Chipping Warden based medical diagnostics company GFC Diagnostics is aiming for further growth after securing a £9,000 grant from the Innovate Northamptonshire project to help finance the development of a rapid test for the detection of a group of bacteria – Carbapenemase Producing Enterobacteriacea (CPE).
The funding will allow the company to work alongside the University of Northampton to develop a rapid test using new technology that could be automated and produce a result in a few hours. This will simplify the CPE detection process that at the moment takes 3 to 4 days and is very labour intensive.
CPE are a common group of bacteria that have started to become resistant to antibiotics that are used to treat patients with very severe infections. If the bacteria become resistant to these antibiotics, then it is difficult to treat the patients and many die. The provision of a rapid automated assay to clinical microbiology laboratories will reduce their expenditure and will free up staff to perform other tests. The test should also reduce costs in the NHS since using this test will mean that it is quicker and easier to diagnose these bacteria.
Bruce Savage of GFC Diagnostics said: “The growth of antibiotic resistance is of huge concern globally. The danger is one of the greatest that humanity has faced in recent times. In a drug-resistant world, many aspects of modern medicine would simply become impossible. This project will demonstrate that the GFC Diagnostics company is capable of working on much more complex antibiotic resistant bacteria and the outcome from the project will help towards development of other products”.
Aurel Nastase, the Growth Hub’s Innovation Adviser, added:
“Innovation is a vital tool for today’s businesses if they want to become sustainable and grow in this rapidly changing world. Our Innovate Northamptonshire project is all about encouraging businesses to explore different ways of working, generating new ideas and ultimately developing new products.”
The Innovate Northamptonshire project is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and delivered by Northamptonshire Growth Hub, a partnership between The University of Northampton and Northamptonshire County Council.
In addition to adviser and funding support, the project also offers a combination of workshops – please see our events section for more information.
To find out more about GFC Diagnostics visit www.gfcdiagnostics.com
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