LAB ROUNDUP 16 May – A major rebrand, spin-out funding, grant win, skills gap initiative and more...

The new company which began trading on 16 May will be headed by CEO Prahlad Singh with Chris Hughes as MD Northern Europe, and Vice President and General Manager Commercial, Europe Miles Burrows. Perkin Elmer itself will continue to focus on analytical and enterprise solutions across the food, chemical, material and pharmaceutical QA/QC areas. Revvity will focus on pharma and biotech disease research, drug discovery and development plus diagnostics for research, screening and solutions for early clinical insights. The firm said its new name came from a combination of the words ‘revolution’ and ‘vita’ (life).

Cell and gene therapies (CGTs) manufacturer Cellular Origins announced a partnership with the Bio-Techne, Fresenius Kabi and Wilson Wolf joint venture Scale Ready that brings together process development expertise, tools and technologies for scalable CGT – automating part of ScaleReady’s CGT manufacturing workflow using Cellular Origin’s robotic sterile liquid transfer system.

Aston University scientist Dr Vesna Najdanovic has won a $25000 grant in the AstraZeneca Open Innovation CoSolve sustainability challenge to help to make research more sustainable and environmentally friendly. The senior lecturer in chemical engineering at Aston’s Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute is exploring new methods of using ethyl lactate as an environmentally friendly alternative to hazardous organic solvents such as such as acetonitrile.

UPM Biochemicals is investing €750 million on the world’s first industry scale biorefinery in Leuna to convert sustainably sourced, certified woody biomass into next generation biochemicals, aiming to produce 220,000 tonnes yearly after start-up later in 2023.

The European Laboratory Research & Innovation Group (ELRIG) UK has appointed Nick Clare to its board. Clare is presently Regional Sales Manager (Head of Europe) at Synthego.

Training provider for Science and technology apprenticeships training provider Tiro has launched new degree apprenticeships to address UK science and tech skills shortages. Starting this month and in partnership with Middlesex University, this will offer training chemical industry, environmental sciences and biosciences, in the form of Laboratory Scientist and Material Science Technologist apprenticeships. The Level 6 programmes on offer lead to Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Applied Bioscience, BSc in Applied Chemical Science and  BSc in Applied Materials Science awards. Founder and CEO Charlotte Blant said: "First-hand learning in labs and science sector workplaces is the best way to gain new skills, make new connections and begin a rewarding career. And for employers, it can play a useful role in boosting retention, offering opportunity for progression and for staff to get a sense of whether a new role is right for them.”

KNAUER has received the prestigious the VORSPRUNG Business Award, to Managing Director Alexandra Knauer and Managing Director Carsten Losch. The award goes to companies in eastern Germany and Berlin seen as role models for the future of the economy.

Bristol University spin-out Rosa Biotech has secured £415,000 in its latest investment round and says it will accelerate development of its bio-sensing technology to promote cost-effective early screening of life threatening diseases. Its initial focus will be non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFL); untreated the condition can develop into steatohepatitis (NASH) leading to liver failure. Cases of NASH have increased in the West by 100% during the last three decades, with the trend expected to climb further. 

The Pirbright Institute CEO and Director Professor Bryan Charleston has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.  Charleston is an expert in host-pathogen interactions related to major viral diseases in livestock.

NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Associate Administrator James L. Reuter will retire from NASA next month after 40 years of service. He has led STMD since 2018. 

The world's first nucleic acid CRDMO to provide continuous RNA manufacturing services from early discovery up to commercial cGMP, Exothera Nucleic Acids has appointed Dr. Patrick Thiaville as its Chief Technology Officer.

Roche’s British arm has signed an exclusive partnership with Social Value Portal, claiming a first within the UK diagnostic and pharmaceutical sector, enabling it to measure the company’s and its supply chain’s social value impact as part of its sustainability and social value strategy.