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Nottingham healthcare firms win £190k technology fund

Two spin-out firms from the University of Nottingham have received £190k of funding from the Department of Health.

The cash will be used to develop technologies that create personalised treatments for cancer patients and people with heart problems.

Platelet Solutions and Nottingham Prognostics won funding through the Technology Strategy Board, (TSB) after working alongside the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University respectively.

Medical treatments will be identified for patients using healthcare information science, genetics study and imaging technology, to diagnose more quickly and accurately.

Funding to each company will be used to research the health and economic benefits of the technologies they have developed, to enable them to enter the market alongside other healthcare suppliers.

Platelet Solutions is based in BioCity in Nottingham, a business incubator for healthcare, bioscience and pharmaceutical startups.

The firm focuses on treatments for heart attack and stroke patients, after several years of research carried out at the University of Nottingham.

Stan Heptinstall, director at Platelet Solutions, commented: “We are delighted to have received this award.

“We are confident that our test kit will not only help to save the NHS considerable amounts of time and money, but more importantly, it will ensure that each person receives the treatment that is right for them, therefore reducing the possibility of another serious cardiovascular event.”

Nottingham Prognostics joined with Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust to develop an index to categorise breast cancer patients.

Using Nottingham Prognostics’ tool, clinical staff will be able to assess outcomes and ascribe therapeutic options more accurately than current methods.

Professor Ian Ellis from Nottingham Prognostics, commented: “This is fantastic news for us. We have every confidence in the potential of our index service, but in order to take the product to the next stage and prove its market worth, we need funding.”

Professor Ellis added that the money would allow the business to reach new customers and investors.

Platelet Solutions and Nottingham Prognostics won Department of Health and TSB funding through the SBRI innovation scheme, which also has future offerings for valuable products.

Dr Susan Huxtable, Director of Technology Transfer at The University of Nottingham, said: “It is always difficult for businesses launching new ideas and technologies to find the money they need to develop and grow, so this award is a tremendous boost for Platelet Solutions and Nottingham Prognostics.

“There was only a £1m fund available nationally for this competition, so for our businesses to be awarded almost £200k is a tremendous achievement.

“The products that the companies have developed are great examples of the kinds of innovative, technologies that are being developed here at the University.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .