Goodwood Gut Health Summit
Goodwood Gut Health Summit
Join the exclusive Goodwood Health Summit, presented by Randox Health on Thursday 19th September.
Randox, a leader in the field of diagnostic medicine, is in the forefront of this profound change in health care – one that opens up the possibility of delivering enormous benefits to individuals and society at large.Ā Ā
Justin Webb will lead the conversation with a world-class line up of speakers, including Dr. Chris Van Tulleken, Dr Sioned Jones, Mr James Kinross, and Professor Louise Kenny and discuss evidence around early year feeding and environment.
This year’s summit, sponsored by Randox Health, highlights the urgent need for further research and widespread education on the infant and mother microbiome. With a line-up of world-research and widespread education on the infant and mother microbiome. With a line-up of world-class speakers and a day filled with insightful discussions. The Goodwood Health Summit is a vital event for healthcare professionals, researchers and anyone interested in the health and wellbeing of
future generations.
Key topics to be addressed include:
- The role of breastfeeding in establishing a healthy microbiome
- The impact of ultra-processed foods (UPF) in baby food and their influence on nursing mothers
- Challenges and solutions to enhancing medical and societal understanding of early years nutrition
- The role of lifestyle changes, education, and awareness in promoting better health outcomes
- The influence of commercial and political factors on public health decisions
Goodwood 2023 Health Summit.Ā
What is a gut microbiome?
Picture a bustling city on a weekday morning, the pavements flooded with people rushing to get to work or to appointments. Now imagine this at a microscopic level and you have an idea of what the microbiome looks like inside our bodies, consisting of trillions of micro organisms (also called microbiota or microbes) of thousands of different species.
These include not only bacteria but fungi, parasites, and viruses. In a healthy person, these ‘bugs coexist peacefully, with the largest numbers found in the small and large intestines but also throughout the body. The microbiomes is even labeled a supporting organ because it plays so many key roles in promoting the smooth daily operations of the human body.
A person is first exposed to microorganisms as an infant, during delivery in the birth canal and through the mother’s breast milk. Later on, environmental exposures and diet can change our microbiomes to be either beneficial to health or to place one at greater risk for disease.
Gastrointestinal Diseases Biochip
Why use Biochip?
In the UK, there are one million consultations
In the UK, there are one million consultations per day in primary care. Gastrointestinal (GI) complaints account for up to 10% of these consultations. A further 50% of these consultations are for upper GI symptoms such as dyspepsia (epigastric pain/ indigestion)
Results from a systematic review:Ā Around 80% of patients with dyspepsia had a normal endoscopy. These patients likely had functional dyspepsia (no pathology or obvious cause for symptoms).
Significantly reducing and eliminating the need for:
- Hospital referrals
- Unnecessary Scans
- Endoscopy Procedures
Evidence MultiSTATĀ
The Evidence MultiSTAT is an easy to use, small footprint analyzer facilitating on-site simultaneous detection of multiple biomarkers. Using chemiluminescence as a measurement principle, the Evidence MultiSTAT consistently delivers accurate results. With minimal sample preparation required, this versatile benchtop analyzer can achieve accurate quantitative results in minutes.
The Evidence MultiSTAT cartridge contains the reagents required for the chemiluminescent reaction to take place incorporated into its wells.
The process from sample entry to results can be completed in 2 simple steps, with minimal risk of human error. No other components are required.
To find out more: Gastrointestinal Diseases Clinical Biochip – Randox Laboratories
Randox Health features in Sunday Times article
One writerās first health MoT showed her cholesterol in the red. It forced a dramatic lifestyle rejig, but the hard part was making the changes stick
In February my colleague Matt Rudd sent a pleading email: āHelp! I need volunteers for a blood health panel screening. Hooked on the fact that a million people in the UK have undiagnosed T2 diabetes.ā
My Italian grandmother had diabetes. I had never had a proper health check in my life. It probably wasnāt a bad idea to have an MoT.
By my reckoning, I was in reasonable nick for a 37-year-old mother of a two and a five-year-old: I cooked from scratch, didnāt eat red meat and cycled (occasionally and slowly) to work. I banked on getting the health equivalent of a B+.
But I very much did not get a B+. The results from my Ā£65 āvitalā Randox Health check were graded byĀ a traffic light system. Ten per cent of me was, firmly, in the alarming red zone and 13 per cent was amber. The (main) issue was not pre-diabetes, butĀ high cholesterol. My total was 6.22 mmol (millimoles per litre) when it should have been less than 5.
āIām really freaking out,ā I messaged my partner, Tom. āIām going to get heart disease. Or have a stroke.ā
Closer inspection showed that my LDL, which Google informed me was the bad kind of cholesterol, the kind that clogs up the arteries and kills you, was 3.56. It should have been below 3. My iron levels were also low, again throwing up more red. And I wasnāt fit. My body mass index was in the green but I had the metabolic age of a 40-year-old. āThis is really sub-optimal,ā I added to Tom.
But it was the high cholesterol, which is usually without symptoms, that bothered me. Nearly 50 per cent of the population is estimated to have high cholesterol and it often runs in families, explains Julie Ward, a cardiac nurse at the British Health Foundation. āItās really prevalent in society, but often people, especially younger people, have no idea at all until they get checked. The key is to talk to your relatives, to your parents. Ask them if thereās a family history.ā
I peppered my trim mum with anxious messages. Why didnāt I know about this? āI told you that I had high cholesterol,ā she replied. When? āYou were 14.ā Somewhere between the Smirnoff Ice and Marlboro Lights, that particular health concern apparently hadnāt lodged in my mind.
I told my twin brother about our genetic predisposition, which he seemed relaxed about. I was anything but relaxed. I think it was the recognition that I could no longer āwing itā that struck me. Call it my coming of age. And my worries spiralled from there: I wanted to be around and healthy for my children as they grew up. Which meant that as Sir Keir Starmer said about the NHS, I had two options: reform or die.
The question was: what to do about it? Changing habits, some of which developed in childhood, is extremely challenging. I took a hard-nosed look at my lifestyle. Exercise didnāt really feature, other than the 25-minute cycle to the office and a bit of tennis. None of which, Tom pointed out, made me break into a sweat.
I ate lots of vegetables, fish and pulses, but I also ate cheese straws, crisps and pasta. At restaurants, I was all about fried and/or beige: croquetas, any kind of tempura, burrata, tuna tostadas. The bread basket. Nor did I ever contemplate the long rigmarole of putting our kids to bed without eating a hefty wedge of toasted sourdough, butter and mature cheddar.
So what could I do? The answers were predictable: exercise, cut out saturated fats (found in cakes, biscuits, pastries, processed food), eat more pulses and vegetables, and eat plenty more seeds, nuts, oily fish and avocado, all sources of good cholesterol, the kind that takes the bad away from the arteries.
Letās retest in six months, suggested Matt Rudd. Here was a competition, something I could get on board with.
āIām making radical changes,ā I told Tom as I filled our online Sainsburyās cart with butter beans, chickpeas and beetroot (none of which I much liked). āNo more bread, white pasta, potatoes, white rice. No cheese, no deep-fried food. No moreTonyās Chocolonely. And Iām going to work out two mornings a week.ā
The first major test came two days later when we went on a rare childfree trip to Venice, home of cichetti and Aperol Spritz. At 6pm, drinking white wine beside the lagoon, I was presented with a (free) plate of tiny smoked salmon white bread sandwiches and bruschette piled with salted cod.Oh tentazione!
But I had decided to go cold turkey. Any other approach and I knew my willpower would evaporate before Tom could say āstrokeā. Dinner was torture: obviously I wanted the spaghetti alle vongole but instead I made myself order cuttlefish stew (no carbs!).
Back in London, I carried on. Toast with butter and marmite was replaced with chia and flaxseed-heavy oat bircher. My mid-afternoon snack of pop chips became walnuts and almonds. A salad for the old me was 60 per cent crouton.
Dinner became something like veggie chilli, no rice, or spicy butter beans with spinach and tofu. Biscuits, cakes and puddings were taken off my menu. As was my after-supper chocolate.
Classpass, a monthly subscription that gets you access to various gym classes, also worked for me. Mainly because its policy is to fine you for missing a class. Brutal but effective.
It takes 60 days to form a habit, Tom kept telling me when I wavered: donāt give up. A dogma confirmed by Jenna Hope, a nutritionist who advises her clients on how to break and reform habits. āItās hard, but there are tricks,ā she says. One is to focus on what is making you sit down on the sofa with a tub of ice cream after work. āIf that is what you do for relaxation, you need to replace the ice cream with something else, something healthy. Donāt just say, āIām not having ice cream any moreā, thatās much harder.ā
Each person is different, she says, some need to make changes slowly. Others, like me, need to go nuclear. Either way, the key is consistency.
Competitiveness also drove me. I wanted to beat Matt Rudd. Though when he opened his desk drawer to reveal a supermarket-sized stack of Jammy Dodgers, Mini Cheddars and Haribo, I realised heād given up.
By two months in, I was feeling a hell of a lot of better. I no longer had stomach aches and I was fitter and had lost weight. Iād also developed a taste for crouton-free salad.
Take the Randox test, my editor kept asking me. But I was worried: what if, after all this effort and self-denial, my cholesterol hadnāt changed? Can you even do anything about it when it runs in your family?
Last week, I caved andtook the test. The great news was that I had reduced my metabolic age from 40 to 23. And my cholesterol? Still red but definitely leaning more pink: from a total of 6.22 it had dropped to 5.6. And the bad kind was now at the healthy level, below 3, at 2.79 mmol.
āThatās a really good level,ā said Joanna Lilburn, a scientific consultant at Randox. āAnd I wouldnāt worry about the total level because a lot of that is good cholesterol.ā
Which is what I wanted to hear. Lifestyle changes were working. Albeit slowly. What I didnāt want to hear is that cholesterol levels increase as you age. Which means that now, warned Lilburn, comes the hard part. āItās about keeping it going.ā
Read full article here: I had high cholesterol at 37. The cure was tougher than I imagined (thetimes.com)
Routine healthcare could save billions and boost survival rates for cancer and serious diseases.
Reports show that “improvement in life expectancy have ground to a halt” and more than one in five deaths are considered “avoidable”. It warns that since the 1960 the UK has “declined from being ranked first for life expectancy among G7 countries to being ranked second last”.Ā
Dr. FitzGerald said: “This is a shameful drop of quality care, and it should be a national disgrace that our healthcare provider has failed us so badly.”
Pushing for the UK to follow the example of Japan, where the average person can expect to live more than 84 years, he said: “Japan is leading the way in healthcare testing. It has the highest life expectancy of all G7 nations, and it routinely tests for far more than we do in the UK.
“Major benefits for them have included a massive 25 per cent fall in diabetes rates among those at risk of developing the disease.”
The Office for National Statistics sounded the alarm bell about declining life expectancy in the UK earlier this year. Life expectancy at birth for men in the 2020-22 period fell by 38 weeks to 78.6 compared with 2017-2019;Ā for women, it went down by 23 weeks to 82.6 years.
There is strong concern that in Britain people are much more likely to enjoy long lives if they are better off. In 2021, there was alarm when it was reported that a man living in Kensington and Chelsea, one of the country’s richest areas, could be expected to live 27 years longer than a counterpart in Blackpool.
Dr. FitzGerald is pushing for a far more ambitious programme of testing than the health MOTs offered to people aged 40-plus on the NHS.
Claiming that the “NHS is creaking at the seams”, he said: “By investing in preventative measures, the NHS will be far more effective and therefore far better value for money for the taxpayer.”
The biochemist, who in 1982 founded his company in a converted chicken house in Crumlin in Northern Ireland, argues Britain “must do better”. He said, “Improving the health and prosperity of the nation is an important goal – and this initiative can more than pay for itself. More importantly, it will be greater than a simple money saving exercise.
It can and will save lives. It is time for government to step up and deliver for the British people. A Department for Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “We will transform the NHS from a late diagnosis, late treatment health service, to one that catches illness earlier and prevents it in the first place. We will start by doubling the number of diagnostic scanners to help speed up diagnosis and treatment.”
Dr. FitzGerald is pushing for a far more ambitious programme of testing than the health MOTs offered to people aged 40–plus on the NHS. Claiming that the ‘NHS’ is creaking at the seems, he said: “By investing in preventative measures, the NHS will be far more effective and therefore far better value for money for the taxpayer.
“More importantly, it will be greater than simple money saving exercise.Ā It can and will save lives. It is time for the government to step up and deliver for the British people. A Department for Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “We will transform the NHS from a late diagnosis, late treatment health service, to one that catches illness earlier and prevents it in the first place. We will start by doubling the number of diagnostic scanners to help speed up diagnosis and treatment.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has ordered a ‘full and independent investigation into the state of the NHS to uncover the biggest challenges facing the health service.
Words by David Williamson, The Sunday Express
Randox Health ā Optimising Performance as Official Diagnostic Health partner of Team GB for Paris 2024
Randox Healthās unique diagnostic technologies have been supporting Team GB throughout their journey to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games ā from preparation to their hard-earned success of over 40 Olympic medals and will continue to help optimise the teamās performance during the remainder of the competition.Ā
Randoxās Vivalytic diagnostics machine has been in action during Paris 2024. These fully automated, all-in-one molecular diagnostic machines are powered by Randoxās unique Biochip Technology and are capable of checking for a wide range of respiratory infections, enabling multiple test results from just one sample.
āAs a Sport and Exercise Medicine Consultant working with elite athletes, itās important we know the pathogen driving the disease process to be able to target management appropriately. With Randox supplying this useful technology in our performance environments, we can optimally manage both the athletes and wider team safely and efficiently.ā
āOur aim, along with the teams of experts assisting our athletes is simple ā to ensure that Team GB is in peak physical and mental condition as they get to the starting line.ā Dr. Lisa Hyland, who is working as a Team GB HQ Doctor
Find out how Randox Technologies help Team GB reach Olympic success with our Vivalytic Point of Care testing
Team GBās Chief Medical Officer, Niall Elliott, said that Randox was helping in three critical areas of health testing for athletes ā iron metabolism, vitamin D levels ā critical to the immune system and muscle power ā and glucose or energy levels. āIt is a fascinating journey, the testing we can do.ā
Over the last year, Randox have been working closely with Team GB brand ambassadors, to ensure they are perfectly placed to perform their utmost at the Olympic Games. Each of them have undertaken a Randox Health Everyman and Everywoman diagnostic health test package at one of the Randox Health clinics, to measure their conditions as they get to that starting line in Paris.
As one star, Duncan Scott, Team GBās most decorated Olympic swimmer, put it: āIf it makes one per cent difference itās 100% worth it.ā
āEverything you do as a swimmer is being channelled through the window of your technique but thereās external factors such as nutrition, recovery, sleep that contribute those one percents towards how youāre going to be inside the pool when it matters the most. With that in mind, I think the Randox Health Everyman check was spot on and Iām glad that Iāve done it.ā
Team GB sprinter and double Olympic medallist Daryll Neita the Everywoman test, calling it, āthe most in-depth testing Iāve ever had.ā
āItās amazing that the Everywoman test discovers things that could help my performance whether itās how I recover to deficiencies but also our sport is about marginal gains, centimetres, millimetres, the finest of margins and through tests like this, it lets you stay on-top of your health helping you achieve optimal performance or even a mental boost that youāre healthy.ā
Adds Dr. Peter FitzGerald, Founder and Managing Director of Randox Health, āAnd these technologies are not just for athletes ā our diagnostic packages and analysers are designed to make a difference to everyoneās life ā to help us make the most of all the opportunities life has to offer.ā
Blood test for over-40s could save the economy Ā£12bn a year if offered on NHS – OCO report
The NHS currently offers health MOTs to patients aged 40 to 75. However, the five-yearly check is normally limited to blood pressure and cholesterol, along with height, weight and waist measurements.
Diagnostic firms sell private blood tests which can check for 200 types of disease, including most common cancers.
A report by OCO Global, an independent consultancy firm, says that if the NHS provided these more comprehensive health checks, problems would be detected far earlier, ultimately saving lives and money.
The research, which has been sent to Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary says that although each check would cost around Ā£230 – a bill for the NHS of around Ā£650 million a year – they would reap major rewards.
Modelling suggests that, after 16 years, the annual boost to the economy would amount to Ā£11.7 billion – Ā£1.83 billion in treatment costs, around Ā£5.8 billion wider savings from health improvements and an indirect benefit of Ā£4 billion – based on the assumption that around half of people take up the tests.
The report was commissioned by Randox, the UK’s biggest diagnostics firm, which carried out millions of PCR tests during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It claims that the blood testās 200 data points would enable far earlier diagnosis, similar to an approach in countries such as Japan and South Korea, where the checks are mandatory and linked to health insurance.
In Japan, which has the highest life expectancy of all G7 nations, such checks have seen a 25 per cent fall in diabetes rates, among those suffering from pre-diabetes rates, among those suffering from pre-diabetes.
The report highlights the intense pressures on the NHS, with waiting list of more than seven million, and 185 million working days lost to sickness every year.
“For too long the UK has been behind the curve on health testing, with less testing carried out than any other developed country. This means that serious diseases are detected too late, with the consequence of more cost for the NHS, more suffering for the patient, and often premature death.ā David Davis, former chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee
āImproving the health and prosperity of the nation is a lofty goal – and the report shows this initiative can more than pay for itself.āDr Peter FitzGerald, Randoxās managing director
Words by Laura Donnelly, The Telegraph
Read full article here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/08/04/nhs-cancer-blood-test-save-12bn-research/
The medical techniques keeping Team GB healthy during the Olympic Games
There was a time when you could count the number of British gold medallists on the fingers of one hand. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, winning an Olympics event made you a household name overnight.
Anne Packer, Lynn Davies, Mary Peters, David Hemery, Anita Lonsbrough, ā to name a few of the few ā were feted across the land to pulling off the seemingly impossible ā beating the world, usually in track and field or the swimming pool.
But all that has changed.
London 2012 (29 gold medals); Rio de Janeiro 2016 (27 gold); Tokyo 2020 but actually in 2021 (22 gold).
Time was when most Olympics hopefuls were fanatical amateurs, prepared to turn out on some bleak and chilly track, strip down to their shorts and practise their sport in front of an equally dedicated but minority audience.
Not any more. The British medals haul, however you measure it, is also top of the tree on an international basis. A country of fewer than 70 million people typically comes in the top three or four on the planet behind only the likes of such giants such as the USA and China. We even beat the Australians ā on a regular basis.
This has not happened by accident.
Obviously, a huge amount of credit must go to the athletes themselves and their coaches. Their talent and dedication will be fully on display in Paris this week when the Games return to France for the first time in exactly 100 years.
But there is much more to it than that.Ā Team GBĀ has revolutionised British Olympics in recent years. The team numbers more than 300 and for only the second time in our history, there will be more women (172) than male (155) competitors.
Professional coaches, physios, nutritionists, and mind game experts will abound.
The Greatest Show on Earth will dominate our TV screens, social media, press and national conversation for a fortnight (and more).
These are some of the reasons why Randox, Europeās biggest diagnostic company, is sponsoring Team GB. We love supporting the athletes behind mega sporting events (The Grand National, for instance) and it does not come any more mega than Paris 2024.
We were there the last time ā Tokyo 2020 ā but in challenging circumstances. Tokyo 2020 actually took place in 2021, postponed for a year because of theĀ CovidĀ pandemic.The glittering contests were performed in front of empty stadiums and sports halls after the Olympic authorities, understandably anxious to avert a super-spreader car crash, prohibited spectators.
Founded in 1982, Randox conducted more than 27 millionĀ CovidĀ tests in the UK and offered support to Team GB three years ago for a very specific and vital purpose ā to help stop the spread ofĀ CovidĀ among the athletes and their support teams. It worked. Despite the fears of the Olympic authorities, the plethora of measures taken to safeguard contestants, meant that only one athlete fell sick and was unable to compete.
Not so this time. 15 million people, two million from abroad, are expected to swamp the French capital over late July and early August.
Our Vivalytic diagnostic machine, used in Tokyo to test all our athletes forĀ Covid, will be in action again. But this time, we will be casting the net far wider, checking for a range of respiratory infections that can lay contestants low.
Our aim, along with the teams of experts assisting our athletes is simple ā to ensure that Team GB is in peak physical and mental condition as they get to the starting line.
We have also been working closely with our brand ambassadors to ensure that they are perfectly placed to perform to their utmost in Paris. All of them have undertaken our Everyman and Everywoman diagnostic health testing packages at one of our health clinics, to measure their condition as they prepare for Paris.
As one star, Duncan Scott, our most decorated Olympic swimmer, put it: āIf it makes one per cent difference, itās 100 per cent worth it.
āIt excited me that it was essentially a head-to-toe MOT and thereās areas Iāve never really had much data, on but also last year I had an IgE (antibody) deficiency impacting my immune system which made training so inconsistent as some days I felt sluggish.
āThis year has been much more consistent after picking up on it which makes me wish I had something like this, as if I did this last year or 24 months ago, itād have been ideal going in unknown and then picking up on it as a risk rather than me getting frustrated and being ill.ā
Top sprinter Daryll Neita, a multiple medal winner, took the Everywoman test, āthe most in-depth testing Iāve ever had.ā
Her verdict points to the confidence boost of knowing you are in peak condition physically: āAlthough Iāve not had any recent health concerns, itās amazing that the Everywoman test discovers things that could help my performance.
āWhether itās how I recover or deficiencies, but also our sport is about marginal gains, centimetres, millimetres, the finest of margins and through tests like this, it lets you stay on-top of your health, helping you achieve optimal performance or even a mental boost that youāre healthy.ā
Team GBās Chief Medical Officer Niall Elliott, said that Randox was helping in three critical areas of health testing for athletes ā iron metabolism, vitamin D levels – critical to the immune system and muscle power – and glucose or energy levels. āIt is a fascinating journey, the testing we can do.ā
This must be the best prepared ā and the most safeguarded ā Team GB ever to leave our shores.
As devotees of the wonderful film, Chariots of Fire, will know, they have much to live up to. Back in the 1924 Paris Olympics, Harold Abrahams in the 100 metres and Eric Liddell in the 400 metres both emerged triumphant. On top of their legendary feats, Britain secured seven more gold medals.
We can only hope and pray that our champions, bolstered by the latest in sports science, can achieve even greater heights.
Words by Dr. Peter FitzGerald, Sunday Express https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1925873/medical-techniques-keeping-team-gb
Randox named as Company of the year
Randox tops the charts in Belfast Telegraph Top 100 Companies
Randox is the largest blood-sciences healthcare diagnostics company from the UK and Ireland. Established in 1982 by managing director Dr Peter FitzGerald, Randox manufactures more than four billion tests per year and has a global sales and distribution network supplying product to 145 countries. Randox estimates more than 400 million people, around 5% of the worldās population, receive a diagnosis involving Randox products each year. Key facilities are located at multiple sites within Northern Ireland, in Co Donegal, in West Virginia in the United States and in Bengaluru, India.
As a privately-owned company Randox invests heavily in research and development, committing up to 25% of turnover for the development of new diagnostic products. Recent testing developments include: Type 1 Diabetes Genetic Risk Score; an advanced PSA test to improve the predictive potential of PSA alone for prostate cancer; predictive bladder cancer testing panels; risk assessment for post operative acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease; and wide-ranging quality control and external quality assurance capabilities to ensure the accuracy and reliability of laboratory results.
Randoxās innovative approach to R&D has allowed the development of allied capabilities outside the immediate world of human healthcare, including leading testing capabilities in the veterinary field, for toxicology and for the detection of harmful drug residues and pathogens in food.
Research and development programmes are not limited to the development of tests, but also includes the advanced analyser systems to process samples efficiently. This requires integral, advanced capabilities in electrical and mechanical engineering, optics, robotics and software engineering.
Over Ā£350m of investment has supported the development of a unique testing system to allow multiple tests to be run simultaneously on a single sample ā the Randox Biochip. This 9mm x 9mm platform, which allows up to 49 tests to be run simultaneously, greatly increases the diagnostic power available to clinicians to enable earlier, more accurate diagnosis and improved patient outcomes. Initially focused on proteomics, Randox has also greatly increased its genetic testing capabilities to increase predictive capabilities.
In order to support the model of diagnostically-led healthcare, Randox has developed the Randox Health brand, to provide public access to comprehensive testing. The aim is to empower the consumer and to enable a preventative approach to healthcare ā rather than rely upon the treatment of illness. Well over 20 clinics are now available across the UK and Ireland, including in partnership within John Lewis stores.
At the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic Randox was ideally placed to support the UKās requirement for a national Covid-19 testing programme. By mid-February 2020 Randox were amongst the global frontrunners in developing a Covid-19 test and had developed home sample collection and reporting capabilities. The company was engaged by Government from mid-March 2020 to support the UKās national testing programme ā at that time the complete NHS testing capability for Covid-19 was reported as 2,400 tests per day.
Rising to meet this unprecedented national demand markedly increased company turnover and profits. A post-pandemic assessment by consultants OCO Global concluded that Randoxās activities during the pandemic averted over 3,100 deaths, prevented 14,100 hospitalizations and enabled a Ā£8.3bn contribution to the UKās GDP.
Exiting from the pandemic and reverting to sector norms with a strong balance sheet, Randox is investing heavily in upgrading the companyās infrastructure and R&D programmes. Randox is also investing significant resources in expanding the business-to-consumer diagnostic offer under the Randox Health brand ā with clinics in the UK and Ireland, and US.
Noting the pressures upon all healthcare systems, and a need to transition from āillness managementā to more sustainable āpreventionā models, Randox is investing heavily for the future. Its aim is to ensure it is well positioned to support and enable healthcare transformation through improved diagnostics, to both increase system efficiencies and improve patient outcomes.
Joe Kennedy III, US special envoy for economic affairs visited Randox Science Park in Antrim last week to listen for presentations on Randox Laboratories MultiSTAT and RABTA analysers. He wrote in a foreword to the Belfast Telegraph article, āI congratulate everyone who has contributed to the success of Northern Irelandās Top 100 Companies. “From globally-recognised brands to indigenous firms, each company reflects the wide diversity of employers who generate prosperity and opportunity right across Northern Ireland.ā
Randox managing director Dr. Peter FitzGerald said it welcomed the accolade of being named number one company.
āThese results reflect the skills, commitment and agility of our people, and the capability of our unique technologies.
“As a team we were also able to call upon 40 years of diagnostic experience to meet the exceptional demands of Covid-19, while simultaneously supporting our established global customer base of healthcare laboratories. Crucial to this was our long term commitment to research and development which has always been a cornerstone of our business philosophy.
āRandox is committed to enhancing healthcare through more sensitive and accurate diagnostics to enable the prevention of disease and improve healthcare outcomes, whilst reducing the burden on healthcare services.
“Our profits will continue to be directed towards enabling our infrastructure and research and development, as well as accelerating better healthcare models and improving direct public access through our Randox Health clinics. Our ambition is to enable better health outcomes for all and we are committed to that goal.ā
Randox’s Sustainable Success with carbonfit
In the dynamic diagnostic testing sector, Randox is leading the charge towards sustainability with a clear vision and strategic partnership with carbonfit. Randox have a commitment to reducing carbon emissions and embracing renewable energy solutions which is setting a new standard for environmental responsibility within the industry.
- Aiming for complete elimination of emissions by 2050 whilst hitting milestones in the years leading up to this.
- Additionally, they are targeting a remarkable 95% reduction in Scope 3 emissions by 2050 whilst hitting milestones in the years leading up to this.
- Additionally, they are targeting a remarkable 95% reduction in Scope 3 emissions by 2050. These goals highlight Randox’s proactive approach to mitigating their environmental impact and aligning with global sustainability objectives.
Partnering with carbonfit, Randox has implemented a comprehensive carbon reduction plan that has yielded significant results. They have identified and implemented energy-saving measures that resulted substantial savings of c.600,000 kWh and a notable reduction of over 1,800 metric tonnes of C02 equivalent (TCO2e). These efforts have not only contributed to environmental sustainability but have also led to financial savings of approximately Ā£180,000 per year, demonstrating the synergies between sustainability and business efficiency.
Randox’s commitment to renewable energy is evident through their planned installation of solar PV systems in 2023 and 2024. By embracing clean energy technologies, Randox is further reducing their carbon footprint and contributing to a more sustainable energy landscape.
One of the main drivers for Randox to work with carbonfit was the need for a more efficient and advanced approach to managing carbon and energy. Transitioning away from manual spreadsheet-based methods, Randox leveraged carbonfit’s sophisticated platform for real-time data management, regulatory requirements including ESOS (Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme), PPN06/21 (Publicly Available Specification for the Assessment of the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Goods and Services), and SECR (Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting), empowering Randox with streamlined operations and enhanced sustainability practices.
Randox’s partnership with carbonfit exemplifies their dedication to innovation, sustainability leadership, and responsible corporate practices. Together, they are driving meaningful change towards a greener future, where environmental stewardship and operational excellence go hand in hand.
PCR rapid tests for Candida auris for Vivalytic by Bosch now available
World’s first fully automated PCR test for detection of the multidrug-resistant fungus at the point of care.Ā
-
Vivalytic test detects Candida auris in under an hour at the point of care, making it the world’s first test suitable for screenings.
-
Candida aurisĀ infection rates are on the rise in Germany and can cause severe infections, for example in the bloodstream (sepsis).
-
Hospitals can use the new screening test to detect colonization, allowing them to implement measures to contain outbreaks.
Bosch Healthcare solutions has developed a PCR test for detecting Candida auris (C. auris)Ā and on the Vivalytic platform. The test is a global innovation now available for order from distribution partners including Randox Laboratories Ltd. and R-Biopharm. This test enables the fully automated detection of the frequently multi-resistant fungus in less than an hour at the point of care. The rapid testing capability also makes it suitable for carrying out screenings when necessary. In contrast, traditional culture tests in centralized laboratories require one to three days, delaying diagnosis and the initiation of targeted treatment. āConsidering the heightened risk of severe progression in individuals with pre-existing conditions, we have developed a new test that enables clinics to respond more swiftly,ā states Marc Meier, managing director of Bosch Healthcare Solutions. Patients with compromised immune systems, such as those in intensive care, individuals with serious underlying conditions such as diabetes, or those who are immunosuppressed due to cancer or HIV, as well as patients about to undergo invasive surgery, face a heightened risk of active infection with C. auris. The mortality rate for C. auris infections ranges from 30 to 72 percent.
āCandida aurisĀ can be transmitted from person to person through contact and contaminated surfaces. When this fungus presents, rapid detection is therefore rapid detection is therefore paramount to enable implementation of effective control and prevention strategies,” says Dr. med. Alexander Maximillian Aldejohann,Ā deputy head of the WĆ¼rzburg Laboratory at the National Reference Center for Invasive Fungal Infections (NRZMyk.) Since July 2023, Germany has implemented a limited statutory reporting requirement under the Infection Protection Act. Aldejohann is in favor of extending this reporting obligation: āThe fungus has the capacity to rapidly develop resistance to many common antifungal agents coupled with the ability to survive for a relatively long time on surfaces. This high so-called tenacity also increases the risk of outbreaks that are difficult to contain.ā
Increasing spread of Candida auris
C. auris is spreading globally. In some states in the U.S, the annual incidence rate has been shown to increase by a factor of 2 to 3. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) also drew attention to a rise in cases within Germany during the past year in the Epidemiological Bulletin at the at the beginning of May. The RKI points out that in specific areas screening could be beneficial. In the U.S, the annual case count has in the meantime reached the thousands. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) already consider the screening of patients, visitors, and staff for C. auris as a crucial strategy to curb its spread in healthcare settings. While the fungus is harmless for healthy individuals, it can it can lead to severe nosocomial infections, i.e. infections acquired in hospitals or other healthcare environments, in patients at high risk and, if the fungus enters the bloodstream, can trigger sepsis.
Easy handling, rapid detection The Vivalytic Analyser enables effortless testing directly at the point of care: The sample is placed into the test cartridge, which already contains all necessary reagents. The cartridge is then inserted into the Vivalytic Analyser for automated processing. Healthcare professionals require only minimal training to use the system, and the fully automated process significantly lowers the risk of infection. The Vivalytic Analyser thus facilitates rapid and precise diagnostics in PCR quality, bypassing the frequently lengthy process through a central laboratory. Bosch Healthcare Solutions is expecting CE certification for the Vivalytic C. auris test soon.
For More Information Please Contact:
Martin Conway, Phone: +44 (0) 28 9442 2413
E-mail: martin.conway@randox.co
Dementia Action Week 2024
