a profiling bed with no loss of mattress length to avoid the problem of heel pressure ulcers.
NHS Judges Award The NHS Judges’ Award, sponsored by GX Group, was won by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board which has developed a wearable device to enable patients who are permanently ventilated with a tracheostomy to live a more active and pain reduced life by means of supporting the tube entry into the throat. This collaboration involved engaging industry, Monmouthshire-based E2L, to develop the concept prototypes into a market-ready product which was launched at MEDICA this year.
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Industry Award Winners Innovation Award The Innovation Award was won by Asalus, which was established to commercialise the inventions arising from Cardiff University’s Welsh Institute for Minimal Access Therapy (WIMAT), the leading UK centre for training of laparoscopic and other surgical disciplines. This award, sponsored by Blackwood Embedded Solutions, was presented in recognition of Ultravision, which handles the surgical smoke produced during laparoscopic surgery by energy-based surgical instruments. Ultravision is a system which clears the visual field to allow best practise by accelerating the natural sedimentation of the smoke onto the tissue in the body cavity.
Start-Up Award Sponsored by Finance Wales, the Start-up Award was picked up by Jellagen which produces medical grade collagen sourced from jellyfish, a sustainable and novel source of biomaterials. Jellagen supplies Type II and Type V collagen for the medical device, regenerative medicine, cell culture reagent and in vitro diagnostic markets. Collagen is a highly valued biomaterial due to its ability to form strong fibres. This property allows it to be used in many forms, including gel scaffolds and membranes applicable across a wide range of medical applications from wound and cartilage repair to bone grafts.
Outstanding Achievement Award Sharp Clinical Services was recognised in the Outstanding Achievement Award, sponsored by Grant Thornton. Sharp Clinical Services is a leading provider of specialist clinical supply chain services, from drug product development and manufacturing services to increasingly complex clinical supplies packaging, labelling and distribution services. Sharp has secured ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 certification for packaging, storage and distribution of goods globally. Depots in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Belarus, Singapore, India, Israel and South Africa have been audited, approved for use and added to Sharp’s licenses allowing for the storage and distribution of controlled, dangerous and temperature sensitive products to local markets.
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Partnership with the NHS Award Sponsored by Elite Electronic Systems, the Award for Partnership with the NHS was won by Microvisk Ltd which has developed a unique handheld medical device for Point-Of-Care & Prescription-Home-Use monitoring of anticoagulant therapy. The easy- to-use system will make INR (International Normalised Ratio) monitoring simpler and more convenient Leading with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), clinical studies were initiated and completed at 16 Welsh sites working with a mix of primary and secondary care as well as a range of healthcare professionals from Healthcare Assistants to Consultant Haematologists.
Judges’ Award CellPath won the Judges’ Award - sponsored by ehi2 this is for a company that the judges feel embodies the spirit of the Innovation Awards and shows the most promise. CellPath provides both products and services for histology and cytology laboratories within pathology departments at major hospitals worldwide. A family business, it was started by its current chairman in 1970 and is currently managed by his two sons. CellPath has developed a service tailored to saving space and medical technician time, and hence money, for cancer diagnostics within the pathology provision at NHS hospitals. CellNass (Cellular National Archive Solution) first conceived at the Millennium has proven its worth though market acceptance - with more than 50% of UK hospitals currently using the service. The service enables hospitals to concentrate their resources and space on providing faster turnaround times.
Export Achievement Award The Export Achievement Award was won by DTR Medical, a leading manufacturer of high quality sterile single-use surgical instruments which provide patient and clinical value with exceptional standards of service. DTR Medical is exporting sterile single-use instruments primarily for ENT and Gynaecology to more markets and in increasing volumes. Myringotomy trays used for insertion of grommets to relieve glue ear in Saudi Arabia has become the lead product and with extra distributors in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain and Holland DTR Medical has increased its export sales by 354%. This award was sponsored by Wipak.
For further press information contact Lucinda Dargavel Scott-Morgan on 029 2047 3456, lucinda.dargavel@mediwales.com
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Cerebra Innovation Centre celebrates commercial success with its first year of sales Cerebra Innovation Centre (CIC) is a collaborative venture between University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) and MediWales member, the national charity, Cerebra. The R&D team provides a bespoke product design service for the members of the charity which helps children with neurological conditions.
Sales figures for the first year of trading shows over 2000 units sold predominantly in UK and USA. Significantly, an agreement has recently been put in place with supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, who have already purchased 600 units which were purpose designed and fit permanently into shopping trolleys at the point of manufacture.
Many of the products designed and manufactured serve as daily living aids and include products to enable mobility around the home and school, products to enhance and enable play, enabling interaction and inclusion with peers and family. One long-term project is a supportive seat to enable children to accompany their parents shopping. The device slips into the toddler seat of a shopping trolley and offers support to a child who would otherwise be unable to sit unaided. The social impact of being unable to either take a child shopping or unable to go shopping at all is understandably negative. The child will miss out on interaction with people, inclusion into society and numerous sensory stimulating scenarios whilst the parent may be deprived of leisure time, social interaction and may also be restricted to a smaller, and therefore, more expensive shopping routine. In 2009, CIC built a one-off product to help a young girl with hydrocephalus and epilepsy which led to low muscle tone and diminished core strength - to sit upright in a shopping trolley. As a single parent it was impossible for her mother to go supermarket-shopping at this point, because it is not possible to push a wheel chair and a grocery trolley at the same time. The resultant device was a thin-walled plastic chair insert, with an EVA (Ethylene-vinyl acetate) foam covering, a high back, and foam to wrap around the child’s abdomen as well as shoulder, waist and lap straps. This bespoke product was given to the family in line with Cerebra Innovation
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Centre’s aim to help develop solutions where a commercial solution does not exist. By securing the child in a comfortable upright position she was able to sit in the shopping trolley and integrate with other people during the experience. The child benefited significantly from the sensory experience and inclusion; she was sat up high and was noticed by other shoppers, many of whom interacted with her. The perceived improvement to the family’s quality of life was astonishing, and once published within Cerebra’s network, many more people requested a similar product. The design was modified such that the units were quicker to assemble and 60 more prototypes were made over the next year - despite automated cutting processes, the seats were essentially hand made. The 6mm ABS plastic frame was cut using an abrasive water-jet cutter then bent using heat and a jig, the foam insert was also water-jet cut and bonded into place. Each individual strap was hand sewn by the design team and the product shipped out. As the requests built in number, this process was unsustainable by the small team due to the time taken and budgetary implications.
After significant consultation a business model was put forward. CIC designs could now be licensed to third party companies rather than Cerebra attempting to manufacture and sell products. An agreement was developed with James Leckey Design in Belfast, and following testing the resulting product was re-branded as the GoTo Seat. A licensing agreement was drawn up between the organisations, such that Cerebra/UWTSD receive a percentage royalty per unit sold. The GoTo Seat focuses on clinical safety and postural support whilst its design does not render it a medical device in appearance. By working closely with the relevant experts the result ensured a light-weight, functional product which is safe and appropriate for use. The design ethos for CIC dictates that the products manufactured for disabled children should be as aesthetically sound as products for able bodied children and this was well proven by the GoTo Seat. Trolley manufacturer, Wanzle, who are also driving the implementation of the fixed GoTo Seat have begun redesigning again for mass production, at which point the seats will be implemented globally within any supermarket chain choosing the adopt the new seat.
www.cerebra.org.uk/cic
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Abel and Imray continues to supply an impressive offering to Welsh companies Abel & Imray is a firm of patent and trademark attorneys with an impressive commitment to Welsh companies, and also those operating in the medical technology sector. Its presence in Wales has grown steadily since the opening of its office here in 2001, and there are now six attorneys working in Cardiff Bay. In addition to these attorneys, support is provided from both the Bath and London offices, recognising that the specialised nature of medical technology requires an intellectual property professional with a similarly specialised background. Two of the key patent attorneys in the Cardiff office are Simon Haslam and Rhys Williams, both of whom have worked for Abel & Imray for over ten years. Simon has a background in chemistry, including a Ph.D in Physical Chemistry from the University of Bristol. His technical grounding has been particularly useful in areas of medical technology including pharmaceuticals,
fluorescently labelled peptides, methods and devices for making drug deliver beads, and spinal implants. Rhys has a first degree in Physics and Philosophy from the University of Oxford, and recently completed a Masters Degree in Medical Physics, including both diagnostic and treatment technologies. Both Simon and Rhys have attended Medica as part of the Welsh Government delegation and are proud to be part of the life sciences sector in Wales. However, the value of your intellectual property is not just to be found in patents. Your reputation and brand are vital to keeping your competitive edge in a crowded market. Danielle Cooksley is a trademark attorney in the Cardiff office, working for a number of Welsh medical companies, including various members of the MediWales network. All attorneys are well placed to advise clients on any aspect of intellectual property, over a broad range of subject matters.
As part of a commitment to Wales, and to accommodate expanding workforce, As part of its a commitment to in 2012 Abel & Imray moved fromits its Wales, and to accommodate previous offices in central Cardiff to expanding workforce, in 2012 larger and more modern offices in 3 Assembly Abel & Imray moved from its Square. It was encouraging toCardiff see the previous offices in central Welsh Life Science Hub follow and to larger and more modern suit offices set up one floor below last year and in 3 Assembly Square. It was that, along with the firm’s close encouraging to see therelationship Welsh Life withScience MediWales, makes Abeland & Imray Hub follow suit set confident that it will continue to and build up one floor below last year relationships with the exciting and that, along with the firm’s close innovative companies making up the life relationship with MediWales, sciences sector in Wales. makes Abel & Imray confident that it will continue to build relationships with the exciting and innovative companies making up the life sciences sector in Wales.
Rhys Williams
Simon Haslam
Danielle Cooksley
www.patentable.co.uk
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Digital health conference showcases international excellence in open innovation practice International delegates keen to explore best practice, innovation and gain insight into digital health across the globe have travelled to Cardiff to attend an exciting new digital health conference The Digital Health Assembly: Open Innovation conference (10-12 February 2015), jointly organised by the eHealth Industries Innovation (ehi²) Centre, College of Medicine, Swansea University and the Medical Research Council funded The Farr Institute for Health Informatics Research, opened its doors to over 300 international delegates looking to explore advances in digital health and open innovation. The event, which took place for the first time in 2015 at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff, attracted speakers and delegates from across the globe including MIT Center for Digital Business, World Health Organization, the European Space Agency, leading companies including Intel, CISCO, Siemens Healthcare and IBM, and an array of organisations which are charged with modernising healthcare - including the NHS in Wales and beyond. David Ford, Conference Chair and Professor of Health Informatics at Swansea University and Deputy Director of The Farr Institute of Health Informatics Research, said, “Digital Health Assembly: Open innovation has brought together a diverse and extremely impressive collection of innovative minds from the healthcare and technology sectors worldwide. The interest in the Conference and the calibre of the delegates and speakers that we have attracted is a great reflection of this exciting and important area of work. Focusing on the key themes of ’Big Data’, ’Empowering Patients and Staff’ and ’Innovative Business Models’, the conference addressed topics vital for efficient, effective and safe modern healthcare systems.
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“We are delighted to have been able to bring a number of worldrenowned industry leaders to speak at the three day event, along with a fascinating mix of great companies that are shaping digital healthcare worldwide. It is due to them, together with support from the Welsh Government and our partner organisations, that this Conference will not only impart knowledge across the sector but also through the numerous discussion opportunities will catalyse significant change.” David Ford Professor of Health Informatics Swansea University
The three day event was organised around a series of workshops, presentations, roundtable discussions and innovation sessions. Deputy Minister for Health Vaughan Gething said, “Today’s information world is fast, flexible and mobile. The way we interact with each other and with services is constantly evolving. People rightly expect health and care providers to offer
more interactive, personalised services with effective communication between professionals and users of services to deliver the best possible care. “I am keen for the Welsh Government’s prudent healthcare strategy to focus on using technology to support effective treatment and help professionals and patients work as partners. Our eHealth and Care in Wales strategy is helping to ensure the people of Wales, the NHS and social services can take advantage of the benefits that the latest technologies have to offer.” Digital Health Assembly: Open Innovation explores the potential that open innovation can have on organisations operating within the digital health sector and will produce an industry report created from the discussions and debates conducted throughout the conference’s unique daily discussion format. Each day roundtable panellists gathered to discuss challenges and opportunities for digital healthcare, which then open out into wider deliberation via a hot topic panel discussion sessions. Delegates were then invited to continue debating the topic and potential solutions in the innovate sessions.
www.digitalhealthassembly.com
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The Enterprise Europe Network: Delivering international business support and partnering on your doorstep Enterprise Europe Network Wales has assisted Monmouth based SME, E2L Ltd, to identify new business partners in Canada and the Czech Republic interested in distributing their novel light products. The company has developed a range of innovative enabling technologies specifically aimed at the elderly and disabled. E2L’s latest nightlight is a safe light-emitting platform, which can be dimmed sufficiently to allow uninterrupted sleep, yet makes it easy for the user to see/locate essential items (e.g. medications, glasses, clock, water) without switching the room light on. Managing Director of E2L, Lyndon Owen, wanted start selling his new product abroad, but where did he begin?
A phone call to the Enterprise Europe Network Wales helped Lyndon navigate EU legislation, gain help with Intellectual Property Rights and identify new worldwide partners. Within weeks, E2L Ltd was introduced to international companies with distribution capabilities for E2L’s novel lighting products. EEN currently covers 55 countries in Europe and worldwide, with 4,000 staff from over 600 partner organisations delivering a comprehensive range of services related to internationalisation, IPR support, business training and development, European and national funding, and maximizing the potential for commercial opportunities. In the UK, the EEN services are currently delivered
in partnership with Innovate UK, the UK Government’s agency for research and innovation, in order to provide a complete package of business related services readily accessible nationwide.
“I had not come across Enterprise Europe Network before, but nothing was too much trouble for them. I can’t think why other companies would not use their free services? My experience has been first class and it has already added real value to my business.” Lyndon Owen Managing Director E2L Ltd
E2L’s light emitting platform
www.e2l.uk.com
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The Magstim Company Ltd, an innovative and award winning Wales-based medical device manufacturer, has recently celebrated 25 years of success Magstim produces a range of one the most widely used TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) stimulators in the world. These stimulators are used by neuroscience researchers to investigate the connectivity of the brain, with results that have implications for the diagnosis and treatment of Multiple Sclerosis, Central Motor Disorders, Motor Neurone Disease and Spinal Injury.
In addition to the research market, Magstim provides solutions for mental health professionals, utilising its innovative rTMS (Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) technology, for the treatment of drug resistant depression. The clinical traction of this technology has grown internationally and Magstim are proudly supplying the NHS with rTMS Therapy systems for depressed patients who have failed, or are unable to respond to traditional medication.
Magstim is also responsible for the Neurosign range of intra-operative monitors and accessories, which are routinely used by ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) surgeons to protect vital facial nerves during complex surgery. Over the course of its 25 years in the Neuroscience industry, Magstim has been a pivotal tool in the advances of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for researchers across the globe. In delivering quality products Magstim has had to develop a robust supply chain. At the very heart of that supply chain is the sourcing of electronics for Magstim’s TMS Stimulator. Magstim utilises the manufacturing services of another MediWales member, Elite Electronic Systems, as their supplier of electronics. The Northern Ireland-based company provides a complete range of sub-assemblies for Magstim.
In the 10 years since Magstim appointed Elite Electronic Systems as their manufacturing partner, the relationships between the two companies have flourished. Elite is now seen as an integral aspect in Magstim’s manufacturing footprint.
www.magstim.com
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One of Magstim’s transcranial magnetic stimulators in use Elite offers Magstim a range of services, which compliment the actual manufacture of their electronics, including: l Bespoke test regime – the two
companies have worked together to develop the best possible test regime for Magstim’s products. l Robust NPI – Elite offers a
comprehensive NPI service ensuring Magstim can focus on their core business l Elite’s quality system is now an
extension of the Magstim quality system, offering full traceability on all components, sub-assemblies and processes. l Engineering inputs – engineers
from both companies work closely together in utilising new technologies to meet the evolving needs of the researcher and clinician
The strength of the relationship allows Magstim to continue to develop new products and utilise new technologies retaining their position as market leaders in the Neuromodulation market.
www.elitees.com
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Bringing great life sciences ideas to life Just a few hundred yards from Cardiff University's School of Medicine is a red brick building. Inside is a cluster of high tech labs and offices, home to 26 busy and growing companies. They’re each developing cutting edge life sciences products and services. This is where academia meets business.
Cardiff Medicentre is one of Wales’s most successful business incubators for biotech and medtech startups. It’s been based on the Heath Park campus in the grounds of the University of Wales Hospital since 1992 when it was established as a joint venture between Cardiff City Council, Cardiff University, Welsh Government and Cardiff & Vale University Health Board. The centre was the first life science incubator of its kind in Wales and now provides 32 units of high quality office and lab space accommodation ranging from 284 sq ft to 1,045 sq ft. Low-cost desk leasing facilities encourage entrepreneurs to enter the Cardiff Medicentre community while writing business plans and raising finance, so every stage of start-up is catered for. Cardiff Medicentre tenants include Asalus Medical Instruments, MedaPhor, Diurnal, WIMAT, and Cansford Laboratories. Their products and services are ground-breaking, and many are already well-established in global markets including Europe, North
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America, Japan and Brazil. Recent successes have included:
● a string of awards for Asalus and its Ultravision product which clears smoke created during laparascopic surgery. Among these was the prestigious Royal College of Surgeons’ Cutlers Surgical Prize for the best surgical invention ● MedaPhor’s listing on the Alternative Investment Market, and the launch of its US subsidiary to drive exports of its ultrasound education and training tools in North America.
Those are just some of the success stories. Past tenants have gone on to achieve great things, too. A number have graduated from the centre through expansion and acquisition, including the laboratory testing company Tricho-Tech which was acquired for £11.25m and the
healthcare consultancy business Cardiff Research Consortium which was purchased by outsourcing giant Capita Group plc for £11.6m. Cardiff Medicentre is where it all begins. Aside from low-cost rent and lab and desk leasing facilities, the centre offers a range of business support mechanisms for budding medical entrepreneurs. This includes access to professional business advisors and to the Welsh Government's Life Sciences sector team, Cardiff City Council’s Economic Development Unit and Cardiff University. Tenants are supported in every aspect of their growing business,
Indoor Biotechnologies from initial idea through to launch and active trading. Those running Cardiff Medicentre have one simple aim: to provide the space and assistance new biotech and medtech businesses need to get up and running, grow and to thrive.
If you are interested in becoming involved with the Cardiff Medicentre's entrepreneurial networks and activities or would like to access business support schemes for a potential start-up, please contact Rob Jackson, Innovation Manager, or Centre Administrators Mair Davies and Jan Coward.
02920 757744 or
enquiries@cardiffmedicentre.co.uk
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Indoor Biotechnologies moved into Cardiff Medicentre in 2012. The business is a holistic life sciences company offering products and services and conducting in-house research and development into allergens.
Executive Director of Indoor Biotechnologies Dr James Hindley, who heads up the team in Cardiff said, “Much of what we do here is measuring allergens from sources including cat, dog, dust mite, pollen and nuts. Our clients are academic and non-academic researchers, allergen manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers of allergen reduction or management products and food companies based all over the world who call on us to help detect, and work towards minimising the effects of, allergens.” The decision to base the UK operation at Cardiff Medicentre was a straightforward one.
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“We wanted somewhere which had the space we needed, both in terms of scientific capacity and light, modern areas,” Dr Hindley said. “We also knew that we’d need flexibility to grow, and that has proved very useful as we’ve recently taken on more lab space.”
Dr Hindley explained that location was an important factor. “It’s great to have easy access to the M4, and to be a stone’s throw from the University Hospital of Wales. Being in a medical environment adds relevance to what we’re doing. And it means we can call on resources if we need them.”
A word of advice: if you’re thinking about becoming a tenant at Cardiff Medicentre then act quickly. Occupancy currently stands at more than 95 per cent and when it’s full, it’s full.
Over the last two years, Indoor has grown its line of business in multiplex detection of allergens, immunoassay development and contract research, and has won a multinational service contract with a Clinical Research Organisation. The number of Cardiff-based personnel has grown by 200 per cent to six full-time employees, including scientists, salespeople and a business development manager. Turnover has increased by 40 per cent and the business is trading overseas in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. “We’re doing very well,” said Dr Hindley, “and we’re certain that Cardiff Medicentre was the right choice for us. It’s not just about the physical facilities; we have had excellent business support – legal, financial and marketing - along the way which has helped develop us and shape our plans. The Cardiff Medicentre has also provided clear links to Cardiff Council and the Welsh Government, and has helped us arrange sector- specific mentoring programs, as well as commercial and academic contacts. All in all, it got us off to a great start. And we’re in a really good place to tackle the next stage of our growth strategy. ”
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TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE
Glyconics secures commercial licence from Swansea University for COPD diagnostic signature Glyconics Limited, an innovative UK diagnostics company, has secured an exclusive global commercialisation licence from Swansea University for the use of its intellectual property in the use of IR spectroscopy for the diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is an umbrella term to describe a range of chronic lung diseases that cause limitations in lung airflow, and includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. In the UK, COPD is estimated to affect some six million people and is responsible for more than 25,000 deaths annually but around half of sufferers are said to be unaware of their condition, which can put extra strain on hospitals further down the line. Poor recognition and treatment of respiratory failure increases the risk of mortality.
“With this licence secured, we
The technology was originally developed by Dr Paul Lewis and his team at the College of Medicine, Swansea University. They were able to identify specific biomarkers in sputum which are characteristic of COPD patients and can be easily and rapidly analysed using noninvasive IR spectroscopy, and Glyconics is planning to utilise this technology to develop a diagnostic for COPD.
can move ahead to launch our
The licence will enable Glyconics to launch a laboratory based and portable version of its device for both the identification of COPD patients and, most importantly, the early identification of exacerbation events. Collectively the clinical management and loss of productivity due to COPD in the UK equates to £4 billion to the UK economy per annum so accurate diagnosis and early identification of exacerbation is likely to significantly impact disease management. In particular, the early
into the major global markets.
technology into areas of unmet clinical need where there is very little genuine competition. Given the global significance of COPD as a major clinical problem we will be looking to rapidly identify commercial partners who can assist in the rapid deployment of our devices Importantly we are also continuing to work very closely with Swansea University to build a development pipeline around other signatures.” Dr Berwyn Clarke CEO, Glyconics
identification of exacerbation will enable earlier therapeutic intervention and avert the incidence of hospitalisation of these patients and substantially reduce associated healthcare costs. Full commercial details are not disclosed, but future payments will be based around royalty payments on sales and commercial milestones. Head of Intellectual Property for Swansea University, Dr Gerry Ronan commented, “We are delighted to conclude the licence with Glyconics who are rapidly moving forward towards the commercialisation of the University’s IP. There is a significant unmet clinical need in this area, coupled with a large global untapped market, and Glyconics is ideally placed to exploit this.”
www.glyconics.com
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TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE
Waking up to change- how TrakCel is helping cell therapies scale After a relentless year of product development, client meetings and too many airports, TrakCel’s LifeStories defining moment came quietly one December day with a frank decision; that it would change the cell therapy industry, forever. TrakCel’s technology is radical. It aims to replace last century’s high risk paperbased method for managing complex cell therapy supply chains, with a powerful on-line solution that puts quality stakeholders in control and keeps everyone in the loop. Yet inventing a new technology alone was not enough to inspire TrakCel’s conviction to change an industry. It was essential to engage with pharmaceutical companies to understand their appetite for adopting a new technology into the real world of clinical trials and it was essential that we help the industry wake up to change.
The first indication that TrakCel technology had potential came from GlaxoSmithKline who grasped its advantages and brought an early version inhouse. A collaborative project agreement with The Cell Therapy Catapult followed by solid interest from other major market players culminated in that pivotal moment when TrakCel committed to pursuing its vision.
The company raised further funding in time for the start of 2015 and the team then poised itself for action with Kevin Smith moving from CEO to lead global commercial development, and bio-tech visionary Keren Winmill expanding her Chairman role to help guide the company through the planned expansion phase. Roll on to January 2015 and TrakCel has completed a series of new hirings and appointments sourced from the Welsh talent pool. It has begun its US market entry through association with the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) and by exhibiting at the Phacilitate Cell & Gene Therapy Forum 2015, in Washington D.C..
A new website has been launched and a marketing plan is up and running with PR, events and new branding well under way. It’s just the start. TrakCel is storming ahead with the conviction to revolutionise the cell therapy industry using radical technology that just may change the world.
www.trakcel.com
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IBI Group designed Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre starts on site Following the successful completion of Cardiff University’s Hadyn Ellis Building, IBI Group’s design for a subsequent phase of the Maindy Road Campus master plan has started on site; the £44million Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC).
The new building will be four times larger than the University’s existing facilities, meaning staff from different departments will benefit from being housed under one roof, allowing for increased collaboration and innovation. The facility will contain MRI and Magnetoencephalography (MEG) scanning suites, laboratories, office accommodation and seminar facilities. The CUBRIC project developed from an initial feasibility study by IBI Group’s Cardiff studio in January 2013 and achieved planning approval in August 2014. Responding to the context in which it sits, the design will employ similar energy efficient features at the Hadyn
“IBI Group designed one of the first MEG facilities in the UK at University of Oxford. The practice has applied this knowledge and data from the ‘4 labs 4 cities’ research by its R&D team IBI THiNK, to benchmark the CUBRIC building design against other leading international examples of science facilities.” Richard Golledge Architect and Associate Studio Director, IBI Group
Ellis Building, which achieved a BREEAM Higher Education Award Wales for sustainable design. Research at CUBRIC is focused on four inter-related research themes: Imaging Science; Neuroscience; Clinical Research; and Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics. This research aims to have a direct impact on understanding human health and wellbeing, including the brain changes that lead to disordered cognition and mental health. Cardiff University’s brand new medical research facility is due to complete in 2016.
www.ibigroup.com
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EKF Molecular Diagnostics’ PointMan™ technology paving the way for simple blood tests for cancers 2014 has proved to be exciting times for Cardiff-based EKF Diagnostics and the ongoing development of its PointMan™ DNA enrichment technology for use in simple blood tests for cancers. Following early success last January with the announcement of positive initial results of an ongoing collaboration with the Institute of Life Sciences at Swansea University, EKF is now working with a further three leading organisations globally to develop and validate the application of PointMan technology for non-invasive cancer diagnosis using liquid biopsies. PointMan™ provides a reliable and highly sensitive determination of the presence or absence of a mutation in the DNA sequence. Mutations are associated with diseases such as cancer and importantly the patient’s response to treatment, known as personalized healthcare. EKF’s novel technology works by targeting the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) towards the mutant sequence whilst suppressing the amplification of the non-mutated (wild type) sequence, meaning that these enriched
samples contain artificially high levels of mutated DNA, significantly enhancing detection. This uniquely drives the sensitivity of the PointMan technology far beyond existing PCR technology. Studies have confirmed that PointMan can detect 1 mutant gene in 10,000 normal gene copies compared to most competing technologies that detect only 1 in 100. PointMan’s extreme sensitivity offers a unique advantage in the early detection and monitoring of disease progression, as well as in assessing the efficacy of ongoing anti-cancer treatments, without the need for a tissue biopsy. This proof of principle has been demonstrated in a series of ongoing collaborations focused on Circulating Cancer Cells (CTCs) isolated from patient blood. CTCs are shed by tumours and may be responsible for the cancer metastasising. CTCs are extremely rare in whole blood and their isolation and characterisation could offer clinicians a routine method with which to diagnose, treat and monitor the progress of various cancers. The main difficulty in successfully analysing CTCs has been the ability to detect low level mutations
“I am very pleased that we have seen a significant increase in the level of interest in PointMan as an effective tool to detect ultra-low level mutations in a patient’s tumour. At recent healthcare conferences there has been growing confidence that CTCs offer a beneficial insight into metastasis and untreated or resistant cancer compared to ctDNA which is often cited as indicative of short term treatment success. I believe this new understanding has initiated our collaborations with leading CTC platforms in development, whilst we continue to actively support improvements in the analysis of ctDNA from a blood sample given the non-invasive benefit of the sample collection.” Andrew Webb CEO, EKF Molecuar Diagnostics
sufficiently and to create assays that are sensitive enough to provide meaningful data; difficulties which PointMan may be able to effectively overcome. This ability has now been demonstrated as proof of principle in three ongoing research collaborations with leading organisations involved with CTCs and the early detection of a variety of cancer types using liquid biopsies - Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), GILUPI and ANGLE plc - all complement the ongoing work at Swansea where EKF is now sponsoring an MSc Studentship.
www.ekfdiagnostics.com
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Jubilee celebrations start early for CellPath
A Newtown business has claimed a top award in a leading life sciences competition. CellPath, based in Newtown, won the MediWales Judges’ Award 2014 at the MediWales Innovation Awards. The ceremony is organised to celebrate the achievements of life science companies and individuals from the NHS in Wales. CellPath, a manufacturer and global supplier of histopathology consumables and services, came top of the pile after developing CellNass (Cellular Pathology National Archive Secure Solution). CellNass is a solution for saving space and medical technician time, for cancer
diagnostics within the pathology provision. Judges said that the service – first introduced at the Millenniumhad proven its worth through market acceptance, enabling more and more hospitals to concentrate their resources on providing faster diagnosis turnaround times. Peter Webber, Chairman of CellPath, said that he was thrilled to see the company claim the award. This success followed on from CellPath being awarded both The Innovation and New Product Development Award and the Powys Business of The Year Award 2014 a month prior.
“It is coming up to our silver jubilee year next year (2015) and it is a fitting time to receive it. I am very pleased on behalf of the whole team at CellPath and the family, and it is acknowledgement of all the hard work that has gone in over the years.” Peter Webber Chairman CellPath
CellNass is proven, established and cost-effective for the retention of Pathological material in conditions complying with Royal College of Pathologists, Institute of Biomedical Science, CPA and HTA requirements. Although originally designed by experienced laboratory and business people for the specific needs of Cellular Pathology blocks and slides, the service is now branching out into other Pathology disciplines, where the attention to detail, data protection and understanding of security requirements are also appreciated.
www.cellpath.co.uk
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UK HealthTech 2014: Collaborating success Life Science Industryfor Conference 4th December 2014, Cardiff, Wales
One Conference - Two Essential Streams
• Pharmaceutical Development
• Medical Technology
The UK HealthTech Conference 2014 is to be held at the St David’s Hotel, Cardiff. The one day event will be a valuable day of briefings and networking for those within the pharmaceutical and medtech communities. Over 300 delegates are expected to come together in an integrated congress to understand critical strategic trends that will impact on the life science industry. The event will offer both the latest insights from key opinion leaders and networking with regulatory authorities and executives from the world’s leading industry, clinical and research organisations.
Conference Rates:
Dinner and Networking:
Delegate Rate £250 (£175 for MediWales Members) Exhibitor Packages £850 (£600 for MediWales Members) Sponsorship Packages from £2,000
Following this event there will be a drinks reception and dinner.
* All prices exclude VAT
UK Organisations HealthTech Partner Partner Organisations The UK HealthTech Conference opened its doors for a third time on 4th December at the St David’s Hotel and Spa, Cardiff. MediWales delivered this popular event and with over 250 professionals, clinicians and industry specialists, from around the world, in attendance this figure was up by 25% on last year’s numbers. Continued support from Health Research Wales allowed all NHS staff to attend the day for free.
year’s conference was comprised of two essential streams - medical technology and pharmaceutical development - and played host to the launch of Clinical Trials Services Wales which will offer delivery of a complete and streamlined service. The impact of regulatory change was the key theme covering both streams and John Wilkinson OBE, Director of the MHRA lead on this regulatory update.
UK HealthTech is a uniquely collaborative event, made possible through close relationships with UK partners and the day provided delegates with the essential annual sector briefing for the UK Health Technology and pharma communities and covered the areas of medical devices, diagnostics and pharmaceuticals. This
Keynote speakers included Peter Ellingworth, Chief Executive, ABHI who provided an update on the med tech sector and Ian Barnes, Specialist Advisor to the Chief Scientific Officer, NHS England who discussed the latest innovative diagnostics in healthcare. Seminars and plenary sessions provided a thorough understanding of key areas such as the security of the supply chain and UK
A companion event to
Genesis conference
procurement, regenerative medicine, engaging with the NHS, funding and finance and international trade. With international visitors from over 20 countries, 38 exhibitors, partnering meetings arranged and support from the Enterprise Europe Network, this year’s conference offered something for everybody.
This year’s UKHealthTech Conference will take place on 3rd December 2015
www.ukhealthtech.com
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Welsh design engineering destined to prevent global water contamination Welsh expertise in life sciences is helping to combat the growing problem of global water pollution. One of Wales’ leading innovative and dedicated product design engineering companies, GX Group, has been working in conjunction with Cardiff University and water technology company Modern Water. Together they have developed an online analytical toxicity instrument – the Microtox CTM that uses life science technology to monitor water contamination.
The initial drive to develop a ground breaking standalone online analytical toxicity instrument to measure water contamination came from Welsh based company, Cymtox, who have since been bought by the global Modern Water. Working in conjunction with Modern Water and Cardiff University, the design engineers at GX Group managed to harness ground breaking bioluminescent technology to test for water contamination. The Microtox CTM has been designed to provide an accurate and continuous indication of water quality in real time, which can be controlled and monitored via a colour touchscreen, or even remotely via the internet. Since the machine was destined to be sold to water authorities in the Far East the team felt it was important to develop a standalone unit which required little manual intervention. Another key consideration was a low manufacturing cost, since this would allow a final economical and competitive unit price. The design team at GX Group worked on developing a simple industrial box like exterior which would hide sophisticated equipment to continually mix samples of bioluminescent bacteria with water. By monitoring the amount of light emitted by the bacteria to measure their health the machine could automatically monitor the water quality for contamination.
Such bespoke manufacturing of a low volume unit using life science technology is one of the key attractions that a company like Modern Water benefited from using a full service product design development company like GX Group.
The entire project took just eleven months from the initial mechanical and industrial design, through to the addition of complex electronics to seamlessly interface with software allowing the Microtox CTM to be remotely controlled. By harnessing science and merging this with a practical design, Modern Water and GX Group raised the bar in online water toxicity testing with the first truly continuous online instrument. From an initial order for just six machines the team at GX Group continues to collaborate with Modern Water, most recently building a further 20 units.
www.gxgroup.com
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InvestorG8 Swansea University investor readiness pilot ends on a high A pilot programme that transforms academic ideas and inventions into venture capital-backed businesses has drawn to a close, reporting a series of highly successful outcomes. InvestorG8, initially a 12-month pilot funded by Welsh Government’s A4B programme, launched at Swansea University this time last year. It is the first of its kind in the UK to apply intensive investor readiness support to early-stage academic ideas. This concept was devised by Dr Gerry Ronan, Head of IP Commercialisation at Swansea University, who led the programme with the help of technology transfer specialist and former venture capital investor Dr Mark Bowman. Dr Ronan said, “Knowledge transfer is an important part of what many universities are doing, and it’s vital to the development of areas including life sciences and engineering. At Swansea we have taken things one step further by applying specialist financial, legal and commercial expertise to these great scientific concepts during their formative stage, helping shape them into investible businesses.” InvestorG8 is the first programme of its kind in the UK and its leaders say it paves the way for a fresh approach to the commercialisation of academic ideas. Dr Bowman said, “There is a wealth of ideas bubbling away inside Swansea University’s laboratories and research spaces; we have world-class scientists here who are coming up with fresh solutions to medical, biological and environmental problems all the time. But it has historically been
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difficult for universities to bring academic innovations to life through commercialisation. InvestorG8 has proved that by investing packages of specialist expertise in these ideas from day one, they can quickly be made into investable businesses – and businesses which bring benefits to people everywhere.” Last year, eight projects were selected from Swansea University’s life sciences and engineering departments to take part in InvestorG8. Among these was a group of scientists who had designed a unique solar product which can be integrated into the fabric of buildings to generate renewable energy. Another group is developing a product to combat human resistance to antibiotics. Each InvestorG8 project was allocated up to £75,000 of funds to further the technical development of their ideas and to shape their commercialisation strategy. Working with a specially assembled team of commercial, legal and regulatory experts, the academics behind these businesses have been supported in developing, realising and beginning to exploit their ideas. Dr Ronan said, “It’s been very handson, bridging the gap between research projects which have proven potential and investor-ready opportunities. A key part of this was the continuous assessment and feedback provided by InvestorG8’s panel of venture capital investors, which included Finance Wales, the IP Group, the Welsh business angel network xénos, Arthurian Life Sciences and Merica Fund Management.”
“In my experience, it is very unusual for potential investors to be as involved as early in the technology transfer process as InvestorG8 has facilitated, and it has proved extremely useful. Over the last ten months or so we have seen the impact of the investors’ focused advice on commercial realities at a stage where projects were still capable of being shaped. A further benefit is that we already have significant offers of investment in place for the participating spin-out companies.” Dr Mark Bowman Technology Transfer Specialist
All eight InvestorG8 projects are now limited companies, some already actively trading and making great progress in their specialist fields. These include Cholestenix Ltd which is launching a diagnostic tool for the cholesterol-related disorder Cerebrotendinous Xanthomatosis and is in advanced talks with global pharmaceutical companies. Swansea University has also recently announced that is has entered into a licensing arrangement with one of the participating spin-out companies, Glyconics Ltd. The technology behind the deal, a medical device for diagnosing and measuring exacerbations associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), was optimised as part of the InvestorG8 pilot programme.
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As Wales’ attention continues to be focused on the rise of life sciences and technology-based businesses, those at Swansea’s Department of Research and Innovation believe that early investment in academic ideas will produce better and more sustainable opportunities. The success of InvestorG8 comes as Swansea University achieved its ambition to be a top 30 research university, by soaring up to 26th in the UK’s Research Excellence Framework league table from 52nd in 2008. This is the largest climb up the rankings of any research-intensive university in the UK. The leap in the rankings comes as the University prepares to open its new £450m science and innovation Bay Campus.
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“InvestorG8 has been an enormous success, ensuring that the most is made of the great ideas created here in Swansea. We fully expect to deliver at least a ten-fold return, in terms of value created, on the £450,000 invested by Welsh Government in this initiative. And we’re confident that other UK universities will see InvestorG8 as a model on which to base their own academic and commercial developments.” Dr Gerry Ronan Head of IP Commercialisation Swansea University
www.swansea.ac.uk
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Health Research Wales helps Microvisk bring new technology to market Welsh NHS also provides an excellent basis for research and innovation and, has the potential to play a significant role in creating better therapies and technologies that will bring immediate benefits to patients.
Health Research Wales has been established to provide a one-stop source of information and support for companies wishing to undertake clinical research in Wales. Its mission is to facilitate the successful delivery of commercial research in the NHS and promote Wales as an effective place to do research. A dedicated team, working across Wales, has been put in place to ensure the delivery of a high quality and professional service. They work closely with the NHS Research and Development (R&D) teams and are able to provide advice and support for the establishment and management of studies. Health Research Wales’ services include general signposting, a partnering service, costing advice and support, feasibility co-ordination, contracts advice and support and support in study set-up
Microvisk Ltd is a medical device company located in St Asaph, North Wales. It has produced and developed a medical device, which can be used by patients taking anti-coagulant medication to provide INR results enabling their treatment to be monitored and adjusted by their clinician. This technology will allow millions of people taking anti-coagulant drugs to monitor their treatment at home and cut out endless trips to GPs’ surgeries, improving quality of life for patients and making large savings for the NHS. Until March 2013, Microvisk had struggled to find clinical partners in Wales to further develop the device. Through MediWales, Microvisk was put in touch with Health Research Wales who met with Jim
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and management. Wales has a vibrant research culture involving the NHS, industry and academia which has been established to bring benefits to patients in the immediate term, as well as providing long term solutions to diseases. Many important initiatives have been undertaken to streamline the processes for undertaking studies, making Wales an attractive proposition to industry. The integrated
Thurlow, Director of Microvisk and Joe Booth, Lead Scientist, to find out exactly what support was needed. Microvisk needed to run 2 clinical trials which would form the final part of their regulatory submission to obtain CE marking. For this the company would need clinical partners and access to patients on anti-coagulant therapy. Health Research Wales approached the Consultant Haematologist, Dr Jim Seale and Matron Sian Hughes-Jones, Lead Thrombosis Nurse in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), to discuss the feasibility of running the studies in North Wales. Dr Seale and Matron Hughes-Jones were very receptive to helping Microvisk.
Health Research Wales aims to enhance the research environment, contribute greatly to improved care for patients and improved health and wealth for the population of Wales and those who decide to invest in it.
www.healthresearchwales.com
Health Research Wales then approached a further 11 primary care sites (GP surgeries) out of which 8 agreed to come on board for both studies. By the end of September 2013 Health Research Wales had facilitated the effective study set-up of 2 studies. Within just 6 months of the referral to Health Research Wales the progress made was swift demonstrating the value of having a dedicated and experienced team overseeing these vital collaborations between industry and the NHS.
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NHS partnership recognised in award Microvisk took one of the six prestige industry awards at the 2014 MediWales Innovation Awards, which were announced at a dinner in Cardiff’s National Museum on 10 December. The company was chosen for this year’s “Partnership with the NHS/Academia” award, given for collaboration bringing benefits in patient care.
Microvisk’s unique blood coagulation testing technology uses MEMS technology in clot detection, featuring a disposable diagnostic strip and CoagMax® handheld reader.
secondary care sites across Wales. NHS staff at Betsi Cadwaladr and Powys Health Boards and GP practices within their regions played key roles in the 12-month programme.
The easy-to-use system makes INR monitoring simpler and more convenient, enabling blood coagulation testing both for patients at home and in a doctor’s surgery.
Positive feedback endorsed the benefits of home monitoring, reducing the need for multiple trips to doctors’ surgeries, bringing time and cost savings for patients and NHS alike.
In a programme facilitated by MediWales, Health Research Wales, and NISCHR Clinical Research Centre the system was studied across a mix of 16 primary and
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Commenting on the award, Microvisk CEO Jim Thurlow said, “This is pleasing recognition for the key contributions of all the partners. For Microvisk, the in-clinic performance evaluation of the CoagMax® system was a critical step towards our achieving CE marking for the system, paving the way for commercial product launch.” The 2014 success is Microvisk’s second in the annual MediWales Innovation Awards. In 2011 it was named winner in the “Start-up” category, when its CoagMax® blood testing technology package was still in pre-commercial development. The award, sponsored by Elite Electronic Systems, was accepted by Microvisk’s Head of Quality, Julian Beadle and Senior Scientist and Clinical Trials Manager, Joe Booth.
www.coagmax.com www.microvisk.com
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A UK first for Rocialle as it gains international certification for social responsibility standards Rocialle is pleased to confirm that it has been awarded the coveted SA8000 Social Accountability Standard. Rocialle, with a wide range of medical packs and single use surgical instruments, packed and sterilised at its facilities in the UK, is helping healthcare providers to improve efficiency, control infection and drive down the cost of high quality medical products. In Acute care, Rocialle serves almost every National Health Service Trust in the UK and is part of Berendsen Plc, a FTSE250 company.
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SA8000 is the certification of Social Accountability International, the nongovernmental, international organisation, dedicated to improving workplaces and communities by developing and implementing socially responsible standards. It is one of the world’s first auditable social certification standards for decent workplaces, across all industrial sectors. Based on the UN Declaration of Human Rights it spans countries and industries to create a common language for the measurement of social performance. It takes a management systems approach by setting out the structures and procedures that companies must adopt in order to ensure that compliance with the standard is continuously reviewed. To comply with SA8000, Rocialle has adopted policies and procedures that protect the basic human rights of workers at the sites of its suppliers around the world, as well as those at its sites in the South Wales
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“The SA8000 Standard is central to our work here at Rocialle. Certification proves our commitment to social
These are the nine elements in the SA8000 Standard: l Child labour l Forced or compulsory
labour l Health & safety l Freedom of association
& right to collective bargaining l Discrimination l Disciplinary ractices l Working hours l Remuneration l Management systems
Economy Minister for Wales, Edwina Hart congratulated Rocialle on being the first medical device company in the UK to gain the certification and commented, “Gaining this prestigious certification is a major achievement particularly as Rocialle is the first company in its sector to do so. It is important that all employers in Wales are committed to employee welfare, as healthy workplaces are inherently more productive and add value to the economy of Wales. The fact that five of the thirteen UK companies to gain this certification are based in Wales is testimony to the quality of our employers. I am pleased to see that Rocialle, one of our life sciences companies, which has recently increased its export activity with Welsh Government support, is also leading the way in implementing responsible business practices.” SA8000 improves the management and performance of a company’s supply chain, ensures compliance with global standards
accountability and to treating our employees and those of our suppliers ethically and in compliance with global standards.” Liam Keene Quality Manager Rocialle
and reduces the risk of negligence, public exposure and possible litigation. It can also reinforce the loyalty of employees, customers and stakeholders. Managing Director, Steve Burt, said, “We are proud to have earned this certification. It’s satisfying to have confirmation that we are going about things the right way. Of course, we are hoping that it also helps us win business; it’s only right that customers look for evidence of social accountability when deciding where to place orders.”
www.rocialle.com
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Synergy creates speedy solution for roadside drug testing Providing a wide range of drug and alcohol testing solutions to clients in all industry sectors, from many of the UK’s largest organisations to small, independent companies, Synergy Health Laboratory Services is considered a trusted expert in the area of fully managed workplace drugs and alcohol testing solutions. The end of 2014 was a particularly busy time for Synergy Health as its customers were preparing for the imminent change in Drug Driving legislation. Under the new offence of drug driving, the Police will simply have to show that the individual has taken drugs and was either driving, attempting to drive or in charge of
a vehicle. The new offence will reduce the wasted time, expense and effort involved for the Police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Courts when prosecutions fail under the existing offence in section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Following suggestions from a panel of expert witnesses, which includes both medical and scientific experts, the Department for Transport (DfT) put forward proposals which are now covered by the new offence. The legislation will become law in England and Wales from 2nd March 2015 and this date coincides with the changes being made to the current drink driving legislation.
A zero tolerance approach has been adopted for eight controlled drugs which are known to impair driving: l Cannabis l Cocaine l Benzoylecgonine l LSD l MDMA (Ecstasy) l Ketamine l Methamphetamine l 6-MAM (Heroin
Diamorphine)
The Dräger DrugTest® 5000 The UK Government has approved the Dräger DrugTest® 5000 for roadside drug testing and as such, this is the device that the Police will be using when testing. The Dräger DrugTest® 5000 is an easy to use mobile drug screening system which uses oral fluid to test for seven types of the most commonly abused drugs. This quick drug test provides a non-invasive alternative to the current collection of urine samples. It is quick and simple to operate, with a user friendly design and on screen instructions to guide the collection officer through the test. The unique configuration of the Dräger DrugTest® 5000 ensures that the device controls both analysis time and internal temperature for accurate, reliable results. A key feature of the Dräger DrugTest® 5000 is that the device provides an electronic result. This removes the need for interpretation and eradicates the element of human error. Synergy Health has an exclusive agreement with Dräger to supply the DrugTest® 5000 in the United Kingdom.
www.synergyhealthplc.com
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£4m Welsh Wound Innovation Centre launch in Llantrisant
A new £4m research centre to tackle the “silent epidemic” of wound care has been launched.
Treating wounds in Welsh hospitals or in the home and at clinics by nurses costs the NHS in Wales around £156m a year. The Welsh Wound Innovation Centre (WWIC) aims to improve treatments and lower hospital admissions and stays. Based in Llantrisant, it will include working with patients at the nearby Royal Glamorgan Hospital. Wound care – which includes dealing with problems like pressure sores and infection after surgery – is thought to account for around 5% of the NHS’s overall budget and is rising. The new centre is co-headed by Prof Keith Harding, head of Cardiff
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University’s Wound Healing Research Unit, which has been researching wound healing for more than 22 years. This has included pioneering work in the use of maggots for cleaning wounds. In a typical hospital, between 25% and 40% of beds are occupied by patients with a wound, while nurses in the community can spend between 25-75% of their time treating them. “Treating patients with wounds, whether chronic, acute or traumatic, is a surprisingly expensive problem for the health service – not to mention the emotional costs it inflicts on patients and their families,” said Prof Harding.
He said the centre would look at improvements to wound prevention and treatment, aimed at fewer hospital admissions and shorter stays.
The WWIC was set up with £2.5m funding from the Welsh government, as well as the seven local health boards and the private sector. It hopes to be paying for itself within three years via revenue from academic grants; clinical service and commercial sources.
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Cedar: Cardiff-based medical device research specialists
The centre is already supporting the work of five small businesses based in Wales, as well as American and Australian companies. It employs 31 people and aims to attract at least 11 investments from abroad, creating a further 45 jobs over the next five years. It recently won a research award from the Medical Research Council (MRC) to help scientists develop a diagnostic test to improve the treatment of chronic wound management. Edwina Hart, Minister for the Economy, Science and Transport said, “The Welsh Wound Innovation Centre provides us with a real opportunity to excel in this area. Wales has the expertise to provide a solution and the capability to become a
“Our population is getting older and the time and cost associated with treating and managing wounds is set to increase. Only by looking at new ways of treating wounds can we manage this trend and improve people’s quality of life.” Mark Drakeford Minister for Health and Social Services
Cedar is a healthcare technologies research centre led by Director Dr Grace CarolanRees and based in Cardiff Medicentre. Established in 1977, it is a combined Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and Cardiff University group, specialising in medical devices and diagnostics. The team are experienced in a range of methods including systematic reviewing, health economics, technical testing, statistical analysis, and questionnaire design and validation.
world recognised leading nation in this important clinical area. “Wound healing is a niche speciality identified by the Life Sciences Sector Panel and in our Science for Wales strategy as an area of genuine excellence for Wales. “We have acknowledged global leaders in the field working here in Wales as well as a strong network which links the business, clinical and academic communities. The Welsh Wound Innovation Centre will build on this firm foundation.” Dr Andrew Goodall, Chief Executive, Aneurin Bevan Health Board, said, “This is an important development that brings together government, a university perspective and the NHS. It builds on existing work in Wales which has an international reputation for wound healing to bring health benefits and subsequent financial savings.” Professor Harding, commented, “The new centre will act as a focus for research, clinical and commercial excellence in wound prevention and treatment. This will position Wales in a global leadership position in addressing this growing healthcare issue.”
Cedar is an external assessment centre for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) working since 2010 on the Medical Technologies Evaluation Programme (MTEP). MTEP evaluates new or innovative devices and diagnostics, helping the NHS adopt efficient and cost effective medical technologies more rapidly and consistently. Cedar, in partnership with the Cardiff Wound Healing Research Unit led by Professor Keith G Harding (OBE), is currently running the first clinical trial resulting from NICE medical technology guidance recommendations. The trial investigates whether an innovative wound healing technology, the MIST ultrasound therapy system (Celleration, US), is better than standard care in promoting healing of chronic venous leg ulcers. This study is a collaboration between Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and Cardiff University, funded through an unrestricted research grant from the device manufacturer. The randomised controlled trial aims to fill the evidence gap identified in NICE’s medical technologies guidance on MIST. Following completion of the study in Autumn 2013, NICE will review its medical technologies guidance on MIST when new and substantive evidence becomes available.
www.welshwoundinnovationcentre.com
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The South East Wales Academic Health Sciences Partnership (SEWAHSP) Health Technology Challenge Wales The Health Technology Challenge, first launched in 2013, is SEWAHSP’s flagship Innovation gateway. It is an open innovation platform, which allows healthcare practitioners and technology providers to work together to source innovative solutions to clinical problems. It supports an interactive website where those working in healthcare or patients and carers can pose problems they encounter in practice where they envisage technical solutions could be developed. The best challenges are then entered into a funding competition with applications invited from interdisciplinary teams to solve these. Following the success of the Health Technology Challenge Pilot Scheme in 2013, the scheme was expanded to the
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Health Technology Challenge Wales in 2014. This was open to all institutions in Wales and also changed to include a stronger focus on engaging the public and 3rd Sector in formulating challenges and also more involvement with industry (primarily SMEs). The platform allows healthcare professionals, technology developers and end users to interact easily. The website is interactive allowing users to comment and vote on the ideas posted and projects to solve the problem must be collaborative. This ensures that solutions are both relevant to healthcare practice and address real world problems. The scheme gathered momentum since being expanded to an All Wales initiative and the website has over
440 registered users from academia, NHS, commercial and 3rd sector and members of the public. SEWAHSP received funding to support the scheme through the Intellectual Property Office’s Fast Forward Award, which it won 2 years in a row. With additional support from Tenovus Cancer Care this funding enabled the establishment of a platform to drive healthcare innovation. The projects funded under the scheme so far have produced an app to improve patient data recording and monitoring in Prostate Cancer, a novel antiseptic wound dressing, better materials for joint replacement and development of point of care diagnostics for infection in peritoneal dialysis patients.
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The Challenge Projects for 2015 have been chosen, these will receive seedcorn funding to develop their ideas and have divided into three areas as follows:
Transfer of evidence into practice 1) Use of microneedles for pain free subcutaneous injection for children Cardiff University and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (UHB) Children in hospital often have a cannula in the back of their hand to deliver intravenous medicine or to take blood samples. This is painful and stressful and current methods to provide local anaesthetic are slow and inconvenient. Using tiny microneedles allows the anaesthetic to pass the outer layer of the skin and act quickly without being felt by the patient. The project will gather the necessary pilot data to enable a large clinical study. 2) The use of rapid prototyping jigs in the planning of knee osteotomies Cardiff and Vale UHB and PDR – National Centre for Product Design and Development Research, Cardiff Metropolitan University Knee osteotomies are a realignment process to treat knee pain by offloading damaged cartilage. It involves a precise break and insertion of a plate to fix the bone in place. This project will use a CT scan image to design and make a custom made jig using 3D printing, to guide the process and ensure optimal correction in the angle of the bone is achieved. In a recent audit only around 50% of corrections were shown to be optimal with current methods – this should significantly increase this. This project will demonstrate the principle, test in models and then use in surgery with 5 patients.
Involving patients and carers in healthcare provision
Minimising Hospital Time 5) Rapid detection of metastatic breast cancer in lymph nodes for intraoperative testing Cardiff University, Cardiff and Vale UHB
3) Development of a “Trip Advisor” feedback website for Care Homes Aneurin Bevan UHB, Care Forum Wales, 1000 Lives, Local Authorities, Royal Voluntary Service, My Home Life Cymru, the NHS Retirement Fellowship, Providers and My Family Care (Good Care Guide) Patients and Carers highlighted a lack of transparent feedback and user views to assist those needing to choose a Care Home. This is a decision that sometimes has to be made quickly and often in stressful and difficult circumstances. Easily accessible information based on current and candid views from current residents and carers will help in making an informed decision and reassure people that they are choosing the home that is right for them. In collaboration with the Care Homes and My Family Care, the providers of the “goodcareguide.co.uk” feedback website, we are developing a useful resource to guide those choosing their future care home. 4) Development of a mobile App for the “About Me” Autism passport Aneurin Bevan UHB, Swansea University, SymlConnect Ltd AboutMe is currently a paper based “passport” to facilitate information sharing between professionals, parents and children, during the diagnostic process for autism. This project will develop this to be a live interactive document within a Mobile App to allow better access and sharing of information to support children with autism and their families especially when accessing health services.
This project is aiming to develop current technology into a rapid, accurate test for metastatic breast cancer in lymph nodes. Currently when tumours are removed from the breast, lymph nodes and biopsied with a second surgery required if malignancies are detected. This test would allow intraoperative testing meaning only one surgery would be required and there would be no unnecessary removal of nonmetastatic lymph nodes.
SEWAHSP believes that the Health Technology Scheme addresses a real need in collecting the everyday challenges faced by patients and healthcare providers where often there is a solution that can be applied which may be straightforward to develop or adapt and implement but needs a multidisciplinary approach of working with the right people to access the right technology. This scheme operates differently to a normal funding scheme, where the project must be fully planned beforehand, and allows an open approach so that alternative approaches can be considered or a problem can be posed without a preconceived idea of how to solve it, and it also allows the community to respond with their ideas.
www.wspcr.ac.uk/health-challenge-wales
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It’s all About Me SymlConnect’s core focus is on achieving increased efficiency enabled by digital technology within healthcare. The intelligence of this lies in the smooth integration of modern, highly-mobile high-availability technology with current disparate systems to address the timely sharing of relevant data: Clinician-ToClinician; Patient-To-Clinician. The purpose is to simply connect people seamlessly with both systems and organisations for increased quality of care and to save time wastages found in duplication, admin work and paper processes. Based in Swansea Institute of Life Sciences, SymlConnect has privileged access to world class academics and specialists and the executive team has over forty five years of combined experience in healthcare, cutting edge technology and management. Having developed a modular framework by shadowing specialists, it is well placed to address the fundamental issue of avoidable wastage that is increasing annually at a staggering rate within healthcare organisations. SymlConnect aspires to address all of these existing concerns and deliver excellence in a cost effective way. The company offers smart mobile devices connected seamlessly with the existing clinical and tele-healthcare systems providing the clinician secured access to critical information, at-the-point-of-care. Its USP lies in the modular approach of digitising the paper processes without altering the clinical protocols. By incorporating intelligent and intuitive logic to ease care governance, it permits flexibility to enhance current procedures to facilitate communication between existing systems, clinicians, professional carers, community & social workers, patients and related organisations.
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Remote monitoring, management reports and predictive tools are offered with minimum learning for community nurses, midwives and doctors and the smart mobile front-end devices used both offline and online allow clinicians to ‘Retrieve, Record, Return’ relevant information at-the-pointof-care. The single-entry multiple-use of all data captured auto generates ‘traffic light’ type notification to direct clinical actions based on priority needs and preventative actions. Dashboard style reporting, analysis, auditing, monitoring and management, are all customised on platform independent hand held devices to create a bespoke solution that individual users will find to their best interest. SymlConnect, as a MediWales member, was introduced to the Academic Health Science Partnership for South East Wales (www.medicine.cf.ac.uk/sewahsp/) at one of their events, and through their Health Technology Challenge (https://sartre. ideascale.com) funding grant has been able to collaborate with Prof Alka Ahuja of Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and the University of South Wales to develop a secured mobile application for the existing paper based Autism Passport folder “About Me”. It is aimed at parent, child and professional partnerships to improve communication and information sharing during diagnostic assessment of autism. It was originally developed with advice from professionals involved in the autism diagnostic process but most significantly with advice and support from parents and children. The aim of the passport was to clearly describe and inform families about the diagnostic process. It was envisaged that this would help them in their journey through the assessment process. It would contain and detail the result of diagnostic
assessment process and also contain a ‘profile’ of the child’s strengths, skills and impairments which will be easy to access. The passport was developed as a live interactive document which would continue to be evolved and modified to meet needs of the children. Input from children suggests the passport should be available as a mobile app so as to keep abreast with technology, SymlConnect is developing a secured and personalised mobile app with the children as the prime user.
Uniqueness of SymlConnect offering: l Relevant data sharing
between systems without distorting individual legitimacy l Not constrained by
legacy systems or future advancements l Reliable, confidential and
secure intuitive processes l Multiple users from
multiple locations l Allow incremental
expansion in future l Expandable, adaptable,
scalable
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“About Me” – A Mobile app for autism A parent, child and professional partnership to improve information sharing and support for children and young people with autism. The challenges identified in diagnostic assessment of autism have been acknowledged at an international, national and regional level (NICE 2011, Autism Strategic Action Plan for Wales, 2008). Clinical experiences and evidence from research reflected a lack of clarity and transparency in the diagnostic process for autism and difficulties in information sharing and communication with families and professionals. The About Me autism passport (paper version) was developed with advice and support from professionals involved in the diagnostic assessment process but most significantly it was led by parents and young people. It was developed to address the dissatisfaction of parents and professionals with the diagnostic process around autism and it clearly described and informed families about the diagnostic process and helped them in their journey through the assessment process. The passport enabled parents and children to access, “hold” and share information and thereby reduced stress and anxiety for families and children. It provided a low cost solution to well-known information sharing issues and put the child at the centre of clinical practice. A professional and parental partnership has driven this initiative from inception and this has already led to changes in work practice. The passport has been piloted in the autism clinics in ABUHB for over a year and both the outcomes and feedback from professionals suggest that this has further enhanced the delivery of person-centred care and supported transparency and accountability in clinical practice. It was developed as a live interactive document, which could continue evolving to meet the needs of the children. Feedback from young people suggested the next
stage of the passport should be available as a mobile app to keep abreast with technology and promote sustainability and be most acceptable to young people for whom such apps are their preferred means of communication and information management. The mobile app would be more accessible and would share information with services easily- especially at times of emergency e.g. a visit to A&E, when it is more likely to be readily available than a paper version. The mobile app would be easy to update with information, less intrusive than a paper copy and it would be easy to back up the information should the mobile phone or tablet break down or be lost. The investment in a mobile app would also make the passport sustainable without recurring costs for printing and memory sticks. The team at ABUHB co-created specifications for the proposed mobile app with professionals, young people with autism and their families. The clinical team were successful in obtaining a small grant from the Techealth innovation fund (Swansea University) last year, which enabled them to start working with Peter Harvey (a young person with high functioning autism who has a passion for computers and mobile technology) and his father Dave Harvey, Managing Director of Medical Connections- a small, medical software company. These credentials put Peter Harvey and Dave Harvey in an ideal position to lead the development of a prototype mobile app for About Me. Further collaboration with a technology provider, SymlConnect Ltd, via the success at the Health Technology Challenge enabled further decisions on the most appropriate platform for the app’s development with consideration of the design, layout and options for entry and back up of data. About Me’s usage will promote information sharing and better communication among professionals thereby reducing the need for duplicating assessments and interventions. Having accurate information to hand will mean that it will be easier to identify and provide more suitable provisions, which in turn will both reduce anxiety and stress for the child/young person and family/ carers and the number of high-cost crisis situations experienced. The development of
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“At first when I was asked to do this project I was worried that I would not be able to complete it as early attempts to use Java and android ran into troubles, after weeks of trial and error I found that once you get into coding it is very easy to do some cool looking stuff (i.e. calling from within an app) and in some cases even easier than some of the more basic bits. This has greatly advanced my programming skills and I am now studying computing at Gower College Swansea, and I think this will help me for the future. A younger version of me would have found this app great. This app is very streamlined so you can easily find what you’re looking for, this was a fun experience”. Peter Harvey A young person with high functioning autism
the mobile app will make About Me easily accessible to a much wider audience not only nationally but also across the world. The development of this mobile app has proven to be a catalyst for further development as this framework could be used to work with children and adults with other lifelong conditions such as epilepsy, schizophrenia, or physical conditions such as diabetes as well as at times of transitions or crisis.
www.symlconnect.co.uk www.medicalconnections.co.uk
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Building barriers to bacteria in medical packaging Swansea University academics Dr Chris Wright and Dr Nafiseh Badiei from the Centre for NanoHealth have been working with Welshpool based Wipak Ltd to review its newly developed antimicrobial medical packaging.
devices, pharmaceutical solutions and other healthcare products. The company is looking to expand its medical product range and has developed a new range of antimicrobial treated films, papers and pouches for the medical sector.
Wipak UK is a packaging company predominantly operating within the food sector however a proportion of its business also focuses on the medical sector with a number of products providing safe and reliable sterile barrier systems for medical
The Centre for NanoHealth (CNH) has been working with Wipak to review these products’ antimicrobial substrate packaging capabilities. The CNH review involved a series of activities which included the identification and analysis of bacteria species most commonly present in packaging associated with home and hospital – examining the kinds of bacteria found on package services, storage and
“Every day we are hearing of the increase in hospital acquired infections and the threat of antimicrobial resistant bacteria. Medical packaging is the first line of defence against bacterial contamination of medical devices such as catheters, implants and wound dressings, which can lead to severe problems for the treatment of patients. Thus, our review was extremely timely and seeks to examine the arguments for and against the use of antimicrobials in medical packaging.” Dr Chris Wright Swansea University
handling of products, the process of bacterial colonisation of sterile packages from package to hand and air to package etc. Dr Wright presented the findings from the review at the recent international medical packaging conference hosted by Wipak held at the Williams Martini Formula 1 Grand Prix Collection and factory, near Oxford.
www.wipak.com
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Packaging Innovation for Healthcare WIPAK high-end packaging solutions provide safe and reliable sterile barrier systems for medical devices, pharmaceutical solutions and other healthcare products including antimicrobial treated films, papers and pouches.
www.wipak.com
T +44 1938 555255 Wipak UK Ltd, 3 Buttington Business Park, Welshpool, Powys, Wales, UK. SY21 8SL
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Fresh thinking. At Grant Thornton, we go about our business in a different way. Delivering a bespoke service to all our clients is our primary concern and we won’t offer you an ‘off the shelf’ commercial or financial solution. With our knowledge of the market, and our international reach as the UK member firm of the Grant Thornton International network, we can provide a full range of advisory services for companies in the life sciences sector, whatever stage they are at in the business cycle. We act on behalf of listed, privately held and private equity backed pharmaceuticals, medical devices and biotechnology companies to provide solutions when key business decisions are made, such as raising funds, seeking investors and acquirers, or financial planning and modelling.
For further information on our life sciences offerings or to arrange an initial consultation, please contact: Alistair Wardell Partner – Advisory T 029 2023 5591 E alistair.g.wardell@uk.gt.com
grant-thornton.co.uk © 2015 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved. Grant Thornton UK LLP is a member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL). GTIL and the member firms are not a worldwide partnership. Services are delivered by the member firms. GTIL and its member firms are not agents of, and do not obligate, one another and are not liable for one another’s acts or omissions. Please see grant-thornton.co.uk for further details.
3 Assembly Square Britannia Quay Cardiff CF10 4PL t +44 (0) 29 2089 4200 f +44 (0) 29 2089 4201 e ai@patentable.co.uk w www.patentable.co.uk
Quality advice on your doorstep London isn’t the only place for quality patent and trade mark advice. Discerning businesses already know that there’s knowledgeable advice and extensive experience in Cardiff. Our medical technology team has wide-ranging expertise in protecting innovations and branding in the life science sector. Biotechnology, genetics, medical devices, diagnostics, medical imaging, medical electronics and pharmaceuticals – we’ve got it all covered. Abel & Imray combines premium standard expertise with a friendly, helpful approach. It’s a service you’d go a long way to find – but it’s all here for you in Cardiff Bay in the same building as Wales’ new Life Sciences Hub.
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S H O W C A S I N G
A D VA N C E S
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W E L S H
GX Design Engineers
L I F E S C I E N C E
Turn your medical or scientiďŹ c ideas into commercial reality
Medical device product design GX Design Engineers, part of the GX Group, work in partnership with the medical and pharmaceutical industries developing award winning scientific instruments, diagnostic devices, hospital equipment as well as surgical and healthcare products. By harnessing science and combining this with practical design we can help turn brilliant ideas into commercial reality.
Electronic Design
Optronic Design
Industrial Design
Value Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
GPS/GPRS Tracking
Software Design
RFID
Rapid Prototyping
Regulatory Support
SCADA/PLC Systems
Microuidics
Low Volume Manufacturing
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