Business

Randox announces record £50m R&D investment

Announcing the record £50 million investment at Randox are managing director, Dr Peter FitzGerald, Sir John Bell, chair of the UK Government’s Life Sciences Industrial Strategy Board and Alastair Hamilton, chief executive of Invest NI
Announcing the record £50 million investment at Randox are managing director, Dr Peter FitzGerald, Sir John Bell, chair of the UK Government’s Life Sciences Industrial Strategy Board and Alastair Hamilton, chief executive of Invest NI Announcing the record £50 million investment at Randox are managing director, Dr Peter FitzGerald, Sir John Bell, chair of the UK Government’s Life Sciences Industrial Strategy Board and Alastair Hamilton, chief executive of Invest NI

GLOBAL healthcare company Randox has announced a record £50 million investment to help deliver cutting-edge technologies to better diagnose conditions such as cancer and heart disease.

The Crumlin headquartered firm is to establish three 'Centres of Excellence', which will enable Randox R&D scientists to work collaboratively with colleagues from Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University at the company's Science Park in Antrim.

Advanced diagnostics have been identified as key to delivering sustainable improvement to healthcare systems struggling to cope with increasing levels of chronic and preventable conditions. Having been focused in this field for over 36 years and with a successful track record of developing new and innovative tests in areas such as

Alzheimer’s disease and genetic cardiac conditions it is hoped the latest investment will enable earlier and more accurate diagnosis for patients.

Managing director of Randox Laboratories, Dr Peter FitzGerald believes the implementation of more sophisticated diagnostics is a "game changer".

“When almost a quarter of the deaths of people under 75 in the UK are considered preventable, we need to ask ourselves what can be done to improve healthcare outcomes. There is an undeniable case for radical change in the way healthcare is delivered, and sophisticated diagnostics will be at the fore of this revolution."

"Through early intervention we can restrict the development of chronic conditions and improve people’s lives. Our view of the future is one where people are empowered through earlier diagnosis to stay healthier for longer, and where healthcare systems are freed to deliver quality services to patients," he added.

The centres of excellence will focus respectively on clinical diagnostics, engineering for biosciences and quality control. The project, which will strengthen collaborative partnerships between Randox Laboratories, Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University, will accelerate the development of new technologies and drive healthcare improvements regionally, nationally and across the globe.

Invest NI is providing £23m worth of financial support to Randox, one of the body's largest ever R&D investments. Of that total £5 million will go towards new research projects at Ulster University and Queen’s University Belfast.

Invest NI chief executive Alastair Hamilton said the major investment from Randox has the potential to "revolutionise" the global healthcare industry.

"This is excellent news for Northern Ireland’s life and health sciences sector. Northern Ireland is enjoying a growing international reputation as a region of expertise and knowledge in key areas such as diagnostics, precision medicine and advanced manufacturing. The three new centres of excellence will help build on this and enhance Northern Ireland’s credibility, provide supply chain opportunities, and encourage knowledge transfer with our universities.”

Randox is a global leader in healthcare diagnostics, with more than 5 per cent of the world's population (370 million) receiving medical diagnosis using its products each year. The company employs over 1400 staff, with four key manufacturing and research and development sites in Antrim, Dungloe in Co Donegal, India and Washington DC.

Randox Health Clinics are currently located in London, Liverpool, Belfast, and Crumlin, with further plans to roll out a number of new clinics across the world.