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Manchester bio-tech firm given £1.2m to develop Hepatitis C test

Personalised medicine and biotechnology company Epistem has been awarded £1.2m in funding by the European Commission to develop a new test for Hepatitis C.

Epistem, which is based in Manchester, will receive the funding over the next three years. It comes as part of a £5m project to develop diagnostic tests to help improve the health and quality of life of chronic Hepatitis C patients, while also helping to manage the rising cost of medical treatment.

The firm’s Personalised Medicine Division is committed to a tailored approach to patient treatment and care. It will develop a range of tests on Genedrive, its hand-held diagnostic unit, which can deliver results within 30 minutes.

Chief executive Matthew Walls said: “This support from the European Union will enable us to accelerate the development of a new range of affordable diagnostic and predictive tests that that will assist in the rapid and appropriate treatment of patients suffering with Hepatitis C in developed and under-developed countries.

“It also enables us to work together with internationally recognised leaders in HepC research and other leading SMEs to develop tests that are highly sensitive and can be used in Point of Care settings.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .