A Tyneside company developing unique mobile devices for use against global disease pandemics will get the chance to impress international investors in Silicon Valley this week, after being singled out as a top 20 UK health technology company, amid fierce competition.

Newcastle-based OJ-Bio Ltd CEO Dale Athey travelled to San Francisco this week as part of Future Health Matters Mission, a competition to identify and support the best fast-growing ‘HealthTech' technology companies in the UK, focused on e-health & health informatics, personalised medicine, regenerative medicine, assistive technologies, medical technologies and diagnostic technologies.

Organised by market intelligence software company Polecat in collaboration with the Technology Strategy Board, 20 leading technology companies were selected for the Mission, which, taking place from January 8 - 14th, and aligned with JP Healthcare Conference, aims to provide companies with opportunities for growth with key investors, potential partners and customers, media and other stakeholders from around the globe, in Silicon Valley.

The Future Health Mission 11 competition launched at the Technology Strategy Board's annual Innovation Conference, innovate10, in London on Tuesday 12 October. A short and simple online application process then followed which closed on Friday 19th of November. Applicants were judged on their business viability, the strength of their management team, their ability to do meaningful business in the US, and their ability to develop sustainable transatlantic relationships.

OJ-Bio Ltd develops handheld wireless diagnostic units and biochips for rapid on-the-spot detection of diseases using bodily fluids such as blood, urine and saliva.

Based at the Centre for Life, the firm was founded in November 2009 as a joint venture between Newcastle-based nanotechnology company Orla Protein Technologies and Japanese electronics giant Japan Radio Company Ltd (JRC).

It was set up to create new disease-detecting devices using the combined strength of its founders' biomedical and electronic manufacturing expertise.

The devices being developed by OJ-Bio are aimed at 'next-generation' of diagnostics which will enable simple rapid detection of protein markers of disease, viruses and bacteria. Since 2009, OJ-Bio has been awarded over £300K of funding support by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) which has enabled the company to make major inroads in the application of the new technology to aid the detection and eradication of global disease pandemics like flu, Tuberculosis (TB), and wide-spread sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) like Chlamydia.

Dale Athey, Managing Director at OJ-Bio Ltd, said: "There is a clear need for improved methods for easy, rapid, cost effective detection and identification of infectious diseases. OJ-Bio is developing a range of wireless rapid wireless diagnostic biosensor products to meet this need.

"It is a great honour to have been named as one of the top 20 health technology companies in the UK, and to be invited to attend this event, which will provide us with a fantastic platform to talk about this exciting technology, and the progress we have made over the last 14 months.

"Our devices seek to overcome current shortcomings in the market for the rapid detection of infectious agents, offering faster decision making, faster intervention and reduction in spread of infection, and I look forward to presenting our work to investors from across the world at this prestigious event."

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A NEW company which aims to commercialise mobile devices which can detect diseases on the spot and potentially save many lives has won a funding boost.

The joint venture between Newcastle nanotechnology firm Orla ProteinTechnologies, which owns 80% of the business OJ-Bio, and multi-billion pound Japanese electronics giant Japan Radio has taken another step forward with a near £100,000 grant from regional development agency One North East.

Orla is combining its biotechnology expertise with JRC’s manufacturing capabilities to develop hand-held devices which can diagnose diseases by taking an on-the-spot sample of a bodily fluid via a special chip.

The device will send the results wirelessly to a third party, making it ideal for airport quarantine situations. OJ-Bio products could be ready within a year, though it may take longer for mass production.

As current samples need to be taken and sent to a diagnostic laboratory for analysis and the results then relayed to doctors for diagnosis, OJ-Bio’s system will drastically reduce disease detection from weeks to a matter of days, if not even hours, which should ultimately help to halt or slow down the spread of diseases.

Orla chief executive Dale Athey said: “The new devices have the potential to revolutionise patient testing, allowing for rapid sensitive detection at the point of care where there is no need for complicated equipment and wireless transmission can send results instantly to a network.

“This sort of device will open up new opportunities in the market for rapid diagnostics. It’s a multi-million pound opportunity and will bring significant returns to Orla, its stakeholders and the North East economy.”

The product forms the final stage of the three year Virasens project led by its parent companies, in association with Newcastle University, to develop a biosensor device based on protein surface capture and surface acoustic wave (SAW) chip technologies.

The Virasens project was made possible after Orla secured £1m from a £10m pot of cash set up by the Department of Health and Technology Strategy Board. The pair identified an unmet need for mobile, disposable and rapid detection of diseases such as Avian Flu.

Dr Athey added: “The project is moving forward very well. The technical teams here at OJ-Bio and in Japan are making great progress, and we are ramping up our commercial activity as a consequence. The continued support of One North East through this R&D grant has enabled OJ-Bio to maintain momentum in a competitive market.”

Eleanor Anderson, business finance R&D specialist advisor at One North East, said: “This technology has the potential to save many thousands of lives, especially in remote and underprivileged areas of Africa and Asia where access to medical care is poor and diseases like malaria can run rife.

“For the North East, this venture stands testament to the leading scientific and manufacturing expertise that exists here. Equally so, it shows the true power of working partnerships with two world-leading experts from completely different backgrounds joining forces.”

A NEW company which aims to commercialise mobile devices which can detect diseases on the spot, was launched in the region yesterday.

The joint venture between a Newcastle science firm and a multi-billion pound Japanese electronics giant could bring jobs, investment and mass manufacturing to the North East.

OJ-Bio is 80% owned by North East nanotechnology specialist Orla Protein Technologies, with 20% backing from Japan Radio Co (JRC).

The firm will be based at Newcastle’s Centre for Life and will employ five people, though this could grow.

Orla will combine its biotechnology expertise with JRC’s manufacturing capabilities to develop hand-held devices which can diagnose diseases by taking an on-the-spot sample of a bodily fluid via a special chip. The device will send the results wirelessly to a third party, making it ideal for airport quarantine situations. OJ-Bio products could be ready within a year, though it may take longer for mass production.

Orla and JRC have been working together since November 2007 to develop handheld wireless diagnostic devices, and last month cut the ribbon in Tokyo, Japan on a joint venture to manufacture, promote and sell the devices worldwide. It is understood the new company will be backed by about £500,000 in capital through investment from both parties and an additional investor.

Orla chief executive Dale Athey said: “We plan to keep Orla moving forward, developing our technology and product platform in the North East.

“This sort of device will open up new opportunities in the £10bn diagnostics marketplace.”

OJ-Bio Ltd in Newcastle has been awarded £111,150 by the Technology Strategy Board to develop handheld wireless diagnostic units and biochips for the on-the-spot detection of STDs like chlamydia.

The new funding will help the firm, based at the International Centre for Life in Newcastle, to work towards a market-ready prototype of the devices, which it believes will ease the burden placed on the NHS when it comes to the detection of the diseases.

The company was formed last year as a joint venture between Orla Protein Technologies, also based at the Centre for Life, and Japanese electronics firm Japan Radio, and is looking to develop a range of devices which can diagnose diseases by taking a sample of a bodily fluid via a special chip.

The product, which will work much like modern pregnancy tests, will also allow users to send their result to their local GP and receive prescriptions, which is designed to help spare any embarrassment and speed up the process of diagnosis.

The company is set to begin talks with several pharmaceutical companies over the coming months as it perfects the product, and aims to have it in shops by next year.

The firm has also said it will be looking to move to larger headquarters once the product goes to market and that it plans to set up its own manufacturing plant in the region, which would significantly increase its five-strong workforce.

Although OJ-Bio is still in the developmental stage, it said it was chasing a multi-billion-pound market and that it expected its turnover to be significant once it agrees on licences with third-party retailers.

Dale Athey, managing director of OJ-Bio Ltd, said: “There is a clear need for improved methods for easy, rapid, cost-effective detection and identification of infectious diseases.

“The market is currently dominated by lateral flow assays, and assays based upon nucleic acid detection.

“These are limited in their sensitivity, speed, robustness, availability in convenient format and ability to connect to wireless networks, which has come from our relationship with Japan Radio. By giving people an alternative to visiting their local clinic, you are persuading them to get themselves checked, which not only helps to reduce the spread of infection but also relieves pressure from the health service.”

The investment follows a £100,000 investment this year from One North East. This has been spent developing the basic design of the product, on which OJ-Bio plans to base kits designed to discover other diseases such as flu.

Meanwhile, Orla Protein has also launched a new range of protein- coated glass surfaces for use in science labs after forming a partnership with Japanese company Nippon Electric Glass.

Orla Protein, which was spun out of Newcastle University, now expects to double its £250,000 turnover by next year as well as increase its lab staff from five to 10.

Mr Athey said: “We are working on a range of new products at the moment, which could end up creating other businesses in the long run and other partnership opportunities.”