Orla's flu detector device receives a cash injection

Apr 30 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

A SCIENCE firm's ambitions to drive revenues on the back of a partnership with a Japanese company have been boosted by £140,000 in new funding.

Newcastle-based Orla Protein Technologies has won new investment to support its work with Japanese electronics giant Japan Radio Company.

Orla has been working with the company – which has offices across Europe, Asia and the Americas – to help develop the next generation of miniature devices which can diagnose infectious diseases.

And now, the company’s ongoing work with Japan Radio has been supported by £140,000 from NEL Capital, the venture capital division of North East firm NEL Fund Managers. Orla will design a device to specifically detect respiratory viral illnesses, such as human and avian flu.

Working prototypes of a new biosensor will be tested and refined over the next six months, and discussions are already ongoing with potential distributors over how the finished product can eventually be brought to market.

Orla chief executive Dale Athey said: “Breaking into the Japanese market has been a long-term ambition for the company, so signing this agreement is both a great achievement in itself and the first of what we hope will be many fruitful Far East collaborations.

“We always knew that electronics and materials companies were looking for ways to break into the biotech market, and as a world leader in this area, Japan was an obvious place for us to target.

“We’ve invested a great deal of time and effort in building the relationships required, and this work is now beginning to pay off.

“For a small North East firm to be signing an agreement with a respected company like Japan Radio clearly shows how well regarded we have become in our field – we’re punching well above our weight, and the ongoing support we’ve had from NEL over the years has played a crucial role in enabling us to both reach the position we’re now in and aim for where we want to be in the none-too-distant future.”

Barrie Hensby, chief executive of NEL Fund Managers, said: “It is a real thrill for us to be part of a North East company’s burgeoning success on the world stage.”

Orla, which was originally founded in 2002 as a spin-out from Newcastle University, is focused on the integration of biological systems and physical devices through specially-engineered proteins.