RECENT NEWS

Unilabs, a supplier of cellular pathology services in the UK, has announced that patients will now have access to the Oncotype DX breast cancer test at partner clinics and hospitals, including the Harley Street Breast Clinic in London. Developed by Genomic Health, the Oncotype DX test is a genomic assay that enables doctors and their patients with early-stage oestrogen receptor-positive invasive breast cancer to make more informed, individualised treatment decisions.

A milestone is fast approaching for Gilson as it celebrates 40 years of delivering innovation. Four decades ago, the PIPETMAN pipette was created as the first continuously adjustable volume pipette on the market. Today, it remains one of the most popular pipettes in laboratories worldwide.

The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust has upgraded its RAPIDComm data management system to version 4.0 to integrate the control of blood gas, urinalysis and diabetes point-of-care (POC) testing to help drive compliance and improve patient care.

A leading healthcare technology company is putting in place an acquisition strategy after revealing it is on course to more than double turnover this year. MSoft eSolutions will increase revenues from £1 million to over £2.2 million in the current financial year.

Eppendorf recently celebrated the opening of its new UK headquarters in Stevenage with 60 guests from all walks of science and industry. Guest of honour Dr Dirk Ehlers, the company’s president and CEO, performed the official opening of Eppendorf House, a high-grade, energy-efficient facility on the Arlington Business Park.

Recently, the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust celebrated a key milestone for its new pathology building with a traditional ‘roof topping’ ceremony.

The Dittmer Laboratory at the University of North Carolina is using a Freedom EVO 150 with an integrated LightCycler 480 real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system to investigate the biology of viral cancers such as those caused by Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV). The group uses quantitative PCR (qPCR) profiling to study various aspects of KSHV.

Barnsley Hospital has recently installed Radiometer’s AQT90 FLEX analyser in its emergency department, where it is proving the key to rapid assessment of patients presenting with chest pain.

The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) has found that educational programmes concentrating on correct blood culture technique, supported by bioMérieux, play a key role in reducing contamination rates.

Bibby Scientific US has appointed Peter Lucas as president for the Western hemisphere. Peter joins the company from Sartorius, where he was North American director of marketing – laboratory solutions, and previously worked for Merck KGaA Millipore. He holds an MBA from DeSales University and brings extensive senior management experience and a proven track record of success in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.

An advanced process review system, TACTROL ZERO, is being rolled out across the entire range of autoclaves manufactured by Priorclave, and adds to the excellent customer support provided by the company’s service and technical support team. The new system enables Priorclave to provide increased worldwide support, ensuring that autoclave users maximise the performance of their steam sterilizers, whatever and wherever the application and medium.

As the NHS Cervical Screening Programme (NHSCSP) rolls out high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) testing for the triage of women with borderline or low-grade cervical abnormalities across England, women around the country are already benefiting from faster treatment and potentially life-saving outcomes thanks to the Roche cobas HPV test.

Mast is again delighted to be exhibiting at Microbe 2012 at the Hilton Hotel, Sheffield 21st – 23rd September 2012.

At Microbe 2012, R-Biopharm Rhône will take on the guise of modern Stone Age family The Flintstones. The company has always found the Microbe symposia to be a terrific mix of scientific talks and social activities, with the addition, this year, of poster presentations.

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The microbiology department at St James’s Hospital in Dublin processes almost 500,000 samples a year, and has recently introduced a PREVI Isola and a UF-1000i to semi­automate its urinalysis services.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has opened a new automated blood sciences laboratory at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. Equipped with state-of-the-art Roche analytical platforms and track system, the new laboratory ensures a very efficient workflow and will reduce turnaround times (TATs) for routine high-throughput work.

A multimillion-pound science ‘superlab’ is nearing completion at Nottingham Trent University. Work on the building, sited on the Clifton campus, is almost finished and it will house high-specification laboratories and equipment in support of chemistry and bioscience teaching and research activities in the university’s School of Science and Technology.

At the start of its new financial year, UK autoclave manufacturer Priorclave launched its Jubilee promotion that will run for a four-month period, from April to July. Throughout this period, Priorclave will present a Kindle against all confirmed orders. Not only is it a ‘thank you’ for buying products design and manufactured totally in the UK, it is also part of a promotion in the run-up to the company celebrating 25 years as an autoclave manufacturer.

With an estimated 216,000 individuals chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the UK (England 161,000, Northern Ireland 4000, Scotland 39,000, Wales 12,000), it remains a major public health problem; and HCV-related end-stage liver disease and mortality continue to increase. The Health Protection Agency states that it is necessary to sustain and enhance efforts to raise awareness, prevent new infections, increase diagnosis, and treat more individuals with the infection.