Availability of new laser micro-machining system

Commissioning of new tool allows Bio Nano Consulting to offer advanced system for prototyping on the micron scale

London, UK – 14 May 2008: Bio Nano Consulting (BNC) is pleased to announce the availability of its latest tool for advanced prototyping with the commissioning of a new laser micro-machining system. The Oxford Lasers E-series system is an ideal tool for micro-drilling, micro-cutting and micro-milling of almost any solid material with an extremely high degree of accuracy. 

Housed within the BNC’s new Imperial College London laboratories, the laser micro-machining system can fabricate features down to the scale of 5 microns in materials including silicon, glass, plastic, ceramic and metal. This can facilitate rapid prototype fabrication for product development organisations. Interest is expected to be high in commercial organisations developing microfluidics and other novel applications of nanotechnology for healthcare.

Bio Nano Consulting CEO, Dr David Sarphie commented “Access to state-of-the-art tools such as this allows us to improve the prototyping services we already offer our customers, enabling us to address our customers’ needs rapidly and cost-effectively.”

For more information please visit www.bio-nano-consulting.com

Editors’ notes

About Bio Nano Consulting

The BNC is a specialist research and development consultancy operating in the convergent field of bionanotechnology. A joint venture of Imperial College London and University College London, the BNC is funded through the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) with additional support from the London Development Agency (LDA).

Along with its partner organisation, the National Physical Laboratory, the BNC offers a service to the biomedical and healthcare industries in microsystems and nanotechnology. This encompasses design, 3-D modelling and visualisation, rapid prototyping, and characterisation.

Launch of Bio Nano Consulting Ushers in New Era in Bio-Nanotech

New specialist product development consultancy will enable companies to realise the biomedical and pharmaceutical applications of nanotechnology

London, UK – 4 April 2008: A significant step forward in the practical delivery of nanotech for biomedical applications was taken last night with the official launch of Bio Nano Consulting. Formerly known as the Bio Nano Centre, the new Bio Nano Consulting (BNC) is a specialist product development consultancy applying nanotechnology tools to address real-world problems from the biomedical industry. Established in late 2007, BNC provides a seamless concept-to-market route for the bio-nanotechnology sector, and already has two projects underway with major pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies.

Announcing the launch, Professor John Wood, Principal, Faculty of Engineering and Chair in Material Science at Imperial College, London summarised BNC as providing companies with “access to brains and facilities”. BNC combines world leading experts in nanotechnology and biomedical engineering, experienced product development professionals and a £5m investment in infrastructure, instrumentation and working capital, to provide companies with an unparalleled resource. Particular specialist areas include virtual design, rapid prototyping and nano-characterisation.

Bio Nano Consulting CEO, Dr David Sarphie – a biotechnology professional with a wealth of senior management experience - commented “Over the next 20 years or so, the developing science of nanotechnology is going to transform healthcare – and generate globally significant revenues. For example, it is estimated that by 2015, some 50-60% of drugs will have involved nanotechnology in some stage of the development or delivery process. BNC offers a new way for companies to develop exciting new therapies, diagnostics and biomedical products that make use of nanotechnology.”

Expertise comes from senior researchers at Imperial College London, the University College London’s London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) and the UK’s National Physical Laboratory. An experienced board including Professors Gabriel Aeppli and Mike Horton of LCN and Professor Tony Cass of Imperial College will provide particular expertise. In addition, the BNC’s Industrial Advisory Board, composed of representatives from companies working in the biomedical sector, will ensure that technological concepts are successfully turned into reality, and projects will be run to schedule by highly experienced product development managers.

For more information please visit www.bio-nano-consulting.com

Editors’ notes

About Bio Nano Consulting

The BNC is a specialist research and development consultancy operating in the convergent field of bionanotechnology. A joint venture of Imperial College London and University College London, the BNC is funded through the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) with additional support from the London Development Agency (LDA).

Along with its partner organisation, the National Physical Laboratory, the BNC offers a service to the biomedical and healthcare industries in microsystems and nanotechnology. This encompasses design, 3-D modelling and visualisation, rapid prototyping, and characterisation.

Bio Nano Consulting commences first pharmaceutical project

Project with Targanta Therapeutics to look at antibiotic mode of action


London UK: The Bio Nano Consulting (BNC) today announced that it has commenced its first commercial project with a major pharmaceutical client. The London-based specialist research and development consultancy is using its position as world-leaders in cantilever-array assay systems to analyse in greater detail the mechanism of action of oritavancin, a novel lipoglycopeptide antibiotic under development at US-based Targanta Therapeutics Corporation.  This project builds on the BNC’s experience with other antibiotics.

Targanta Therapeutics is developing its lead antibiotic, oritavancin, for the treatment of serious gram-positive bacterial infections, including complicated skin and skin structure infections, or cSSSI, and bacteremia, a blood stream infection. Targanta Therapeutics expects to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first quarter of 2008 seeking to commercialize oritavancin for the treatment of cSSSI. 

Dr David Sarphie, CEO of the Bio Nano Consulting said, “We are thrilled to be working with a company of the quality of Targanta Therapeutics and to assist them in advancing their understanding of the mechanism of action of this new antibiotic drug candidate. This further establishes the BNC as a leader in applying cantilever-array technology to the assessment of drug-target interaction. In addition, it further demonstrates the important role that the BNC plays in the rapidly expanding bio-nanotechnology sector.”

This is the second major commercial project that the BNC has undertaken since being incorporated in October 2007.

The purpose of the IAB is to facilitate discussion concerning real-world application of the BNC’s highly-specialised services. IAB members will provide strategic input into business development opportunities for the Bio Nano Consulting

Members of the BNC’s IAB include:

BNC Industrial Board members

Dr Tito Barcarese-Hamilton, VP, New Products and Platforms
LifeScan Johnson & Johnson (Inverness, Scotland)

Tito Bacarese-Hamilton is currently Vice President, New Products and Platforms for LifeScan Scotland. In his role, Tito has responsibility for the full-scale development and commercial launch of all new product platforms. He provides the leadership and development direction globally across R&D and is the prime interface with manufacturing operations for the production scale-up of new, multi-product sensing platforms that are critical to LifeScan's strategic growth objectives and the needs of our customers. Tito oversees R&D's development of design for manufacturability expertise and ensures that our development projects deliver on our customers' critical to quality (CTQ) needs.

Mr Nigel Mason, General Manager of the Public Private Partnership Team
GE Healthcare

Nigel Mason is General Manager of the Public Private Partnerships team within GE Healthcare International – responsible for developing and implementing GE Healthcare’s strategies to support long-term equipping and services partnerships with Health systems across the International market.

In addition, he leads the “One GE Healthcare” initiative in the UK, coordinating activities of all GE Healthcare business units to drive growth through being better aligned with key customer requirements and UK government health policy.

Ms Jeannine Sargent, CEO
Oerlikon Solar (Switzerland)

Jeannine Sargent was recently appointed CEO of Oerlikon Solar (Switzerland), a world leader in the production of thin-film silicon solar modules for the solar energy industry. 

Prior to this, Ms Sargent served as Executive VP of Marketing and Business Development at Veeco, a world leader in nanotechnology instrumentation, with responsibility for Veeco's Metrology and Instrumentation businesses.

Mr Marc Hamilton, Worldwide Senior Director of High Performance Computing
Sun Microsystems Inc. (Silcon Valley, CA)

Marc has held a number of technology management positions at Sun over the last decade. Mr. Hamilton has written numerous technical articles on Java technology and the Internet and is the author of the book, "Software Development, Building Reliable Systems". Prior to joining Sun, he spent 11 years developing software for high performance computing applications at TRW.

Dr. Jim Darwent, Vice President, Corporate Research, 
Unilever (Bedforshire, UK)

Jim Darwent joined Unilever Research in Port Sunlight in 1986 after working as a lecturer at Birkbeck College, London University. His background is in physical chemistry having completed a PhD in solar energy conversion at the Royal Institution.After working on bleaches and enzymes for laundry applications, he led the Overseas Fabrics Research group developing products for the businesses outside of Europe and North America. In 1992, he joined Lever Europe and led the new packaging development centre in Milan. Jim returned to Port Sunlight in 1995 to join the management committee as head of the Physical and Engineering Sciences group. From 1997 till September 2003 was responsible for leading Unilever’s research programe in fabric washing products. In September 2003 he joined Corporate Research leading research into new areas of science and in March 2007 became responsible for Unilever’s R&D in Colworth.

Dr Mike Stein, Chief Medical Officer
Informa Healthcare (London)

Mike qualified as a medical doctor and subsequently completed a doctorate in Immunology at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.  He was appointed Junior Research Fellow in Medicine at Trinity College, Oxford (1991-95) where he taught medical students, and conducted molecular and cell biological research, and co-authored The Hands on Guide for House Officers (Donald and Stein; 3rd Edition, Blackwell Publishers) which is provided by the Medical Defense Union to all junior doctors in the UK.

Ends