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Many drugs require frequent injections, making them both inconvenient and unattractive to patients and increasing the risk of infection. How to make long-acting biopharmaceuticals that retain physiological activity, have limited side effects and which can be administered simply is a major goal for the pharmaceutical industry. Asterion Ltd is a University spin-out company which has developed a new protein technology (ProFuse) for making long-acting biological drugs that can address these industry goals. It has attracted significant investment and developed an extensive portfolio of third generation therapeutic products which has resulted in research and licensing income of £1M. The case study demonstrates significant impact on commerce and collaborations with industry.
Research on vapour growth of semiconductor compounds led to a key breakthrough in growing large crystals which form the basis for sensitive X-and gamma-ray detectors. The process was commercialised by a Durham University spin-out company, Kromek Ltd., which floated on AIM at £55M and has over 100 employees in the UK and USA. The X-ray detectors are in use in Kromek's security systems for screening liquids at airports, significantly reducing restrictions on duty free goods. This application won the $400,000 international prize in the 2009 Global Security Challenge. The company also markets gamma-ray detectors for nuclear isotope identification. These have won contracts totalling $7.5M from the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency and are in use at Fukushima.