RECENT NEWS

The latest UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data shows norovirus cases continue to rise across the country, with laboratory reports at the highest levels since reporting data this way began in 2014. People who have already had the virus this winter could be at risk again, UKHSA is warning, as new data shows a shift in circulating strains.

In response to the National Audit Office (NAO) report, the British In Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA) calls urgently for improved diagnostic infrastructure and deployment to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR) effectively.

A National Audit Office report into the Government’s efforts to contain antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has found that only one of the five targets was met or is on track. Resistant infections are still rising as it proves hard to shift the behaviours of millions of citizens and thousands of institutions.

UK MedTech firm Presymptom Health has secured £200,000 in additional grant funding to speed-up its AI-driven infection detection technology, cutting test times to just 40-60 minutes. Presymptom Health will also use the funding to make its rapid tests compatible with a variety of widely available PCR machines, streamlining diagnostics is secondary care.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has announced that the company has entered into a definitive agreement with Solventum to acquire its Purification & Filtration business for approximately $4.1 billion in cash.

Aptitude Medical Systems has received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its next-gen molecular Metrix COVID-19/Flu multiplex test.

Amanda Pritchard has formally notified the NHS England Board of her decision to stand down as Chief Executive at the end of this financial year.

Spanish hospital group Vall d’Hebron has entered into a new strategic research partnership with bioMérieux. This collaboration aims to advance research and development in the areas of infectious diseases, data surveillance, and laboratory automation.

Alpha Laboratories (Eastleigh, UK) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, marking half a century of commitment to supporting clinicians, scientists, and patients across the globe.

Roche has unveiled its proprietary, sequencing by expansion (SBX) technology, establishing a new category of next-generation sequencing. SBX chemistry, combined with an innovative sensor module, offers ultra-rapid, high-throughput sequencing that is both flexible and scalable for a broad range of applications.

New research led by scientists at California’s La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) reveals the workings of a human antibody called mAb 3A6, which may prove to be an important component for Ebola virus therapeutics.

International researchers have warned that the ongoing mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has the potential to spread across borders more rapidly. The mpox virus has mutated, and the new variant, clade 1b, has become more infectious.

Twenty-five new National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Health Research Groups have been awarded funding under the programme’s Group 4 Call to deliver high-quality applied global health research and training in low and middle income countries (LMICs) over the next four years.

SBRI Healthcare, an Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) initiative, in partnership with the Health Innovation Network, has awarded £1 million for the development of 11 innovations that improve infection prevention and control to prevent the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

A new study has shown that people with diabetes are more likely to develop antibiotic-resistant strains of the bacterial infection Staphylococcus aureus.

A new automation track - one of the UK’s largest and most complex tracks for testing pathology samples - is being installed at the Centre for Laboratory Medicine (CfLM) at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds.

The next webinar in the ‘UKHSA Presents’ series will look at the recently launched metagenomics Surveillance Collaboration and Analysis Programme (mSCAPE) initiative.

Molecular diagnostics group Yourgene Health has announced the launch in the UK of IONA Care+, a fully comprehensive non-invasive prenatal screening service for genetic conditions.

Bioimaging firm Molecular Instruments has announced a significant advancement in dermatological diagnostics through the successful development and implementation of novel laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) at the Department of Dermatology at Yale School of Medicine.

Life sciences firm Fujifilm Irvine Scientific has entered into an agreement to sell its Medical Media Business Unit (MBU) to Astorg, a leading pan-European private equity firm with an extensive track record in global healthcare investments.