Surrey Research Park was awarded The Chamber Member of the Year Award at the Surrey Business Awards 2019 in recognition of the Research Park’s support to local businesses, helping to create opportunities for them to grow and flourish.

According to Malcolm Parry, CEO, Surrey Research Park, “The value of Science and Technology Parks (STPs) as business enablers, acting as both landlords and mentors is vital. In terms of the UK economy, the STPs model has been adopted so widely, there can be no question that these initiatives are pivotal for the continued success of UK plc.” 

Research Parks support business incubation and early stage organisational
growth via a myriad of initiatives and provide access to facilities that help share business risk. Surrey Research Park is establishing a global reputation in several sectors including healthcare, with tenant organisations putting Surrey on the world map for medical innovation and excellence.

Advancing Cancer Diagnostics  
Park tenant ANGLE plc, a world-leading liquid biopsy company, has developed a system with the potential to deliver profound improvements in clinical and health economic outcomes in the treatment and diagnosis of various forms of cancer. Solid tumor cancers, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, shed cancer cells into the patient’s blood stream known as Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs). The Parsortix® system from ANGLE is able to capture and harvest CTCs from patient blood. This means that a simple blood test could be used to provide crucial medical information regarding the fluctuating status of a patient’s disease. 

ANGLE recently announced positive results from both its US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analytical and clinical studies for the Parsortix® system. ANGLE is now seeking FDA Class II classification and marketing authorisation for its use with metastatic breast cancer patients. 

ANGLE Founder and Chief Executive, Andrew Newland, comments, “We believe there is a tremendous opportunity for ANGLE to secure the first ever FDA clearance for a platform that captures and harvests intact CTCs from patient blood for subsequent analysis - in the first instance for metastatic breast cancer. FDA regulatory clearance, considered the gold standard for approval of medical diagnostic systems globally, would competitively differentiate our Parsortix liquid biopsy system and should lead to an acceleration in commercial adoption of the system in both research and clinical settings.”

Unlocking the full power of medicine  
Another Surrey Research Park innovator, SiSaf, is the first company to develop a proprietary Bio-Courier^TM technology that leverages the unique properties of elemental silicon to overcome the limitations of current drug technologies. SiSaf integrate therapeutic genes and drugs with their technology to improve their ability to target the organ or cells where they are required. SiSaf Bio-Couriers maximise the benefits and minimise the side effects of drug molecules and active ingredients. SiSaf encases therapeutic molecules in biologically friendly silicon and lipids to help protect and target them (often without injection) in the form of creams, eye drops and tablets which can get to the point of need effectively and safely. 

SiSaf is currently focused on the safe and efficient delivery of gene therapeutics, a field of medicine which represents a dramatic shift in medical care. The manipulation of genetic switches is crucial to the future of human health, with the potential to treat and even cure a vast range of diseases such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, MRSA, muscular dystrophy and haemophilia. The accurate targeted delivery of genetic sequences remains challenging but pre-clinical studies have demonstrated that Bio-Couriers can safely and effectively deliver therapeutic genes to the eye without injection. This positions SiSaf at the forefront of a medical revolution.

CASE STUDY

From University of Surrey undergraduate to MedTech entrepreneur 
After gaining a degree in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Surrey, Tayeb Hassan stayed on to embark on a Business MA to support his entrepreneurial ambition to start his own business. He joined the Student Enterprise Team at the University of Surrey to learn about business event opportunities which led to him attending a national hackathon called the Care Innovation Challenge, where his business idea was chosen as one of the finalists. An invitation to pitch at the Department of Health and Social Care, which oversees the NHS, followed. 

With mentoring, nurturing and guidance from the Surrey Enterprise team, The Wiggly Line Company was formed and on graduation, Tayeb became a member of the SETsquared Surrey incubator which is situated on the Surrey Research Park. 

The Wiggly Line Company aims to revolutionise overnight monitoring practices in the care home sector. Currently the norm is for care workers to physically check on residents hourly - this can lead to disrupted sleep, confusion and patient anxiety. Tayeb’s innovation uses in-bed sensors to monitor residents remotely, alerting carers when physical intervention is required. Current trials in Elizabeth Finn Homes Care Group will conclude in early 2020, when preparation will begin for the commercial launch. 

For further information visit www.surrey-research-park.com