Lab Talk news in brief: PV tech, CRO expansion, MHRA licensing and US market
21 Aug 2025
Research project HI-SCOT is examining how photovoltaic technology can be integrated into Scotland’s historic structures.
Participants include Robert Gordon University, Edinburgh Napier University, Built Environment Forum Scotland, the Centre for Engineering, Education and Development, and community group Dar Al-Arqam, whose mid-Victorian premises will be the focus for initial work.
Researchers will explore approaches such as mimicking traditional materials and using coatings to minimise visual impact, with the aim of producing new guidelines for heritage architecture.
Funded by Scotland Beyond Net Zero, HI-SCOT is one of 11 new projects investigating sustainability challenges in energy, finance, food, the built environment, natural systems, and transport.
Independent life sciences contract research organisation Broughton is expanding its analytical testing services for medicinal cannabis and CBD product developers.
Its laboratories, accredited to GMP and ISO/IEC 17025 standards and inspected by UKAS, now offer validated testing for minor cannabinoids including CBG and CBGA. Services include potency testing for CBD, THC, CBN and CBG, as well as safety testing for pesticides, mycotoxins, residual solvents, heavy metals, and microbial contaminants.
Broughton provides real-time and accelerated stability studies with on-site storage capacity of more than 60,000 litres, helping enable clients to generate consistent data for regulatory submissions.
Sanofi has announced that the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorised Teplizumab, the first disease-modifying treatment licensed to delay the clinical onset of type 1 diabetes (T1D).
According to the company, the therapy works by training the immune system to stop attacking insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, postponing the need for insulin injections and intensive disease management by up to three years.
Sanofi said the approval marks the first time a treatment has been licensed in the UK to modify the course of T1D, enabling patients and families more time to prepare for disease progression. Pic: Shutterstock.
UK health tech start-up Daiser has been selected for the Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI) US Accelerator programme, joining the 2025 cohort.
Founded in 2024 by Mike Trenell (pictured)and Adam Wootton, Daiser has developed an AI-based ‘Lego brick’ style platform to help digital health innovators deploy solutions quickly and securely. Participation in the accelerator will give the company access to US healthcare networks, education sessions, and two trade missions to Maryland/Washington DC and to California/Arizona.
The ABHI said its accelerator, now in its eighth year, has generated an average of US$15 million in business for UK participants. The programme connects UK health tech firms with organisations such as Children’s National, Johns Hopkins and Adventist Health.
Daiser has previously won partnerships across UK and European health and research sectors and was recently selected by Google as one of 25 organisations worldwide to join its AI in Healthcare Accelerator.
