Randox Biosciences….One Year On!
July 2015 welcomed the official release of Randox Biosciences, a newly formed division built on the experience and expertise of Randox, to celebrate the merger of 4 existing business units; Life Sciences, Pharma Sciences, Research and Molecular. With an investment of £15 million and the aim of advancing scientific discovery, drug development and diagnostics, it has certainly been an exciting and successful year for the division!
So what have we been up to this past year? Here are some of our key highlights!
Randox Biosciences have attended over 55 events globally including Medica, Arab Health and World CDx Europe/Boston, reaching over 400,000 delegates to promote the Biosciences brand and our capabilities. Why not meet us in our next destination of Philadelphia for AACC later this month?
Earlier this year, we released our enhanced Respiratory Multiplex Array! Version II of this array provides comprehensive screening for infections of both the upper and lower respiratory tracts in four simple steps…extraction, amplification, hybridisation and detection on our Evidence Investigator imaging platform. Utilising Randox’s award-winning Biochip Array Technology, the array simultaneously detects 22 bacterial and viral pathogens from a single sputum, lavage or nasopharyngeal sample, reducing laboratory time and improving patient care. This array will therefore aid clinicians in the selection of the most appropriate antibiotic treatment for patients. In many cases, such as viral infections, the use of antibiotics can be avoided, improving antibiotic stewardship.
Our portfolio of biomarkers is incredibly extensive across a range of therapeutic areas; however, we are continued to the development of new markers to improve health worldwide. We currently offer over 85 oncology biomarkers, having recently added IL-18*, M2-PK* and CA19-9* to our portfolio.
We were also honoured to be awarded with two Innovate UK awards for our work in the development of a diagnostic test for the detection of bladder cancer in haematuria patients, as well as a diagnostic test for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia patients.
Developed in collaboration with The Belfast Trust and Queen’s University Belfast, our bladder cancer test has been described by the project’s Lead Scientist at Randox, Dr Mark Ruddock, as the “holy grail” of diagnostic tests to stratify patients with haematuria (blood in the urine), who are at high risk of bladder cancer;
“Currently, all haematuria patients are ‘red-flagged’ as candidates for an invasive procedure called a cystoscopy (a camera inserted into the bladder), which is both embarrassing and uncomfortable for the patient. In comparison, the revolutionary Randox test is based on a simple urine sample so is non-invasive and much more comfortable for the patient.”
With over £33.5 million spent each year managing patients with haematuria who are then found not to have bladder cancer, a significant burden on our healthcare could be lifted with the use of this new test as it will allow urology teams to significantly reduce the amount of unnecessary cystoscopies carried out on those identified as low risk.
Additionally, our innovative diagnostic test for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) patients will enable the stratification of AML patients, to determine patient response before chemotherapeutic treatment. Currently, aggressive chemotherapy is given at diagnosis for the 2900 patients diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia every year in the UK, yet up to 40% of patients do not respond to this treatment due to the type of their cancer cells, and the patient’s genetic make-up.
Dr Cherith Reid, Project Manager for the AML Test at Randox, commented;
“As with any illness, it is important to select the best treatment and care for AML patients based on their diagnosis. The majority of AML patients are over 60 years old, and with the rise in the elderly population, increased prevalence of the disease is predicted. Currently, patients in this age range who are deemed fit for treatment are prescribed cytarabine chemotherapy, where the patient’s reaction to this drug is uninformed and is based on a trial-and-error approach. The information provided by our test will allow us to identify patients whose cancer is drug responsive, and treat them accordingly, possibly with lower doses of chemotherapy, reducing its severe side-effects. We want to assist clinicians in selecting the best treatment and care for patients as early as possible to improve patient outcomes.”
A continued focus for Randox Biosciences has been targeting the thriving personalised medicine market which at its heart relies on precision medicine, enabling technology and tests to tailor healthcare solutions to the right patients at the right time. Led by our dedicated research scientists, we offer advanced products, for use in academic research enabling new scientific discoveries and in pharma companies for their drug development and clinical trials.
A particularly exciting area for Randox Biosciences is in Companion Diagnostic development. This is where new diagnostic tests are developed and approved alongside new drugs improving their efficacy and safety, whilst helping to reduce costs for healthcare networks by avoiding unnecessary or ineffective drug prescriptions. With many projects in the pipeline and a range of new facilities at the new Randox Science Park, we have been able to upscale our manufacturing and R&D capabilities. Not forgetting, Randox Clinical Laboratory Services (RCLS) which has also been released this year and expanded within the Randox Science Park.
What’s next?
We are thrilled to be launching our Cardiac Risk Prediction Array later this year to help combat the serious global issue of coronary heart disease. Current testing requires individuals to be genotyped for each of the 20 CHD “at risk” SNPs. At present this can be a time consuming and expensive process. Together with key opinion leaders in cardiovascular genetics, Randox has developed a rapid array which will allow all 20 SNPs to be genotyped simultaneously, which incorporates a test to identify patients predisposed to statin-induced myopathy.
We are also excited to release our extensive research and development for Alzheimer’s disease later in the year, leading the way in innovative diagnosis for this debilitating illness.
Don’t forget, we are also the official sponsors for the Grand National 2017 and the following 5 years, the world’s greatest horse race!
If you would like further information about any of our products, please email us at info@randoxbiosciences.com
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*for research use only