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BIOWALES The ever-growing Welsh bioscience event
ARAB HEALTH Company Directory
SHOWCASING: Ultrasound Technologies Ltd, Sterilin Ltd, The Magstim Company Ltd
REWARDING SUCCESS 2008 MediWales Innovation Award winners
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3 into 1 does go The Spring Edition of the MediWales Review focuses on three very different events, each promoting the products and expertise in the bioscience sectors in Wales. These events are BioWales; The Arab Health Exhibition; and our own MediWales Innovation Awards. BioWales 18-19 March 2009 – The Vale Hotel, The Vale of Glamorgan BioWales is one of the UK’s largest Bioscience Conferences and BioPartnering events held outside of London. This year it is held at The Vale Hotel, where the Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan AM will be opening the conference. Last year over 450 delegates attended the two-day conference, which had over 40 exhibitors. The event attracts bioscience industry professionals and academics aiming to create new connections and seeking licensing and business development opportunities. Arab Health 26-29 January 2009 - Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, UAE. The Welsh Pavilion: Hall 7 Stand C35. The Arab Health exhibition is the premier healthcare event for the Middle East. This event plays host to healthcare manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors: it provides these professionals with an arena in which to meet with some of the most important decision makers in the Arab world. With rapid year-on-year growth, Arab Health now has over 2,500 exhibitors from 65 countries including over 100 stands from UK companies. The show will attract 50,000 visitors over the four-day event. The Welsh Pavilion Several companies this year will be exhibiting from Wales, each taking a space in the purpose built pavilion. Companies include: Magstim; Ultrasound Technologies; GX Design; CCI Legal; Mangar International; Sterilin; and UK HealthGateway. International Business Wales (IBW) is the organiser of the Welsh pavilion at Arab Health. IBW is the international trade and investment arm of the Welsh Assembly Government. They act as the driving force in establishing alliances between companies in Wales and their counterparts overseas. IBW also actively encourages inward investment from overseas companies looking to Europe and the UK as a preferred international business location. The Arab Health section of this Review has been produced in collaboration with IBW: it includes a directory of companies visiting and exhibiting at the exhibition, with more detailed case studies on a selection of attending companies.
Lastly, The MediWales Annual Innovation Awards have become a landmark event in the Welsh sector. The third annual Awards ceremony was held last year on the 4th November, hosted at Cardiff’s Hilton Hotel. This event was attended by 110 guests, and saw six established companies awarded for their successes and breakthroughs in the areas of innovation; export achievement; startup; outstanding growth; partnership with the NHS/Academia; and Judges’ Choice.
The Welsh medical technology advantage Wales is one of four nations that make up the United Kingdom. Wales has a long and distinguished history of industrial innovation and achievement. There are around 172 companies operating in the Welsh bioscience sector including health technologies, a sector that has shown a growth of over 17% in the last year. The combined turnover of these companies is approximately £1.3bn, with the sector employing around 15,000 people. The capital, Cardiff – a growing international city - has a strong business base and world-renowned sporting and cultural venues. The last year has seen enhanced business support, such as Academic Expertise for Business (A4B). This six year project, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and European Structural Funds, invests £70million in Welsh higher and further education institutions. The project hopes to develop more effective knowledge transfer mechanisms to commercialise their intellectual property, develop new products and processes, increase business investment in R&D, and develop and exploit the research base. MediWales is the industry-owned forum, established to service the life science organisations in Wales. Over the last six years MediWales has become the sector representative and central point of contact, influencing Welsh and UK sector development strategies and providing active routes for member companies to access clinical and academic expertise. Part of MediWales’s role is to act as a signposting and business support service for its members, but it is similarly happy to assist international contacts in sourcing commercial and collaborative research and development partners in Wales.
International Business Wales Welsh Assembly Government Department for the Economy and Transport Trafalgar House 5 Fitzalan Place Cardiff, Wales CF24 0ED Tel: +44 29 2082 8786 Web: www.ibwales.com Andrew Jones – Mission Leader Andrew is in charge of all international trade activity in the Middle East and Africa Region and has overall responsibility for delivering IBW’s events in the region. Andrew will be available at the IBW stand for the duration of the show. Mobile: +44 7866 469847 Email: andrew.jones@wales.gsi.gov.uk Lee Jennings - Vice President (Middle East) The International Business Wales office in Dubai is responsible for trade and investment development throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The office has been in existence since March 2004 and is managed by Lee Jennings, who has over 25 years experience of trade and business development covering China, South East Asia, Southern Asia and more recently, 8 years in the Middle East. Lee manages a network of business experts throughout the Arabian Gulf and is able to assist Welsh companies with research, information and a wide range of contacts and advice. Mobile: +971 50 559 3668 Email: lee.jennings@ibwales.com
MediWales is supported by the Welsh Assembly Government
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5 Schooner Way, Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff CF10 4DZ T/F: +44 29 2047 3456 Email: debbie.laubach@mediwales.com coralie.palmer@mediwales.com gwyn.tudor@mediwales.com jess.fisher@mediwales.com Web: www.mediwales.com Chairman: Mr Greg Baily, Huntleigh
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Working in fields from drugs to devices, diagnostics to chronic disease management, the winners of 2008’s MediWales Innovation Awards cut an illuminating slice through the versatile Welsh health technology sector. The Innovation Award was won by C&G Medicare Ltd, for its revolutionary Incostress device designed to control urinary stress incontinence. This distressing condition affects more than four million women in the UK and around a fifth of women worldwide. Its impact on quality of life is both longterm and profound, and this is where the
Incostress comes into its own. Unlike the standard option of protective pads, this device is worn internally like a tampon: but rather than being absorbent, it works by supporting the bladder and exerting gentle pressure on the urethra to control the ‘mechanics’ of incontinence.
advisory groups who were to help her at each stage of developing her business. ‘They’re all interlinked,’ said Gaynor, ‘so IBW put me in touch with WIN, the Wales Innovators Network. And WIN really took me by the hand with trademarking, patents and CE marking.
Incostress is the brainchild of Gaynor Morgan, C&G’s founder, and developed from her mother’s own experience of stress incontinence and their shared determination to find a functional solution. Both had long-term experience as nurses, and their expertise in physiology, psychology and anatomy enabled them to draw up an initial design and then develop a home-made prototype.
‘Then when it came to manufacturing and prototyping, WIN advised me to go to the Specialist Support Group, who helped me right through to the point where I had a product that could be trialled.’ The Group also advised on the marketing of the Incostress – backed in due course by clinical data from Singleton’s successful trial. ‘Because I’d had interest from abroad,’ said Gaynor, ‘Specialist Support suggested I talk to IBW. So I finally came full circle!’
It proved to be strikingly effective: so much so that Simon Emery, chief urogynaecologist at Swansea’s Singleton Hospital, became interested in taking it through clinical testing. But this was only going to be possible if the prototype became a fully developed CE-marked device – which was the spur for Gaynor to embark on setting up C&G as its manufacturer. ‘So I started writing the patent and collating the CE mark technical file,’ said Gaynor, ‘but I knew I had a lot of learning to do.’ She initially contacted International Business Wales (IBW), one of three Welsh Assembly Government
DINNER SPONSORS OF MEDIWALES INNOVATION AWARDS 2008
IBW helped Gaynor to land her first overseas contract with a Spanish distributor: C&G now has distribution agreements in seven European countries, and sells directly to a further three. Earlier this year, with the help of the Boots Centre for Innovation, Incostress was successfully launched on the Boots website. Meanwhile the company is already working to expand its product portfolio: Incosilk – a dermatological cream – is already available, and C&G is now working with their collaborators to explore the testing of additional clinical benefits offered by the Incostress device.
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One of the most important of these is the company’s skill in building a particular kind of relationship with clients. ‘These are developmental groups,’ said Marc, ‘research-type people, involved with drug development and sometimes manufacture. And the majority of them, irrespective of whether they’re working for a virtual company or a global corporation, work in small units.
Clinical trials supply company Biotec Services International, winners of the Export Achievement Award, increased their export sales by 68% in the last financial year. Biotec specialise in EU importation, and the labelling and distribution of materials for temperature-controlled clinical trials. Their latest expansion focused on increasing their existing presence in two countries specifically: the US and Israel. ‘Because ours is a specialised market,’ said Managing Director Marc Weinzweig, ‘we targeted particular groups of specialist people. And that played to our strengths.’
‘When we analysed how we get our contracts with these very large companies, we realised that our skill in working with people with this particular profile is very important. We can work out what they need and support them in a way that they like. We know their problems because of our experience in clinical trials handling - I’ve been working with biologicals and in-vitro diagnostics since the early 80s. So it’s all about relationship-building.’ With funding help from the Welsh Assembly Government, Biotec developed a12-month marketing programme focused on a high-profile presence at key industry conferences and visits to specialist groups in their targeted countries. IBW helped to source US companies with an appropriate profile, and the growth in that market demonstrates a ‘knock-on’ effect now familiar to Biotec: ‘Our clients are our best salespeople,’ said Marc, ‘because they introduce us to new clients – either through their normal business links, or when they move to a new company and
Innovation Award WINNER: C&G Medicare Ltd T: +44 (0)845 2000761 www.incostress.com PRIZE SPONSOR: Catalyst Venture Partners T: +44 (0)1225 331498 www.catvp.com
want to maintain the relationship. Which is what’s happening in the US now.’ The same relationship dynamic has been instrumental in developing the Israeli market. In a country with a high IP value in terms of science and technology, Israel’s medical and biotech sector is a particularly close-knit weave of commercial and academic connections. ‘So if like us you’re good at relationship management,’ said Marc, ‘then it’s a very productive environment. As in the US, our new clients there are now bringing us more new customers.’ A new purpose-built facility will be servicing Biotec’s growth. Designed with input from all personnel for optimum flow of both people and product, the unit was planned in two phases and the first in now complete, increasing floor space from 3,500sq ft to 13000 sq ft – but the company has already virtually filled the allowance for expansion built into that. ‘We’re already into plans for the phase two building,’ said Marc, ’and we’re looking to make a decision to go ahead with that in the middle of next year.’ Winner of the Start-up Award was spinout company Oncomorph Analysis, with a ground-breaking technology to assist diagnostic medical imaging. Based at Aberystwyth University, the company originated with the technology’s inventor, Dr Reyer Zwiggelaar, a specialist in the computer-assisted visualisation and interpretation of
Export Achievement Award WINNER: Biotec Services International T: +44 (0)1656 750550 www.biotec-uk.com PRIZE SPONSOR: UDL T: +44 (0)29 20642150 www.udl.co.uk
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medical imaging analysis. The inaugural Oncomorph product is a software tool designed to assist radiologists in the diagnosis and staging of prostate cancer. Every year, some 650,000 men worldwide are diagnosed with this disease: it remains the most common male cancer in the UK and the second most common in the USA (following lung cancer). In the last decade, cases have more than doubled globally: although this is a disease predominantly affecting men over 65, the increase far outstrips the rate of ageing within the world population. Early and accurate diagnosis is paramount in reducing deaths from metastasis of the cancer. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data is one of the most widely used techniques available to radiologists in diagnosing prostate cancer. ‘The Oncomorph technology would automate the interpretation of this data,’ explained Dr Rhian Hayward, consultant to the company. ‘So it will both identify tumours and – which is critical - define their boundaries.’ Automation by ‘mining’ data in this way offers improved diagnostic accuracy for MRI, with all the related benefits in reduced time and cost for the service provider, and better experience for the patient. The marketed product is likely to be in the form of a ready-installed function on a free-standing PC that will be compatible with all MRI machines. The technology has potential for several
clinical applications, including Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), a noncancerous enlargement of the prostate gland that obstructs urine flow. The disease has a high prevalence that increases with age: in the USA alone, over 300,000 surgical procedures are performed each year for BPH (mostly transurethral resection of the prostate – now the second most common surgical procedure after cataract surgery.) ‘We’re claiming a broad range of applications in our first patent,’ said Rhian, ‘and prostate cancer is just the first we’re going to address. Our vision is to create a pipeline of medical image analysis IP, and then take that IP portfolio to the major MRI manufacturers with a view to licensing the technology.’ Development has been implemented from the outset within a rigorous quality system designed for FDA approval. Input and feedback from radiologists has been an integral part of the development process, and Oncomorph is now putting together formal agreements with clinical collaborators who will test and troubleshoot the product design. The company’s development plan includes set junctures for clinical evaluation, when these radiologists will share data, use the system and feed back their findings. This development schedule is plotted through to mid-2010, when Oncomorph aim to have their technology developed as a fully functional platform.
Start-Up Award WINNER: Oncomorph Analysis Ltd T: +44 1970 832340 www.oncomorph.com PRIZE SPONSOR: PDR T: +44 (0)29 20416725 www.pdronline.co.uk
The Outstanding Growth Award was won by Penn Pharmaceuticals, who increased their turnover in the last financial year by over a third. Penn provides drug development and manufacturing services in the UK and internationally. Its rapid growth was planned as a key element in the strategy developed after a successful management buyout in April 2007. ‘We were already a good company,’ said Commercial Director John Roberts, ‘but we wanted to build from that into a world-leading company.’ Penn offers pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies a fast, integrated route for moving their products from early human clinical trials through to market. Their customers range from virtual pharmaceutical companies – who own IP but have no operational capabilities – through small and medium pharma and contract research organisations (CRO’s) to the top 50 pharmaceutical companies. Even for the latter the benefit of faster time to market is key: increasingly, the current trend across the board is to outsource. For Penn’s growth strategy, the expansion of its existing European, US and Japanese markets were of particular importance. The company has a dedicated agent now working from its Tokyo office, working both to maintain existing client contacts and to develop new ones, and has doubled the
Outstanding Growth Award WINNER: Penn Pharmaceutical Services Ltd T: +44 (0)1495 711222 www.pennpharm.co.uk PRIZE SPONSOR: Abel & Imray T: +44 (0)29 20347030 www.patentable.co.uk
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size of its UK-based European sales team. ‘But with the US,’ said John, ‘it’s a major growth engine for pharma R&D. You can’t effectively access a market of this size without the right people on the ground, so we decided to establish a US subsidiary.’ Under its Philadelphiabased Business Development Director, Penn recruited a group of high-calibre localised staff targeting respectively the East coast, the Midwest cluster, and the West coast: an investment that has already proven its worth. In addition, the company has developed
its existing portfolio. It now has the capability to manufacture ‘High Potency’ drugs, an area of rapid growth in the pharmaceutical market. These are molecules or drugs that are biologically active at 1mg or less, demanding Closed Manufacturing Systems that minimise exposure of the operator. At the same time the company is extending the range of its own products, which it supplies for specialist clinical needs. Partnerships have also fostered the expansion, most notably with Newcastle-based SCM Pharma to add sterile manufacturing to Penn’s integrated service. The company has seen the number of its employees grow by over a quarter since just before the buyout, and Penn has made staff development a priority. ‘Improving project management is key as you grow a company,’ said John, ‘and we have made a major investment in staff training that goes right through the organisation.’ Alongside the staff numbers, Penn has increased capacity with a new 75,000 sq ft storage and distribution facility, serving the fastgrowing clinical trials supply business that operates worldwide. With its original growth strategy aiming to double the company’s size within three years, Penn is well on track to make or even exceed that target.
Partnership with the NHS/Academia Award WINNER: Home Telehealth Limited (HTL) T: +44 (0)29 20444795 www.hometelehealthltd.co.uk PRIZE SPONSOR: GX Design Engineers T: +44 (0)1291 673437 www.gxl.co.uk
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8 Home Telehealth Ltd (HTL) won the Partnership With NHS Award with a telehealth service for Northern Ireland’s South East Trust (SET) that was the first of its kind. Given the unavoidable demographics of an ageing population, telehealth is becoming a priority for health and social services in developed countries worldwide. It represents a practical means of implementing long-term, community-based care that benefits both patient and provider: patients are enabled to stay at home – where surveys repeatedly show they would prefer to be – and remain independent for longer; and services are transferred from costintensive secondary care into primary and community spheres. During over ten years’ experience in the business of helping service providers to make that transfer, HTL has developed a model for an integrated service that is tailored to the needs of the provider. ‘Knowledge of telehealth out there is often minimal,’ said Director David Muxworthy. ‘You need to consider all the different elements: the targeted patients, the desired outcomes, the liaison with clinical staff, the appropriate technology.’ HTL can then either identify best-of-breed technology or work with the client’s own, and provide the requisite level of project management and technical support so that the right information is routed directly to clinical staff. HTL provides this service model for Trusts in England, Wales and Scotland, but the SET project is a rather different beast: rather than an integrated service, it is the very first full managed service that HTL has delivered. It implements a disease management programme for a rolling total of 22 high-risk patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) for 12 weeks after their discharge from hospital, with the aim of stabilising their condition and reducing re-admission. But rather than the monitoring information going straight to the Trust’s clinical staff, it is routed via a dedicated, nurse-led clinical call centre – the first of its kind in the country.
SET wanted a service that would free up their own clinical staff from routine data review. ‘So it’s our nurses at the centre who do the monitoring,’ David explained. ‘They call the patients at stipulated intervals for the information they need about their condition. And patients have the equipment – such as a blood pressure monitor for example – to supply all the necessary data and pass that on over the phone. The monitoring is done to agreed protocols, and if a patient’s condition begins to deteriorate, it’s then that they will be referred to the Trust’s own clinical staff.’ As well as this comprehensive first-line clinical triaging, HTL also provide the telemonitoring equipment, which they install, clean, maintain and decommission: after the 12-week period is up and the patient is stabilised, the technology is moved onto another newly discharged patient. Equally importantly, HTL train these patients in the use of their equipment, ensuring they are comfortable and confident with it. ‘These patients have multiple comorbidities,’ said David, ‘and they’re back at home often feeling isolated and anxious. So this system gives them the tools to understand their condition, and keeps them supported.’ The service has been a resounding success, reducing hospital admissions, bed days and length of stay, as well as GP visits; while at the same time, patients felt their quality of life was improved. Belfast Trust have since become another client: between the two Trusts HTL is now monitoring around 400 patients for COPD, coronary heart disease or diabetes. The company is shortly to tender for a full managed service covering all five Trusts in Northern Ireland, for a total of 5000 patients. Its impact on costs, care and quality of life make the full managed service a service model that will play a key part in HTL’s future UK development strategy.
Zarlink Semiconductor were presented with the Judges’ Choice Award. They have developed key technologies enabling medical device companies to deliver smaller wireless portable therapy and monitoring devices. Zarlink enables medical telemetry applications by supplying the top four pacemaker companies in the world with key technologies. These technologies range from low-power processors to ultra-low power radios. The latest technology development is a linear micro-generator that derives energy from the beating heart to either power a pacemaker or to extend the life of the device. Pacemakers are becoming more complex in their functioning, placing an increased demand on power consumption. The microgenerator overcomes this issue, providing extended battery life and greener energy for future generations of devices. The increased battery life will lead to fewer procedures to replace the device, which reduces patient risk in surgery and cost to the healthcare provider.
Zarlink T: +44 (0)1291 435300 www.zarlink.com PRIZE SPONSOR: Teamworks Technology Services T: +44 (0)1443 866311 www.teamworkict.com
Mr Martin McHugh, Zarlink Business and Product Development Manager
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BioWales continues to grow Bioscience is now a key player in knowledge-based economies worldwide: in Wales alone, the industry is worth £1.3billion and employs some 15,000 people. Now in its seventh year, BioWales has become a landmark biosciences event, attracting delegates from throughout the UK and Europe. The complexities – scientific, technological, regulatory – of this global industry are such that no one company or group can meet all its own needs and stay ahead of the game: the nature of bioscience demands that people connect, collaborate and contract with one another. The fact that BioWales is designed with precisely these priorities in mind is a major factor in its popularity.
BioWales is fully supported by the Welsh Assembly Government, who contracted MediWales to deliver the conference programme. Working as part of this team, Dr Bob Wallis sees the BioWales mix of conference, trade fair and bio-partnering event as a model that combines people, activities and ideas in a way that never fails to generate the right connections. ‘When people come to BioWales,’ he said, ‘they not only meet in the right environment, but they do so year after year. That continuity builds trust – and intercompany trust is the essential foundation you need for collaborations that produce results.’
The bio-partnering event is specifically designed to organise meetings between prospective collaborators in the UK and Europe. This brokerage activity is central to the BioWales mix, running not only throughout the conference but before and after it: last year it involved no fewer than 225 one-to-one meetings. Project-managing this daunting feat of logistics is Dr Sharon Thomas, the Welsh Assembly Government’s Healthcare and Life Science Specialist at the Department of Economy and Transport, who described for the Review the system that enables ‘matchmaking’ on this scale to work. ‘It all starts with an initial call for interested parties,’ said Sharon, ‘and that operates through online registration for the conference.’ Those seeking brokerage meetings are then
linked to bio-partnering registration through the EU Enterprise Europe Network (EEN). Taking over the role of the former Innovation Relay Centre Network, the EEN facilitates technology transfer throughout the UK and Europe, bringing together those seeking or offering technology opportunities as well as supporting access to Europeanwide research funding frameworks. Bio-partnering registrants then submit technology profiles, which are vetted and validated for the event catalogue. ‘Brokerage meetings are to discuss finding or offering either a product or process,’ Sharon explained, ‘or a particular area of know-how and
expertise. The profiles can come from companies, academia, NHS professionals or individual consultants, but they are about specific expert capability, not about selling or recruitment – which is why validation is important.’ Some 300 validated profiles are assembled into an online catalogue, which goes ‘live’ a month before BioWales. Once registered for the biopartnering event, website users need only tick the profiles of interest to request a one-to-one meeting. Up to 20 different meetings can be arranged for each registrant, and browsers who are not registered but spot an interesting profile can arrange a meeting simply by registering then and there. A deadline is set for all selections – and that date marks what is for Sharon the most arduous part of the process. ‘I can have up to 500 requests for one-to-one meetings,’ she said. ‘Each one has to be planned in terms of who, when and where, and slotted in at half-hour intervals over two days. So you’re coordinating a very large number of variables!’ Meetings take place in a dedicated brokerage room at the BioWales venue, set up with 25 tables. Every table is plotted with its half-hour meetings, and every participant is sent an individual meeting schedule. ‘On the day,’ said Sharon, ‘we have a brokerage desk that’s our reception area, and participants simply come to the desk at their alloted time. We can go through any queries if people need help, and occasionally we have to chase up latecomers, but it’s normally straightforward. We take both parties to their table and introduce them, and then we leave them to it until their half-hour is up’ There’s also space built into the system to allow for unplanned meetings: a printed catalogue is distributed at the conference, and people who belatedly spot an opportunity can still arrange a meeting that same day through the brokerage staff. The proof of the bio-partnering pudding lies of course in what happens further down the line, and the results are impressive to anyone familiar with the reality of the innovation ‘hit rate’.
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Sharon’s department sends out feedback forms to participants at intervals of three months, eight months and a year. In this most diffuse and challenging field, results are produced precisely because of the chances that are free to be taken – and they come to fruition over the long term. Statistics are being collated for the 2008 event; but in 2007 the event has so far (and results are still being reported) has produced 17 confirmed technology transfer agreements, as well as successful collaborations for DTI programmes and EU framework projects. The commitment to feedback helps to make BioWales something of a marker for the progress and expansion of bioscience in Wales. Sharon’s longterm involvement in the sector means that she has been able to track this rapid evolution: indeed she was responsible, along with her colleague Jo Daniels at the then Welsh Development Agency, for initiating the very first BioWales conference in 2002. Focusing mainly on bringing together people from academia and industry in Welsh bioscience, that ‘pilot’ was put together on a shoestring, but earned such an enthusiastic response that it became fully funded and organised as an annual event. The information from BioWales brokerage feeds into the year-round EEN technology transfer activities that Sharon’s department facilitates. ‘All of us in this EU Network do audits of the clients in our regions,’ she expained, ‘and from these we put together technology profiles that are shared through an online bulletin board system. So we have a database of these technology offers and requests, organised on a sector basis. When people come to us needing this kind of information, I can search the biotech and medtech sector data to find appropriate potential partners.’ Interested parties in Wales who want to take the process to the next step are asked to sign a confidentiality agreement, and their contact with the potential partner is fully supported: ‘We will put them in direct contact with the
relevant person,’ said Sharon, ‘and we will also pay 50% of their costs for flights and accommodation to go and visit the client to discuss the technology – whether that’s a request or an offer. We can help as much or as little as needed: for some of our smaller companies, we can ‘hand-hold’ throughout the process if that’s what they ask. But essentially, all we require is that the client keeps us informed.’ BioWales is therefore one of the more visible indicators of work that is consistent and ongoing. Like the Welsh sector itself, the event has grown substantially since its inception: last year it attracted some 450 delegates and more than 40 exhibitors. Consequently this year’s new venue at the Vale Hotel is catering for increased numbers: ‘We’re firmly established on the biotechnology and science calendars now,’ said Sharon, ‘and we’re expecting both more delegates, and more people looking for the technology partnerships that we broker at the event.’
The BioWales bio-partnering event begins first thing on Wednesday 18th March at the Vale Hotel. After a buffet lunch from 11.30-12.30, the conference then opens with an address by Rhodri Morgan AM, First Minister for Wales, and closes at 2.00pm on Thursday 19th March: the bio-partnering event continues until the end of that same day. For readers who want to attend, or need further details about speakers, topics, timings and brokerage, the BioWales website will give you the latest updates and take you through registration.
www.biowalesevent.com/index
This year’s conference is themed around diagnostics, medical devices and contract research, reflecting the profile of the Welsh expert base. Speakers from both academia and industry will be describing some of the newest and most advanced developments in these areas, helping delegates to plot significant emerging features in the future bioscience landscape.
Dr. Sharon Thomas Health and Life Science Specialist, Technology and Innovation, Welsh Assembly Government
A R A B H E A LT H - W A L E S PA V I L I O N D I R E C T O R Y
Arab Health 26 – 29 January 2009 - Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, UAE
The Welsh Pavilion: Hall 7 Stand C35 International Business Wales
Andrew Jones Regional Manager, Middle East and Africa Web site: www.walestrade.com Description: HALL 7, Stand C35
IBW Trafalgar House Fitzalan Place Cardiff Wales UK CF24 0ED Tel: +44(0)2920 828 786 Fax: +44 (0)2920 442 696 Email: andrew.jones@wales.gsi.gov.uk Web: www.ibwales.com
International Business Wales is the Welsh Assembly Government’s international trade and investment arm. It forms part of the Department for the Economy and Transport and acts as the driving force in establishing alliances between companies in Wales and their counterparts overseas, whilst actively seeking out inward investment opportunities for client companies looking to Europe and the UK as a preferred international business location. Andrew heads up all of International Business Wales’ trade activity in Middle East and Africa. This primarily involves managing and leading key overseas trade fairs and missions to the Region. Andrew also manages one of International Business Wales’ key programmes, which is designed to provide dedicated business support to companies looking to do business in the region. Andrew will be on hand to assist the attending companies during the duration of the Big 5 exhibition.
CCI Legal Services Ltd The CCI Centre Snowdonia Business Park Porthmadog LL48 6LD Tel: 01766 771907 Fax: 01766 771840 Email: info@ccilegal.co.uk Web: www.ccilegal.co.uk
CCI Legal is one of the UK’s leading debt collection agencies. We specialise in domestic and international collections and have been doing so for over 20 years. We are the largest collector of healthcare debt in Europe however our systems are designed to maximise debt collection ratios in whatever sector you operate. CCI now has partner offices in over 80 countries, which between them employ over 3,000 people. We therefore have fluency in the language, legal systems of the debtors, as well as the geographical proximity necessary trace, collect and litigate all over the world. Our Litigation team expertly handles cases from issue through to enforcement. We handle commercial and consumer claims of every size and level of complexity all over the world. The Mission We are seeking to build relationships with banks and hospitals in the Middle East as well as strengthen relationships with existing clients.
GX Design Engineers The Mayfield Usk Monmouthshire NP15 1SY Tel: 01291 673437 Fax: 01291 673438 Email: claire@gxl.co.uk Web: www.gxl.co.uk
GX is a leading independent design consultancy. We have a proven track record in the high quality design, development and manufacture of instruments, machines and products for the medical sector. Recent clients include: Bayer Diagnostics, Gyrus Medical, Rhytec, CLP, Pall, Medical Support Systems, Morecare and British Gas. GX’s committed and experienced workforce combine technical excellence and design innovation to meet clients’ needs. Key areas of expertise, all available in-house, include industrial design; mechanical engineering; electronic design; rapid prototyping; optronics design; software design; and CAD animations GX Systems also provides high-quality integrated automation and control systems. We have the skills to provide a complete turnkey solution including hardware, control and project management to bring your project in on time. Recent clients include British Airways, Celsa UK, BAAE, Serco, Falkirk CC and Cardiff University. Key areas of expertise, all available in-house, include: vehicle location systems; mobile workflow systems; asset management; PLC’s systems; SCADA systems; MES Systems; instrument and control panel build; and after sales support.
CCI Legal Services
GX Design Engineers
Claire Banks Business Development Manager
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Magstim The Magstim Company Ltd Spring Gardens Whitland Carmarthenshire SA34 0HR Tel: 01994 240798 Fax: 01994 240061 Email: andrew.thomas@magstim.com Web: www.magstim.com
Magstim provides the means for neuroscientists to work with the human brain in awake subjects by manufacturing and supplying state-of-the-art clinical and research instruments. Magstim and Neurosign products cover the fields of Neurology, Neurophysiology, Psychiatry, Cognitive Neuroscience as well as ENT, Orthopaedic and Neuro-surgery. Magstim maintains a strong commitment to R&D and product improvement. Collaborating with researchers in British and European major centres of expertise (as well as those in North America and Japan) ensures that Magstim remains informed about clinical and medical advances, enabling the company to develop products at the forefront of technology. Products are sold directly to hospitals and clinics in the UK and Ireland and exports account for much of the Magstim business. Our principal markets are in Germany, France, Benelux, Japan, the Far East and the USA. Magstim enjoys a close and effective relationship with its specialist distributors and provides significant training and after sales service.
Mangar International Ltd Presteigne Powys LD8 2UF Wales UK Tel: +44(0)1544 267674 Mobile: +44(0)7976 361765 Email: info@mangar.co.uk Web: www.mangarinternational.co.uk
Mangar International has over 25 years experience in the design and manufacture of equipment to minimise moving and handling risks to both customers and their carers. Its products range, from bathlifts to pillowlifts, designed to work alongside existing furniture and require no permanent fixtures or fittings. Moving home, going on holiday, or simply freeing-up the bath for another person pose no problems as Mangar products can be removed or re-fitted in a matter of seconds. Recognising that the requirements of its customer base changes every day, Mangar International’s in-house R & D Team have continued to develop innovative solutions to mobility problems, enabling the Company to maintain its position at the forefront of healthcare and rehabilitation technology. Since the company invented the world’s first structured powered portable bathlift in 1981, it has come a long way growing into an internationally recognised supplier of rehabilitation products and moving and handling equipment. Mangar International has a strong reputation as a trusted company of proven integrity and credibility and is exceptionally proud of its reputation and position as a market leader.
Sterilin Ltd Angel Lane Aberbargoed Bargoed Caerphilly CF81 9FW United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 844 844 3737 Fax: +44 (0) 844 844 2373 Email: info@sterilin.co.uk Web: www.sterilin.co.uk
Sterilin Ltd specialises in the manufacture of single use laboratory plastics and comprises four established product brands: Sterilin® Single Use Plastics; Iwaki® Tissue Culture Products; Sterilin Silicone Devices and Sterilin Packaging Products. The Sterilin brand is synonymous with quality, reliability and user safety and offers a wide range of products for the pharmaceutical, clinical and healthcare, medical devices and industrial packaging industries. All Sterilin products are manufactured at the company’s ISO 9001:2000 accredited plant in South Wales, UK, where a commitment to the improvement in manufacturing processes and product development and clean room and microbiological research facilities ensures that every item is made to the highest possible quality. Our worldwide distribution network ensures access to the extensive Sterilin portfolio from all areas of the globe.
Mangar International
Will Kleiser Export Sales Executive
Sterilin
Rachel Adams Marketing Manager
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UK HealthGateway UK Healthgateway Ltd Attending from UK Healthgateway: Jon Wilks, Director Contact at Arab Health: Tel: +44 (0)7900 570172 Email: jon@ukhealthgateway.com
UK Healthgateway works with medical equipment and device manufacturers worldwide to help achieve successful entry to the UK health market. Through a large network of expert associates, UK Healthgateway provides detailed market entry plans and solutions for sales, marketing, regulatory, procurement, legal, financial, human resources and taxation. This enables manufacturers to save both time and money in entering the UK market through elimination of costly mistakes and wasted resources. Our unique 4-step approach covers market assessment, product awareness raising, market planning and market entry. Clients are given flexible proposals that allow them to make informed and accurate decisions. UK Healthgateway works with overseas Embassies and High Commissions in the UK for guidance on current UK health policy and directives - this ensures that their host country clients have the up-to-date information also.
Ultrasound Technologies Ltd Lodge Way Portskewett Caldicot NP26 5PS UK Tel: +44 (0)1291 425425 Fax: +44 (0)1291 427093 email:ultratec@doppler.co.uk Web: www.doppler.co.uk
Ultrasound Technologies has a history of over 25 years in fetal and vascular doppler systems. We offer over 12 doppler models, from simple fetal audio units to those including fetal heart rate display. Vascular products are available with a choice of fine pencil probe or standard vascular pocket units for routine vascular investigation and ABPI testing. Fetal monitoring covers all antepartum and intrapartum applications with the fetatrack 310 and fetatrack 360, offering easy-to-use systems from Ultrasound monitoring to continuous fetal pulse oximetry. All the units have been designed by Ultrasound Technologies and are manufactured in the company’s ISO9000:2000/ ISO13485:2003 certified factory in Caldicot, South Wales. Ultrasound Technologies’ products are sold in over 90 countries world-wide and supported by a team of distributors in each country.
Ultrasound Technologies
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Ultrasound Technologies Ltd A new Fetal Heart Rate Monitor from Ultrasound Technologies is designed specifically to cope with conditions in the developing world. Produced in collaboration with electronics manufacturer Freeplay, the device has several self-generated power sources including a wind-up option. Ultrasound Technologies designs and manufactures a range of Dopplers and fetal monitors from their factory in Caldicot, Wales, which they export internationally through a large network of distributors. Freeplay is famous for production of the world’s first wind-up radio, a landmark design for the needs of developing countries. In the developing world a lack of technology and skilled personnel often contributes to complications for mothers and their children during birth. Conventional Western health technology is rarely the answer in these conditions: devices are often too expensive and users with the requisite training to operate them are in chronically short supply, while power sources are unreliable or nonexistent. Designed with these problems in mind, the power-free Fetal Heart Rate Monitor is a high-sensitivity portable doppler with built-in rechargeable batteries. The monitor offers several options for charging: winding the handle for one minute provides 10 minutes of monitoring time, and an AC/DC adapter allows fast charging of batteries when mains are available. Use of solar panels or a Freeplay foot-pump electrical generator, also charge the unit. The 2MHz fetal Doppler probe is designed for use by general practitioners or midwives for routine antenatal fetal detection. Fetal signals are easily located using the
lightweight narrow beam transducer, while internal signal processing minimises noise. The fetal heart rate and beat icon is displayed on a LCD screen, and fetal heart signals are also audible over the built-in loudspeaker. Accessible training for the device is equally important. Power-free Education and Technology (PET), a not-for-profit company working alongside Freeplay, have produced ‘The Fetal Heart Rate Handbook’. This guide outlines the physiology of labour, aiding the identification of abnormal readings from fetal responses, and then suggesting appropriate action. In combining
appropriate technology and supported education, the Fetal Heart Rate Monitor package offers an innovative, practical tool for improving healthcare in the developing world.
Ultrasound Technologies Ltd Lodge Way Portskewett Caldicot Monmouthshire NP26 5PS Tel: 01291 425425 Fax: 01291 427093 Web: www.doppler.co.uk Email: freeplay@doppler.co.uk
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Sterilin Ltd With pharmaceutical and bioscience industries subject to more vigilant legislation than ever, newly-formed company Sterilin Ltd is manufacturing quality bespoke consumables to the exacting standards that the current market demands. The Sterilin brand was established over 40 years ago, pioneering the advent of single use laboratory products. Since that time the brand has formed part of several scientific organisations, most recently Barloworld Scientific. Sterilin Ltd was created in 2007 after Nova Capital acquired Barloworld Scientific, home to some of the world’s most famous brand names in laboratory equipment and consumables. One of four independent companies subsequently set up by Nova, Sterilin’s expertise is in the manufacture of single-use laboratory plastics. Changes in
Sterilin’s inauguration brings four established brands to the market: Sterilin® Single Use Plastics; Iwaki® Tissue Culture Products; Sterilin® Packaging Products; and Sterilin® Silicone Devices. The company manufactures a wide range of industry-leading product lines such as the 30ml Universal container with its leak free cap - essential for the secure transport of infectious and valuable patient samples throughout the healthcare environment. There is also the development and manufacture of the Flowsecure urinary sphincter – a silicone implantable medical device for male and female incontinence. Where relevant, products are tested and manufactured according to industry standards. It is this vigilance that enables Sterilin to manufacture the highest quality laboratory consumables and maintain a competitive advantage. The single-use products are manufactured from virgin grade polystyrene and prepared so that they need no washing or sterilising. Their ‘germ-free’ state ensures sterility and convenience in patient sample collection and analysis: contaminants can hinder accurate results and lead to unnecessary and inconvenient retests. Sterilin products help to reduce the chances of any such delay, avoiding the associated stress to the patient and financial cost to the NHS.
technology within the Life Sciences market has provided the opportunity for greater focus on new product development, helping them prosper as a new company in a competitive market.
For over 40 years these products have been mainly assisting the needs of the microbiologist, but as the requirements of the end user are evolving, Sterilin is extending its services to accommodate the food, industrial, pharmaceutical, and forensic markets. The company aims to penetrate the growing life science market by investing in improved manufacturing processes, new product launches, and an augmented range of factored items that will build on the Sterilin brand.
Sterilin Ltd Angel Lane Aberbargoed Caerphilly CF81 9FW Tel: 01443 830830 Fax: 01443 878297 Email: info@sterilin.co.uk Web: www.sterilin.co.uk
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The Magstim Company Ltd For 18 years, Magstim has been a pioneer in expanding the scientific fields of neuromodulation and neuroscience. As manufacturers of devices enabling neuroscientists to work with the human brain in awake subjects, Magstim works closely with the worldwide research community on leading-edge research and educational initiatives. Magstim, based in Wales, is one of only three companies world-wide manufacturing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) technology. Using specially designed electrical coils that are held close to the head, TMS sends strong but very brief magnetic pulses to the brain, inducing electric currents in the subject’s neural circuitry. TMS is the only technology that can noninvasively stimulate specific, targeted areas of the brain. Magstim is proactive in meeting the needs of the research community to provide forums for debate and learning. The Magstim TMS Summer School is run in conjunction with University College London each May, attended by over 300 burgeoning researchers. Lectures are given by the world’s leading authorities on neuroscience, who discuss prevalent academic contentions, whilst detailing the latest advances in technology and research. The 2008 event focused on brain stimulation in plasticity and rehabilitation: planning for the 2009 school is currently underway. To complement its Summer School initiative, Magstim produces a professional newsletter (Neuromodulation News) that covers current developments in this field. They will soon be launching intensive courses for researchers, outlining how best to use TMS equipment and peripherals in their ongoing work. Supporting material for researchers can also be found on the Magstim website. Meanwhile Magstim Innovations has recently been established to provide bespoke
equipment and expert advice. This custom design team promotes in-depth engineering and manufacturing capabilities, offering creative and practical solutions to demanding projects. Tying into recent advances, Magstim has recently launched a range of TMScomplementary products that provide new avenues of research. The TMScompatible EEG allows users to monitor and record brain activity during magnetic stimulation. This makes it possible to study the effects of TMSinduced cortical excitability and connectivity with high temporal resolution. More investigation is needed, but researchers have begun to investigate the use of TMS with appropriate EEG as a new way of detecting the impact of illness and resulting treatment upon brain connectivity. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is another technique supported by Magstim, which is being investigated as a treatment for conditions such as stroke recovery, depression and migraine. tDCS involves applying weak
electrical currents to the head to generate a static electric field which modulates the activity of brain neurons. tDCS can also be used in conjunction with TMS, functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) or centrally acting drugs. In addition to magnetic stimulation, Magstim also supports nerve monitoring in clinical settings with its Neurosign range. Neurosign monitors help surgeons locate and record motor nerves during surgery, helping to prevent neural damage to the patient in a range of highly sensitive surgical procedures including parotidectomy, mastoidectomy, thryroidectomy and facial reconstruction.
The Magstim Company Ltd Spring Gardens, Whitland Carmarthenshire SA34 0HR Tel: 01994 240798 Fax: 01994 240061 Email: info@magstim.com Web: www.magstim.com
Stimulate your imagination...
Magstim provide clinicians and researchers with state-of-the-art stimulation and monitoring equipment to assess, protect and improve the function of the human nervous system. Our expertise is focussed on applications related to magnetic neurological stimulation and intra operative nerve monitoring within the fields of: ●
Neurology
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Neurophysiology
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Psychiatry
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Cognitive Neuroscience
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ENT, Orthopaedic and Neuro-surgery
Our principal products are: Magstim® - range of magnetic nerve stimulators. Neurosign® - range of intra-operative nerve monitors. Brainsight™ TMS - stereotactic image guided TMS system. We are also proud to introduce Magstim Innovations a newly formed custom design and manufacture service and Magstim Air Film Coil technology.
For further details contact The Magstim Company Limited
T: +44 (0)1994 240798 E: sales@magstim.com W: www.magstim.com