Deal will lead to mass production of Orla chip

Nov 22 2007 by Chris Knox, The Journal

A NEWCASTLE University spin-out company has signed a deal with a Japanese technology firm which will see its revolutionary medical technology go into mass production.

Orla Protein Technologies, launched in 2002, could be set to transform the way medical checks are carried out after signing a deal with Japan Radio Co (JRC).

The agreement will see Orla integrate its protein testing device with JRC’s minute communications technology, which will speed up the rate at which patients are diagnosed.

Orla’s device, invented by Jeremy Lakey, professor of structural biochemistry at the University of Newcastle, traps molecules to a sensor which is 30,000 times thinner than a sheet of paper in order to conduct medical tests.

By combining the two technologies, doctors will now be able to conduct tests at patients’ bedsides rather than having to take specimens to a lab, with the results instantly sent to a remote computer for analysis.

Prof Lakey said: “With the facilities that have opened up to us by working with Japan Radio, we can start to mass produce our product and begin to realise its potential.”

Orla believes the deal will mean it doubles its four-strong workforce within a year and could see it leave its Newcastle University campus base in search of a larger facility. Chief executive Dr Dale Athey said: “We are honoured to be working with such an established partner as Japanese Radio. Their expertise in mass manufacture and sensor technology, combined with Orla’s novel biosurface technology, provides a unique opportunity to create a leading position in the biodiagnostic marketplace.”

The firm became involved with JRC after attending a nano-technology event in Japan four years ago, where they were approached by Dr Hiromi Yatsuda, a researcher at the firm.

Dr Yatsuda said: “JRC was founded in 1915 and Orla in 2002. We are different nationalities and from different industrial fields, but we are now working together to create state-of-the-art biosensor products for human healthcare.”