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Q-Technologies Limited is an award winning company spun out from the University of Liverpool (UoL). The company mission is to bring to market the novel, patented technology developed through research undertaken by Taylor and colleagues in the Mass Spectrometry (MS) research group in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics from 1995. Impact is economic resulting from formation of a profitable business, currently employing 7 people, and via IP assignment generating £1.2M in 2013. Impact is also environmental via the realisation of a novel sensor with unparalleled monitoring capabilities providing improved water quality monitoring.
Carol Robinson's research at the University of Oxford in the mid-1990s led directly to her proposing a new type of mass spectrometer to enable more detailed analyses of larger molecular assemblies than previously possible. The design is marketed worldwide by Micromass UK Ltd (part of Waters Corporation), generating a new area of research within industry and academia in which intact protein complexes can be analysed by mass spectrometry and the chemistry of small molecules and drugs bound to them investigated, thus contributing to the search for novel pharmaceuticals. Since 2008, Waters' successful commercialisation of the new technology has led to sales worth many millions of dollars.
The protein research of Imperial's Mass Spectrometry group led to the development of Mass Mapping /Fingerprinting for rapid protein characterisation, and new methods for disulphide bridge and glycosylation assignment. Commercialising these discoveries, the company M-SCAN has developed methods to accelerate industrial research and commercialisation of the next generation of recombinant drug therapies, such as monoclonal antibodies targeting cancers. M-SCAN is the pioneer of Biopharmaceutical Characterisation. It has influenced the regulatory advice and, in the past ten years, has assisted many hundreds of companies worldwide in developing their products for market, leading to the growth of a profitable business. In 2010, SGS S.A., a multinational company that provides inspection, verification, testing and certification services, acquired M-SCAN for an undisclosed sum, satisfying SGS's vision to become one of the top players within the Biologics testing arena.
Nu Instruments is a successful mass spectrometer company set up in collaboration with geochemists at the University of Oxford. This joint effort was initially based around the development of a new kind of mass spectrometer; the Nu Plasma. Subsequent research in the UoA demonstrated the capabilities of this instrument for analysis of a large range of isotope systems, leading to its widespread use in geochemical and industrial laboratories around the world. Research in the UoA also aided in creation of new products, further contributing to growth in sales. Nu Instruments have sold over 150 instruments worldwide since 2008, while their turnover grew from £5.2M to £14.7M, and their employee numbers more than doubled to 105.
A novel technique named Selected Ion Flow Tube-Mass Spectrometry, SIFT-MS, has been researched and developed by Professor David Smith and Professor Patrik Spanel at the Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine (ISTM), Keele University. This technique allows real time, on-line analysis of trace gases in air and exhaled breath. This development stems from basic research into the reactivity of ions in the gas phase, in which Smith & Spanel are recognised international experts, combined with a complete understanding of the engineering and technical requirements of successful analytical instrumentation. SIFT-MS instruments have been developed initially from large laboratory devices to the current, transportable commercial instruments that are produced by two independent manufacturers and sold worldwide. They are used in various fields of research, including immediate analysis of exhaled breath and urine headspace for clinical diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring, cell biology, and in environmental and food sciences. They have important practical use in the safety of customs workers in container ports and in prospecting for oil and gas. SIFT-MS instruments manufactured in the UK have been exported to Austria, Czech Republic, China and the USA.
This case study describes the invention, development and subsequent commercial application of the floating low-energy ion gun (FLIG), a key enabling technology for high-resolution depth profiling, in particular of semiconductor devices. Following its invention at the University of Warwick, the FLIG was commercialised and now plays an important role in the semiconductor industry as a key analytical instrument. Intel and its competitors have used the FLIG in developing specific technologies, such as the PentiumTM, XeonfTM and CoreTM i7 processors. Its impact extends beyond the electronics industry to consumers worldwide since the FLIG has played a key role in the development of multicore processors for personal computers, intense low-energy lighting for automotive and civil engineering, mobile telecommunications technology, and many other areas of advanced electronic, and other material, technologies. This invention has also led directly to an ISO standard for depth resolution.
Locust and grasshopper outbreaks can form swarms containing billions of insects, creating feared and damaging agricultural pests. Following research at Imperial College London, the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium acridum was developed into an oil formulated product (`Green Muscle®') that could be applied by ground-based and aerial spray equipment at ultra-low volume (ULV) rates, when locust and grasshopper populations periodically increased. Green Muscle® has since been used to treat locust outbreaks in Israel and five southern African countries. Green Guard®, an associated mycoinsecticide marketed in Australia, has been used extensively to control locusts in regions where there are land use limitations on chemical pesticides. Both Green Musclef6da and Green Guardf6da are supplied by Becker Underwood. Besides the success of Metarhizium as an effective, environmentally-friendly locust control option, substantial science and enabling technology ensued, that should accelerate the development of other mycopesticides as important alternatives to currently beleaguered chemical pest control methods.
Work since 1993 at Imperial College has led to a novel generic approach to Separation Science called: Label Free Intrinsic Imaging (LFII) — with applications in high throughput proteomics, metabolomics, analytical chemistry, health care diagnostics and genomics. LFII was commercialised by Imperial spin-out deltaDOT Ltd in Nov 2000. Sales of LFII products by deltaDOT have been made to various sectors including pharmaceutical, analytical and diagnostic companies. The average annual turnover of deltaDOT Ltd in the REF period was >£600k per annum and the net worth and total assets in 2012 were £569,595 and £808,027, respectively. The deltaDOT technology has been adopted by the US multi-million dollar DARPA-funded [Defense Advanced Research Project Agency] rapid-vaccine development programme. In 2009 an affiliate company, deltaDOT QSTP-LLC, was formed in Qatar, developing a world-class proteomics research and testing facility in Doha also entirely based on the LFII technology. Since its formation deltaDOT QSTP-LLC has generated total revenues of >$10M.
Researchers at Imperial College London have established a spin-out company called Ionscope Ltd which develops and sells Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopes (SICM). This is a novel technology that can (i) characterise live cells and their derivatives non-destructively during differentiation and development, (ii) correlate biophysical features at unprecedented resolution with detailed transcriptional information on a single cell level, and (iii) steer cell fate by mechanical stimulus. Other high magnification techniques interfere with or kill living cells, whereas SICM is benign, allowing living cells to be studied over long periods, making it a highly desirable technology for all groups working within biomedical research. The technique has application in the study of living processes at nano-scale, which to date has included neurons, heart muscle, kidney, sperm and stem cells. Ionscope Ltd sales since 2009 have totalled [text removed for publication], with the company registering a 20% increase in its revenue over the past 5 years.
Research at the University of Aberdeen has directly contributed to the development of the cannabis-based medicine, Sativex®, which was licensed in the UK in 2010 for relieving neuropathic pain and spasticity of multiple sclerosis (MS), removing the need for patients to self-medicate with illegal, "unregulated" cannabis. The research has both enhanced patient welfare and promoted collaboration with industry. Several other countries have also approved Sativex®. Apart from such direct benefits, the research has also increased understanding of the benefits of cannabis-based medicines among the general public, and the main researcher has advised the Home Office on pertinent legislation. Therefore the claimed impact here includes benefits to health and welfare guidelines and on the public understanding of science. In addition industry has invested in research and development and a new product has been commercialised.