YORKSHIRE BIOSCIENCE COMPANY HAS NOSE FOR BUSINESS

The cream of Yorkshire and the Humber’s bioscience companies will be gathering in York next week (31 October – 1 November) as part of the White Rose Bioscience Forum, the region’s flagship bioscience event.

Five short listed bio-entrepreneurs will present their research and its associated commercial potential during a special Technology Showcase run by Connect Yorkshire, the organisation which primes technology companies for growth and investment. The showcase will give the brightest new bioscience talent from the region the chance to vie for a £2,000 award, sponsored by Bioscience York.

Each company will be presenting to a panel of experts comprising Tony Robards of the University of York, Malcolm Skingle of GlaxoSmithKline, Cathy Prescott of Avlar Bioventures, Peter Harrison of Walker Morris and David Garnett of Harrison Goddard Foote. Held at the Central Science Laboratory, York, the presenters represent the very best of emerging bioscience from Yorkshire and the Humber and will explain how exactly they plan to become successful new businesses of the future.

Those taking part are: AGT Sciences, which has developed a unique hydrogel to solve a range of life science problems, Josephine Bunch from the University of Sheffield, who will deliver a presentation about her latest research in the bimolecular mass spectrometry field, Nature’s Laboratory, which has formulated a method of standardising highly complex natural products for medicinal use, Paraytec, which has patented analytical detection technology that has a range of applications in industry and research, and Scensive Technologies, which has developed a non-invasive, multi-application diagnostic tool for the medical industry.

Scensive, based in Normanton, West Yorkshire, has already been awarded a development grant by the DTI to develop its BloodhoundTM electronic nose. This e-nose instrument is capable of seeking out subtle scents often indistinguishable to the human nose, as part of the global campaign to diagnose TB and cancer. The instrument works by detecting scent molecules either directly from the infection, as in TB, or changes triggered by the body for diseases such as cancer. These odours are picked up by highly sensitive sensors and analysed by a software system trained to recognise the source from a database of complex odours.

Scensive managing director Viv Hallam said: “We want to promote this little known technology to potential users, to attract customers for the product and to establish strategic partnerships which will develop and launch further products.

“Early diagnosis is crucial to the prevention and treatment of global killers such as TB and cancer, and in the future, we hope the BloodhoundTM will play a vital part in winning the battle against these diseases by providing reliable and affordable diagnosis,” he added.

The Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) recently took delivery of a BloodhoundTM for its TB research. Said Mr Hallam: “We see the Technology Showcase as a shop window for both the product and the business, and an opportunity to network with influential bioscience technologists and the wider business community.”

Connect Yorkshire’s executive director Nick Butler said: “Companies like Scensive demonstrate the wealth of talent out there in the bioscience arena, and we’re delighted to be supporting the White Rose Bioscience Forum once again.”

The Technology Showcase award will be presented to the most promising business proposition by Gareth Lloyd-Jones of Bioscience York, on Wednesday 1 November.