Physiomics teams up with Beyond Blood to develop home-use blood

Cell Count Kit

Physiomics, the Oxford Science Park-based oncology consultancy using mathematics to support the development of cancer treatment regimens and personalised medicine solutions, has signed an agreement with Beyond Blood Diagnostics to analyse data generated during testing of its diagnostic platform using Physiomics’ personalised dosing software.

Medherant raises £3m to develop world’s first testosterone patch for menopause

University of Warwick spin-out Medherant has raised almost £3 million to develop a testosterone patch for women su ering adverse symptoms from the menopause, in a funding round led by Mercia Asset Management.

Founder and Chemistry Professor David Haddleton hopes to bring the pioneering treatment to clinical trials this autumn, with an aim to secure approval for clinical use. If successful, Medherant’s product would become the only testosterone patch available worldwide.

Although oestrogen and progesterone HRT patches are already on the market, there is currently no transdermal patch for the delivery of testosterone to women su ering from low libido and reduced zest for life as a result of the menopause.

Beyond Blood is a seed-stage spin-out from Imperial College London, which is developing a patented flow cytometry device to measure blood cell counts in very small blood volumes.

Beyond Blood’s device is intended to be small, simple to use and inexpensive, allowing it to be used by patients at home, without the need for taking blood using a syringe.

The company is aiming for its first products to be commercially available, with approval of the medical device having been sought and obtained, within approximately two years from completion of development.

Anya selected for prestigious NHS Innovation Accelerator programme

The UK has among the worst breastfeeding rates in the world. Nine in 10 of mothers are reported to have given up breastfeeding before they wanted, citing pain and a lack of support as the primary reasons.

Now a new breastfeeding and parenting support app, Anya, has been selected for the prestigious NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) programme for 2023.

Anya’s innovative app uses interactive 3D technology and Artificial Intelligence to provide breastfeeding and parenting support, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The app delivers expert-backed support and peer communities, helping parents across 1001 days from conception through to toddlerhood.

Anya’s Gloucestershire-based founder, Dr Chen Mao Davies, will become one of fewer than 100 NIA Fellows selected since the programme’s conception in 2015, following an assessment process involving expert clinicians, patients, and NHS commercial leads.

NIA specialists will now work with Anya – formerly known as LatchAid – to help scale its innovation within the NHS.

The overall aim is to increase capacity for overstretched antenatal and postnatal teams, and to improve outcomes for families in a way that is low-cost, scalable and robust.

Anya has already supported parents in more than 100 countries and is the toprated breastfeeding app in the ORCHA digital library. Through partnerships with NHS providers and commissioners, Anya is currently available to more than 4.3 million people in England.

Innovation and Technology Showcase highlights Worcestershire’s tech talents

Technology products from four Worcestershire-based early-stage businesses were on show at an Innovation Forum and Technology Showcase.

The event was organised by Worcestershire technology accelerator BetaDen with the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership.

The four companies showcasing their latest innovations were: DX Compliance – an anti-money laundering platform featuring AI and machine learning which helps banks, fintech and other regulated entities with compliance and MindSafe – an online platform o ering mental and well-being services for schools and young adults.

The other companies were PinSwarm – a local marketing platform that connects businesses, organisations, and individuals with their local communities and Triplo ESG – an online sustainability advice platform helping small businesses understand, measure and improve their sustainability performance.

Introduction by Pete Davison, further reporting by Sam Pither

New products, services and innovations are born of research and development (R&D) as are improvements to existing o erings. To keep Britain inventing, the government o ers financial incentives, although regular changes to the system are at the whim of chancellors, and innovators need to keep a close eye on the tax rules –more on which later.

The latest available data from the O ce for National Statistics, published last November, revealed that expenditure on R&D in the UK totalled £61.8 billion in 2020.

Businesses accounted for the bulk of R&D –£44 billion, with the higher education sector investing £13.9 billion. The government, including UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), spent £3.1 billion.

Government funding can be directed at the most unlikely sounding places: in March, the UKRI announced £9 million of R&D funding to develop novel solutions in the agriculture sector, around crop harvesting, cow health and robotics.

That came hot on the heels of the February announcement of a funding package of £27.6 million into new battery technologies as part of the Faraday Battery Challenge. Innovation covers the gamut of sectors, with manufacturers and engineers continuing to fly the flag for British ingenuity.

Two areas in which British business excels in innovation are biotech and pharmaceuticals, and information and computer technology.

UK a world leader in medicine development

The UK came to the world's rescue during the rush for an e ective Covid-19 vaccine. And we remain a world leader in the development of treatments and medicines, many of which recognise their commercial value not at home, but in the lucrative health sector of the United States.

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly a phrase on everyone's lips, and a lot of work in the field is being done in the UK. The government wants Britain to be a global centre for the development, and commercialisation of responsible AI. As of 2020 we were a leading player in the sector, only surpassed by the US and China, attracting almost £3 billion in equity investment that year.

But business leaders think the government could be doing more to support the nation's innovators. The CBI – the Confederation of British Industry – which represents the UK's largest firms say that investment in R&D has been stagnating for 30 years at 1.7 per cent of GDP. The CBI would like to see this level of investment almost double, to three per cent. Government support in the form of grants and tax credits are vital to make this a reality, says the body.

So there was widespread dismay when Jeremy Hunt delivered his Spring Budget in March. While he did reverse some of the cuts announced by his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng in September 2022, his update seems to most benefit research-intensive firms that spend 40 per cent or more of their total expenditure on R&D – leaving many SMEs out in the cold.

David Fort, a partner at chartered accountants Haines Watts, which has o ces in Reading, Oxford, Swindon and Cirencester, identifies a shift towards a more robust system, but argues there’s a balance to strike to ensure people are still able to take advantage of R&D incentives.

"We are feeling some clients pushing back a bit because it's becoming onerous to provide the information. A couple of years ago, it was quite a good incentive. It still is, it's just the amount of paperwork," he says.

And Karen Campbell-Williams, head of tax at Grant Thornton, which has o ces in Bristol, Oxford and Reading, added: “The Chancellor has gone some way to fill the gap left by the reduced SME R&D relief announced in the Autumn Statement.

"R&D intensive SMEs will be able to claim a credit worth £27 for every £100 they spend. However – as always – the devil is in the detail. The relief is expected to only apply in loss-making scenarios where at least 40 per cent of expenditure is on R&D.

"We expect early-stage start-ups to benefit from this but, as they scale and overheads increase, many will lose the higher rate of support."

And while innovative businesses keep a close eye on the finances, they'll also need a lawyer to look after patents, designs, copyright and trademarks.

It’s never too early to consider IP protection

Anna Rawlings, senior associate at Bristol and Reading-based Osborne Clarke, advises: It is never too early to consider IP protection for your business. Think of your business as an allotment – you sow the seeds then you can either neglect the crop, allow it to wither and be attacked or cultivate it and dissuade invaders.

“Option one costs nothing, but you won't have any fruits to show for your labour. Option two involves continuing e ort and cost but can result in a rich harvest with the opportunity to sell your prize marrow. This is how you should view IP protection, enforcement and value generation.

“There are various, overlapping IP rights regimes. Registered IP rights include patents and trademarks. Trademarks protect your brand and logo. Patents are the goldstandard IP right because they grant you a 20-year monopoly to stop competitors using your invention.

“If you are developing new or innovative products or processes, seek immediate advice from a patent attorney. In the meantime, ensure the invention is not disclosed to anyone outside of a confidentiality regime.

“Some IP rights arise automatically on creation, such as copyright and database rights, which cover important digital assets such as software. It is important to keep records of the creator, the date and evidence of creation, and a copy of the creator's employment contract.

"If the IP was not created by an employee, an assignment will need to be executed so the IP is legally owned by the business. This information will be invaluable in proving you own the IP if you need to stop copycats, or to show good title on the prospective sale or licensing of the technology.

And Chloe Fernandez, a paralegal at Thames Valley law firm Boyes Turner, notes: "Brands are important assets and are the unique identifiers that help customers choose one company’s products and services above another’s.

"It is vital to have the ability to enforce your rights if others use an identical or similar brand and a registered trademark makes it easier to take legal action, rather than trying to enforce an unregistered right.

"A trademark registration provides an exclusive right to use that trademark for the goods and services specified in its registration and as it is recorded on a public database, it also serves to act as a deterrent to third parties.

"Without a registered trademark, you would have to rely on the common law action of passing o which is notoriously di cult to pursue.

"You must prove you have developed goodwill or reputation in respect of your goods or services, that a misrepresentation has occurred leading to confusion and, finally, that you have su ered damage (usually lost profits or reputation).

"These elements are often referred to as the “classical trinity” and a high level of evidence is required to satisfy them, which can be an expensive and lengthy process.

"It’s important to seek legal advice early on, as a specialist trademark practitioner will help to identify the element(s) of your brand that are likely to be registrable.

"A trademark must be distinctive and not merely descriptive to be registrable and clearance searches will need to be carried out, to establish whether your chosen trademark is available for use without infringing a third party’s rights.

"It is also important to ensure that your trademark application covers the most appropriate classes of goods and services, as the choice of classifications will be key to the protection the trademark will attract and you cannot expand the scope of protection by adding additional classes once your application has been submitted."