RECENT NEWS

ProImmune, a provider of services for immune monitoring, antigen discovery and immunogenicity risk assessment, has been accepted into the UK Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) monitoring programme by Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHR), confirming ProImmune’s compliance with GLP.

GSTS Pathology and Bedford Hospital NHS Trust have gone live with their new £1 million microbiology facility, housing a range of new equipment that will further improve the service GSTS provides to patients at Bedford Hospital. The investment modernises microbiology at Bedford Hospital, allowing staff to process more samples more quickly. It will increase quality and efficiency and ultimately provide an upgraded service both to patients and clinicians in the local area.

In March, The Binding Site Group, a manufacturer of immunodiagnostic products, moved its headquarters to larger, more ecofriendly premises in the centre of Birmingham, UK. Having achieved double-digit growth for many years, well above the industry average, this specialist protein company, has rehoused its 380 UK-based staff in a new six-storey building that will fulfil its need for growth over the foreseeable future. The new site is a reflection of the company’s success and shows its commitment to Birmingham, to its staff and customers, and to its future growth.

Beckman Coulter UK is hosting a urology symposium focusing on the early detection of prostate cancer, and the need to reduce unnecessary biopsies, on 14 April at London’s Wellcome Collection Conference Centre. The company recently launched a new assay (p2PSA) for the measurement of a cancer-associated isoform of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in serum. This isoform, when used in conjunction with Hybritech total PSA and Hybritech free PSA measurements, has been shown to provide greater specificity in the management of patients with raised PSA and can significantly reduce the number of prostate biopsies required.

Dict8 has recently launched Dict8 Flow, a new web-based medical workflow solution offering efficiency and cost benefits. To celebrate the launch, Olympus is offering three months of free workflow management with every DS-5000/ DS-5000iD, which is tailored to meet all professional dictation requirements.

Syngene has announced that the company’s gel documentation system is being used at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA to image gels quickly and safely. Researchers in the Department of Biological Engineering regularly use a Syngene gel documentation system to visualise, quantify and record images of DNA on 1D agarose gels stained with SYBR Safe from Invitrogen.

Oxford Biosystems has been appointed the exclusive distributor of Focus Diagnostic products in the UK. This agreement covers the Focus enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorescence assay (IFA) products as well as the new range of molecular diagnostic products.

The IBMS has announced the appointment of Jill Rodney as its new Chief Executive. She replaces Alan Potter who has retired after giving over 20 years’ service to the Institute. Jill, a pharmacist by training and latterly chief executive of Milton Keynes NHS Foundation Trust, took up her post in mid-January and brings a wealth of NHS experience to the Institute. Her thrust into health service management began at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, and she has an MBA and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Sera Laboratories International (Sera Lab) has launched a new Biological Products catalogue presenting its extensive range of animal and human material, disease state material and a new range of human tissues. The catalogue gives details of one of Europe’s largest ranges of biological products for use in life science research.

Leica Microsystems now offers a web-based training course for the Leica Bond Oracle HER2 immunohistochemistry (IHC) system. This eLearning course harnesses advanced training concepts to provide comprehensive training over the web, with convenient access allowing each student to study at the time and place that best suits their schedule.

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics and The Royal College of Pathologists once again joined together to raise awareness of the different pathology specialties and their role in modern healthcare during National Pathology Week. The theme of this year's initiative was ‘Pathology: the building blocks of life’, and focused on the role of pathology in improving the health of mothers and babies. Speaking at the official launch, Brent Bartlett, marketing director at Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics (pictured, right, with Dr Suzy Lishman and Professor Peter Furness), said: "We are very proud to once again stand side by side with The Royal College of Pathologists in championing the important role our discipline has to play in modern patient pathways. In today's austerity and efficiency climate it is essential that we work in partnership for the same aims and keep the focus firmly on what matters most – the patient"

Qlucore has appointed Ann Holmberg as its new sales director. Ms Holmberg (pictured) has an MSc in biochemistry and has worked as marketing and sales manager in the laboratory information management systems (LIMS) sector since 1992, covering the Nordic region.

The Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie in Berlin is using Tecan's Freedom EVO workstations for systematic high-throughput screening of bioactive small molecule libraries. Peter von Kries, head of the Institute's screening unit, explained: “The unit has a small team of staff performing library screens of around 20,000 compounds a day, and this high throughput is partly thanks to the flexibility of our Freedom EVO workstations.

Quotient Bioresearch has announced that its state-of-the-art radiochemistry facility in Cardiff is fully operational and that shipments of radiolabelled products have commenced. All staff have now transferred from the former site operated by Amersham Radiolabelling Services to the new facility.

Nikon Instruments has entered a partnership with the Institute of Experimental Medicine (IEM) of the Hungarian Academy of Science KOKI in Budapest to open the first Nikon Microscopy Centre (NMC) in Central Europe. The centre will allow neuroscience researchers access to state-of-the-art microscopy and imaging systems.

Staff in the microbiology laboratory at the Royal Oldham Hospital have chosen bioMérieux's BacT/ALERT microbial detection system for processing blood cultures. Technical manager Sheila Norris explained: “One of the primary drivers for change was that our previous system used glass bottles. After we centralised our service, we had several incidents involving breakage of glass bottles during transport between the wards and the laboratory. The BacT/ALERT system uses plastic bottles, which means that this is no longer a problem.

Local children in Salisbury have put their artistic talents to the test by designing eye-catching artwork to highlight the alcohol gel dispensers at entrances to wards and departments at Salisbury District Hospital. Regular hand washing and the use of alcohol gels represent the first line of defence against infections, and patients, visitors and staff must use them when entering and leaving clinical areas.

bioMérieux has been presented with an exclusive 2010 Medical Design Excellence Award for its PREVI Isola. This highlights the automated media streaker's breakthrough technology, which has revolutionised front-end media processing tasks. The award was based on the PREVI Isola's design and engineering features, including innovative use of materials, improvements to healthcare delivery, and the ability of the product development team to overcome design and engineering challenges to meet clinical objectives. The fully automated system is capable of processing up to 300 plates per hour, standardising routine agar plate inoculation and offering fast turnaround times with improved traceability. Colony isolation is maximised and cross-contamination eliminated, streamlining laboratory workflows to save time and free staff for other tasks.

Huddersfield Royal Infirmary’s pathology laboratories have switched to using environmentally friendly Bio-bins for the disposal of non-sharp laboratory waste, significantly reducing the amount of plastic they incinerate and saving money. In addition to complying with the NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy, the move away from traditional ‘sweetie jar’ containers has massively reduced the storage space required and saved on transport costs.

The UK's first accredited private cord blood bank, which has pioneered the collection and long-term cryogenic storage of stem cells from umbilical cords since 2002, has become the first such company to win a prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise. East Midlands-based Future Health Technologies, which started operating eight years ago, was the first UK-based family cord blood bank to receive full accreditation as a human tissue bank from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in 2004.