Microvisk Technologies, manufacturer of healthcare products, has won the Healthcare Project of the Year Award at the BioNow Biomedical Awards, which showcase the work of biomedical companies in the North West.
Judges at the BioNow Healthcare Awards singled out Microvisk for its development of robust devices that deliver laboratory accuracy for management of Warfarin dosage, a drug that seven million people in the western world use.
The company has developed the devices so that they are easy for clinicians to use in medical centres or remotely and for patients to use at home.
David Cameron recently highlighted Microvisk’s work during his speech to launch the new national life sciences strategy.
“There’s a finger-prick blood test that allows patients on anticoagulation therapy to self-monitor their blood clotting time,” said Mr Cameron.
“It’s effective, convenient, and in the end, cheaper for the NHS. But still, less than 2% of the 1.25 million people in the UK on long-term anticoagulation therapy are self-monitoring.”
TRUSTECH, the NHS innovations hub for the North West, has facilitated the introduction of Microvisk to Professor Cheng-Hok Toh, consultant haematologist and centre director of the Roald Dahl haemostatis and thrombosis centre at The Royal Liverpool University Hospital, which is now one of the centres where the devices are being trialled.
Dr Richard Deed, innovation unit manager at TRUSTECH, said: “The Microvisk devices are a superb example of the development of better products through collaboration between companies and the NHS.”
Mr Deed continued: “Microvisk’s devices will provide a better outcome for patients who will be able to test their blood clotting ability at home instead of making weekly trips to the hospital or doctor’s clinic, as well as generating significant cost savings for healthcare systems.”
John Curtis, chief executive officer of Microvisk, said: “We are delighted to have been honoured with the BioNow Healthcare Project of the Year Award – this accolade marks a fitting end to a year of hard work and achievement by our staff.”
“We continue to work closely with Professor Toh and his team to fine tune our systems,” he added. Mr Curtis was confident about the company’s future and was optimistic regarding the new CoagMax and CoagLite devices.
“We will be ramping up for product launches in the UK and Germany to be followed by US product launches later in the year,” he said.
