We Are Randox | Meet the team in Bangalore, India
We Are Randox | Meet the team in Bangalore, India
Here at Randox, we’re a diverse bunch, spread over 145 countries in the world. We have more than 1400 employees of 44 nationalities, including 300 research scientists and engineers. Needless to say, the Randox family is a multicultural one!
We have four key manufacturing and R&D sites – in County Antrim, Northern Ireland; Dungloe, County Donegal, Ireland; Bangalore, India; and the Greater Washington DC area, in the U.S. This month, our We Are Randox article focuses on the team in Bangalore.
Randox India, located alongside other high-tech industries based in Bangalore, consists of 37 office staff and 77 field staff, including customer support engineers and sales managers. A base for administration, sales and manufacturing in India, the Bangalore site, set in the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka, services the 3.3 million square kilometre country.
Photographed are members of the Randox team in Bangalore from the following departments;
- Accounts and Finance
- Customer Support Engineers
- Logistics and Trading
- Manufacturing
- Quality Control
- Research & Development
- Administration
- Travel
- Human Resources
Brian Walsh, Manufacturing Manager at Randox India, said:
“The photograph below was taken during this year’s Diwali, which is the Hindu festival of lights celebrated every year in autumn in the northern hemisphere. Danny Maguire, who is based in Ardmore at Randox HQ, was over on business at the time and joined us in celebrating this cultural tradition.
“It is one of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, and spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair.
“We all really enjoyed having Danny with us and sharing some of our customs and values with him, many of which our team members based in other sites across Randox would not know about.
“We hope to welcome many more of our colleagues from across the globe to Randox India in the near future!”
Want to know what it’s like to work in Bangalore? Read all about when we met up with Pankaj Chitkara, who is our National Sales Manager for the RX Series in India.
For further information on the Randox Bangalore team, please contact the Randox PR team via email: randoxpr@randox.com or phone 028 9442 2413
Cocaine on the Rise
Newly emerged figures from Public Health England have documented that the UK’s current approach to drug treatment has failed to reduce drug related deaths. With UK drug abuse now at an all-time high, 2017 saw a 23% increase in treatment presentations for crack cocaine use, according to The Conversation. An additional article by the Business Insider UK reported that seizures related to cocaine in Britain are now at their highest since 2008.
Crack cocaine is a powerful stimulant designed to temporarily speed up the mind and body. Freebase cocaine (powder cocaine) and crack cocaine (rock form cocaine) can both be smoked to reach the brain quicker, whilst snorting the substance causes a slower effect. A very addictive substance, cocaine is reported to make a user over confident and careless with risks including, breathing and mental health problems, depression and the risk of an overdose related death. When taken in conjunction with alcohol the dangers of cocaine are increased, as the mixture produces the toxic chemical, cocaethylene.
The Conversation highlighted “Cuts to drug treatment budgets are extremely shortsighted. Not only do effective services save lives, they reduce the spread of blood-borne viruses, including HIV. About half of people who inject drugs have hepatitis C. Getting them into treatment is an essential part of plans to eliminate the disease.” At Randox Toxicology we offer the most comprehensive drugs of abuse test menu across multiple matrices. Our DoA ULTRA panel detects up to 20 targeted drugs, offering the largest cross-reactivity profile of over 240 analytes, including Benzoylecgonine/Cocaine. Benzoylecgonine is the most common metabolite measured in urine drug screens to detect cocaine. Using our revolutionary Biochip Array Technology, Randox Toxicology provide cutting-edge multiplex testing capabilities for rapid and accurate drug detection from a single sample.
The price of cocaine has fallen by 13% since 2007 according to Business Insider UK. Price trends in addition to new and emerging UK supply routes have made the drug more appealing and readily available. Whilst the average age group using cocaine is 35 years old, a 30% increase has been seen in young people under the age of 25 years old. A rise which has not been witnessed in a decade.
The increase of cocaine use has shown how vital drug treatment is in responding to the ever-changing market, with services needing to adapt quickly to the needs of varied groups. Amidst the ongoing cocaine problem, Randox Toxicology are leading the way in developing new tests through significant research and development.
For further information on how Randox Toxicology are fighting drugs of abuse, email info@randoxtoxicology.com
Randox responds to antibiotic resistance warning from NI Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael McBride
Today, Northern Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael McBride has stated that antibiotic resistance is now the greatest risk to human health and medicines worldwide. Dr. McBride said; “Currently 700,000 people die worldwide each year from drug resistant infections and this figure is forecasted to reach 10 million deaths by 2050, if the problem is ignored.”
It is rather alarming therefore that 70% of GPs admit that they prescribe antibiotics when they are unsure if they are treating a viral or bacterial infection. By prescribing antibiotics for viral infections, which can’t be combatted with antibiotics, patients are being exposed to antibiotics which are of no benefit.
John Lamont, Lead Scientist at Randox Laboratories, said that “Current diagnostic testing for respiratory infections takes at least 36 hours to confirm the nature of an infection, and they cannot name and categorise infections as bacterial or viral is the way our new respiratory test can.”
At Randox, our pioneering R&D teams have developed a revolutionary swab test for respiratory infections which indicates the cause of the infection and whether a patient needs antibiotics or not. This helps to limit the amount of patients who are prescribed antibiotics, reducing antibiotic resistance.
The Randox test, which can rapidly detect and identify the cause of 21 respiratory infections in just 5 hours, can also subsequently determine the appropriate antibiotic drug treatment for patients.
This test, if adopted by GP surgeries, could allow medical practitioners to make the correct treatment choice on the same day as examination and before patients have already begun a precautionary course of inefficient antibiotics. It would also have additional efficiency savings for the NHS, by eliminating the need for lengthy microbiology lab tests and unnecessarily prescribing drugs which are not needed. This new rapid and accurate test will give the GP confidence in their diagnosis of respiratory infections and will allow for quicker treatment if necessary, which benefits patient outcomes.
The test is also available as a Randox Health Cough, Cold & Flu offering, and can be carried out by booking an appointment with Randox Health at our clinics in Crumlin, Holywood or London, or by arranging the mobile clinic to visit you at your home or place of work.
So what action can we take to limit the looming antibiotic resistance crisis?
- Ask your GP if tests will be performed to make sure you even need antibiotics and that the correct antibiotic is prescribed.
- Take the antibiotics as prescribed. Make sure you complete the prescribed course, even when you start feeling better. This makes sure that all bacteria from your current infection are eradicated, leaving none behind that could potentially develop resistance to your antibiotic.
- Only take antibiotics prescribed for you; do not share or use leftover antibiotics. Taking the wrong medication will delay correct treatment and allow bacteria to multiply, and potentially develop a resistance to the antibiotic you are using incorrectly.
Find out more about the Cough, Cold & Flu Respiratory test here.
Book an appointment with one of our clinics, or arrange the mobile clinic, by phoning 0800 2545 130 or by clicking here.
For further information please contact the Randox PR team by email: randoxpr@randox.com or phone 028 9442 2413
Our commitment to Research and Development at Randox
With a major focus in R&D, Randox scientists work in pioneering research into a range of common illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Over 16% of turnover is reinvested in R&D, and therefore, we have more new tests in development than any other diagnostic company.
Of our 1400-strong workforce, almost 400 are research scientists and engineers. Over the past year alone these highly-skilled specialists have developed a new test for Alzheimer’s disease, a bladder cancer test and a test with the ability to stratify Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) patients, to determine patient response before chemotherapeutic treatment.
We were also the first company in the world to bring to market a test to detect ‘Flakka’, a dangerous and highly addictive new psychoactive substance.
Most recently we announced the official opening of our new research and testing laboratory, Randox Clinical Laboratory Services (RCLS), at the Randox Science Park in Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Research areas at the newly accredited laboratory include but are not exclusive to cancer, fertility, heart, inflammation, stroke and kidney health, both in-house and collaboratively with external organisations.
Current and past collaborations include an Acute Kidney Injury Study with the Royal Victoria Hospital, a Bladder Cancer Study in partnership with Queen’s University Belfast and The Belfast Trust, a Stroke and Brain Injury study with Cambridge University, and key partnerships with a number of major pharmaceutical companies.
Our R&D projects are known across the world for their ingenuity and relevance to current health issues.
Both our Bladder Cancer project and our Acute Myeloid Leukemia projects were awarded Innovate UK Research Awards, which enabled economic studies to be carried out by The National Institute for Health Research Diagnostic Evidence Co-Operative. These DECs will investigate the economic benefits of the new diagnostic tests for The National Health Service, and their role in the current patient care pathway.
Our revolutionary Alzheimer’s disease test was presented with a NACB / AACC Distinguished Abstract Award at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry Annual Scientific Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo, in Philadelphia.
We have also recently established a collaborative agreement with Dr. Carl Novina at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. The goal of this collaboration is to develop therapeutic antibodies that will be incorporated into a platform technology that can reprogram patients’ immune systems to attack cancers.
Our research and development programme at Randox is continuously evolving to address the most pressing health issues. We are committed to improving health worldwide and as such will continue to focus our R&D efforts where they are most needed.
Please see below for some examples of our latest research and development news stories.
