RECENT NEWS

The IBMS has unveiled its new look for Harvey’s Gang, after taking over the initiative last year. Going forward the new name will be Harvey’s Lab Tours, but the mission to educate and inspire young patients through interactive laboratory tours remains unchanged.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has published its strategic approach to artificial intelligence (AI) which aims to ensure patient safety and industry innovation into 2030.

Launch Diagnostics recently celebrated its new office premises in Dartford with an official opening ceremony. It comes at a time of growth for the company which has also recently established a new subsidiary based in Germany.

Biomedical scientist and Scientific Officer at Pro-Lab Diagnostics Dr Neil Bentley OBE completed the London Marathon during April, raising funds for WaterAid.

An international trial of the world’s first personalised mRNA cancer immunotherapy for melanoma has begun at University College London Hospital (UCLH). The work is underpinned by support from NIHR infrastructure.

Sectra’s digital pathology solution together with Leica Biosystems’s Aperio GT 450 DX have received a 510(k) clearance from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA). This is the first time an FDA clearance within digital pathology allows the use of DICOM images for pathology diagnostics, which marks a significant step towards standardisation in this field.

Medical robotics company Clarapath has entered into a strategic collaboration with Mayo Clinic to develop its automated tissue sectioning technology and other innovations.

Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), have developed a coin-sized chip that can directly isolate blood plasma from a tube of blood in just 30 minutes, which is more convenient and user-friendly as compared to the current gold standard, multi-step centrifugation process.

Differences in how young and elderly people’s nasal cells respond to the SARS-CoV-2 virus may explain why children typically experience milder COVID-19 symptoms.

Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) has announced it will award up to US$1 million to diagnostics and health technology company Scout to demonstrate proof-of-concept and feasibility ahead of development of a new point-of-care test – STI Scout.

Abbott's i-STAT TBI cartridge has received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used with whole blood, allowing doctors to help assess patients with suspected concussion at the patient's bedside and obtain laboratory quality results in 15 minutes.

NHS cancer checks have topped three million in a year for the first time – more than doubling in the last decade. The NHS is committed to diagnosing more cancers at an earlier stage when it is easier to treat. More cancers than ever before are being caught at stages 1 and 2.

Laboratory products manufacturer and supplier Medline has announced that it is now a direct distributor for Epredia, a member of PHC Group. Epredia is a global leader in the anatomical pathology field, providing comprehensive solutions for precision cancer diagnostics and tissue diagnostics.

Thousands of people unknowingly living with hepatitis C are to be identified, diagnosed and cured thanks to major NHS investment in rapid testing technology and an extension of a ground-breaking medicines deal.

Beckman Coulter Diagnostics has announced an expanded DxI 9000 Immunoassay Analyzer menu, with tests for hepatitis B and C viruses - namely Access anti-HCV, Access HBsAg, and Access HBsAg Confirmatory assays - receiving CE marks.

The British In Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA) has released its new three-year strategy, entitled ‘Diagnostics for All’.

All six NHS Trusts within the West Yorkshire Pathology Network are now live on the NPIC digital pathology platform, after Airedale NHS Foundation Trust and Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust recently joined the other four NHS Trusts within the West Yorkshire area, (collectively known as the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts [WYAAT]) and have now gone live.

UK National External Quality Assessment Service (UK NEQAS) is to relocate its Sheffield site to Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park and its state-of-the-art incubation centre, Landing Pad. The move for UK NEQAS will help propel the Park further towards becoming a global centre of excellence for innovation in health, sport and wellbeing.

Roche’s Elecsys pTau217 assay blood test, which is being developed in collaboration with Eli Lilly, has received Breakthrough Device Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The test aids in identifying amyloid pathology, a key feature of Alzheimer’s disease, and the two firms believe the test could play an important role in improving access to early and accurate Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Randox Laboratories has announced a new partnership with technology firm Bosch, with the goal of making fast and highly precise diagnostics accessible at the point of care. The two companies will invest around €150 million in joint research, development, and sales activities for new tests for the Vivalytic analysis platform provided by Bosch Healthcare.