A new spin-out company has been established to develop a medical diagnostic device. The device, named Inform ™, can detect the volatile organic compounds in patient samples, in order to diagnose and monitor a range of medical conditions. Founding institutional shareholders include the University of Liverpool, the University of Bristol, the University of West of England, Bristol and The Wellcome Trust.
Nidor Diagnostics Limited will offer a range of diagnostic products, the first of which would enable patients to receive a positive diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Currently, the diagnosis of IBS and other related medical conditions can require many assessments, including blood and faeces testing, colonoscopy with biopsies, and radiology (X-ray) tests, and requires a lengthy process of elimination. Inform (IBS) ™ will help to speed up the diagnostic process for patients.
Professor Chris Probert, now at Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology at Liverpool, has been influential in driving the Inform ™ technology forward over a number of years, and has been successful in securing large translational grants from Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research UK in order to develop and validate the technology in a range of other applications, including bladder and colorectal cancer.
Dr Taj S Mattu, CEO of Nidor said: “Nidor is excited about realising the technology’s potential to improve the diagnosis of a number of diseases, not just IBS in the near future..”
Professor Anthony Hollander, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Impact, University of Liverpool, said: “We are very excited about the future of Nidor – the University of Liverpool has incubated the technology for a number of years, in collaboration with the other stakeholders, and the project has received significant support from the University of Liverpool’s Enterprise Investment Fund.”
Throughout the process, academics were supported by the IP Commercialisation teams at Liverpool, Bristol and UWE. Emma Nolan, Head of IP Commercialisation at Liverpool, said: “We’re pleased to have completed the founder round for the company – we have a very dedicated academic founder and a first-class management team.”