A firm creating a revolutionary needle-free disease detection process is the latest to join Birmingham’s fast-growing biomedical cluster.
KIFFIK Biomedical has patented a process which painlessly creates temporary micro-openings in the skin to capture biomarker-rich interstitial fluid (ISF).
It has located its UK operations at the PHTA (Precision Health Technologies Accelerator) at the BHIC (Birmingham Health Innovation Campus) in Selly Oak, Birmingham.
KIFFIK Biomedical, whose global headquarters is in Rhode island, USA, says it is changing the diagnostics landscape with its needle-free, interstitial fluid-based diagnostic platform which enables fast, accurate, at-home disease detection.
“Transforming how we screen for conditions like colorectal cancer”
Through its partnerships with Duracell and Rubix, KIFFIK’s progress on biomarker-driven diagnostics promises to bring major advances in cancer screening.
“The future of diagnostics lies in harnessing the rich biomarker profile of interstitial fluid,” said Les Lindsay, President EMEA for Kiffik Biomedical Europe.
“The Midlands offers untapped resources and a large and growing pool of healthcare technology companies to collaborate with. Our partnerships with Duracell and Rubix are critical steps in bringing more accessible and effective disease detection solutions to market, transforming how we screen for conditions like colorectal cancer.”
While early detection is a powerful tool in the fight against colorectal cancer (CRC), people’s take-up on screening remains low due to invasive tests and the stigma surrounding stool-based exams.
KIFFIK’s interstitial fluid-based collection technology enables non-invasive biomarker extraction, eliminating the need for stool samples or colonoscopy prep – by making an microscopic entry to your skin to sample a tiny amount of interstitial fluid.
Birmingham’s signature health and life sciences research facility
PHTA is the University of Birmingham’s signature health and life sciences research facility – 70,000 sq ft of state-of-the-art laboratory, incubation and collaboration space.
It is home to the University’s Clinical Immunology Service and the PHTA Industry Trials Hub.
Alongside these PHTA residents are entrepreneurs, start-ups and scale-ups together with the next generation of academic and clinical leaders working to accelerate the rapid development of cutting-edge therapies and technologies.
Professor Gino Martini, PHTA’s CEO, said: “By basing their UK operations at PHTA, KIFFIK is already benefiting from collaborations with academic leaders including Andrew Beggs, Professor of Cancer Genetics and Surgery and Deputy Director of the Birmingham Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, whose expertise in cancer genomics, nanopore and single-cell sequencing and tumour DNA is helping to unlock the vast potential of KIFFIK’s technology.”
