Cambridge: US firm opens diagnostics facility in 'world leading' city

Up to five million hand-held diagnostic tests will be produced at the laboratory outside Cambridge

A US pharmaceutical company that has opened a new diagnostics manufacturing site near Cambridge said the city was a "leading centre" for the industry.

Sherlock Biosciences said the facility at Swavesey would produce up to five million test devices a year that could help detect early signs of diseases.

Chief executive Bryan Dechairo said the design was engineered in Cambridge.

Dr Martin Turner, from the UK Bioindustry Association, described the city as a "huge asset to the UK".

Mr Dechairo said the company, which employs 40 people in the UK, chose the area for its "great" engineers and technicians.

"We'd worked with Cambridge Consultants and great Cambridge scientists leading the diagnostic industry," he said.

"And you can't get that anywhere else in the world... We love Cambridge."

Not unlike a lateral flow test, the handheld device aims to use DNA and RNA detection to diagnose diseases within an hour and "get results at home or in environments with few medical resources".

Sherlock Biosciences CEO Bryan Dechairo said Cambridge led the global diagnostic industry

The company said the device was aimed at consumers for "over-the-counter use", and said it hoped it could identify infections and respiratory diseases.

It said it had validated its manufacturing process, and was in talks with "many health providers".

A spokesman said it had not received any UK government funding, but had recently received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support the development of a diagnostic test for the human papillomavirus (HPV) which causes cervical cancer.

Dr Martin Turner, head of policy and public affairs at UK Bioindustry Association, said diagnostics were "crucial" to understanding public health.

Dr Martin Turner said Cambridge was well-known in America for the "quality of its science"

He said Cambridge's reputation had attracted global pharmaceutical companies and others to create a "critical mass" of skills and hundreds of spin-off companies.

"We're really excited to see it growing and see it rivalling Silicon Valley in America and Boston... in terms of the levels of innovation and company creation that we're seeing, and it's attracting great amounts of investment," he said.

"If you go to America, they know Cambridge, UK," he added.

"They recognise the name and they know the quality of the science - so it really is a huge asset to the UK."