Mark Simmons

Kathryn Marshall, Quality Manager and Chris McCarthy Development & Manufacturing Manager pictured during BeadBot's™ installation at Biofortuna's main laboratory.   Point of Care diagnostics is reshaping the way healthcare is delivered, driving demand for faster results, decentralised testing, and scalable manufacturing. To meet this demand we have developed a bespoke robotic manufacturing and quality control system which will increase lyoRead more

Welsh Government ministers Jack Sergeant MS (fourth from left) and Ken Skates (third from right) pictured with members of the Biofortuna team during their recent site visit.   Biofortuna, a leading diagnostics manufacturer and laboratory services provider, welcomed Welsh Government Ministers Ken Skates MS and Jack Sargeant MS on Monday (8th December) to demonstrate how the Deeside-based CDMO is playing

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Sterility testing is a quality control process used to ensure that a cell line is free from microbial contamination. This is crucial when working with cell cultures in research, diagnostics, biomanufacturing, and clinical applications. What does Sterility testing do? Sterility testing typically screens for bacteria (aerobic and anaerobic), mycoplasma and fungi and yeast How is it done? Cell culture materialRead more

Additional Lyo bead automation ramps up manufacturing capacity to over half a million tests per day.   Biofortuna Limited (Deeside, UK), the specialist contract development and manufacturing partner to the IVD and point of care testing sectors, has invested in an additional Lyo bead manufacturing line in response to increasing customer demand for lyophilized diagnostic tests.   The new, fully

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We are delighted to share the news that hot on the heels of our 2023 Technical Service Award win, we have again been shortlisted for the 2024 Bionow Awards, this year for Business Internationalisation.   Now in their 23rd year, the Bionow awards celebrate the innovation and impact of the Life Sciences sector.   A panel of judges reviewed detailed

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Mycoplasma is a unique genus of bacteria. Unlike most bacterial species, Mycoplasma lacks a cell wall allowing it to assume diverse shapes. These characteristics challenge the effectiveness of antibiotics in cell culture media, as many antibiotics target the bacterial cell wall. Mycoplasma, among the tiniest bacteria (0.2–0.8 µm in size), presents a stealthy contamination risk. How can Mycoplasma contamination impactRead more

The evolution of nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAAT) Since its development in the late 1980’s, PCR has been considered the gold standard for DNA amplification for molecular analysis.  However, the requirement for dedicated and costly instrumentation to provide appropriate temperature cycling control has limited the use of PCR mainly to laboratory settings. This bottleneck has led to the development ofRead more

What is lyophilization? Lyophilization is the process of removing water from a product to the point where it is no longer biologically or chemically active. Lyophilization of an assay prevents degradation of its components such as enzymes, antibodies, proteins, DNA or oligonucleotides, allowing them to be safely transported and stored at room temperature with no loss in performance.   ThreeRead more

Point of Care Testing delivers the accuracy of laboratory testing without the wait Speed is critical when diagnosing. Clinicians must treat or manage the issue quickly and effectively. This urgency is particularly vital in cases of viral infection. Will the patient need to go to hospital and, if so, do they need to be treated in an isolation ward? Should

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The rapidly growing Lyo beads market  The global Lyophilised Reagent Beads market was valued at USD 188 Million in 2023 and is anticipated to reach USD 380 Million by 2030, witnessing a CAGR of 11.0% during the forecast period 2024-2030. This significant growth is driven by various factors: Rising demand in molecular diagnostics: Lyophilised reagent beads offer greater stability and longer shelf-life compared

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