Five new socially-conscious businesses with the mission to create positive change for the North East, the 海角视频 and the world have spun out from Newcastle University.
The university has a solid track record in producing spin-out companies from research, triggering the development new products and services, and it said the events of the last year have done nothing to dampen ambitions.
During lockdown, new companies have launched from the university that include Dragonfly Insulation Ltd, ScubaTx, GlycoScore, Indicatrix and XR Therapeutics.
Dragonfly Insulation Ltd has been set up to develop insulating materials based on high porosity, low density and fire-resistant aerogel – a vital development given the need for insulation material with better fire-safety properties following the Grenfell fire.
ScubaTx has been launched to provide a novel method of organ transportation which saves time, money and most importantly lives.
Meanwhile, XR Therapeutics is using immersive reality for the treatment of autism, while Indicatrix provides bespoke crystallisation screening for small organic molecules, and GlycoScore is a prostate diagnostic.
David Huntley, head of company creation at Newcastle University said: “Innovation and creativity are now more important than ever in a post-Brexit and Covid world.
“Our new technologies are developed to fundamentally make the world a better place for real people in our communities.
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“Our businesses are built to solve problems in healthcare, sustainability and manufacturing, among many other sectors.
“Everything we create has a social impact at the heart of it and the technologies we are bringing to market are at the forefront of issues facing real people every day.
“Our spin-out companies also contribute to the development and vitality of our region through new jobs and revenue creation, Advanced Electric Machines, a company providing sustainable electric motors without rare earth materials, and Changing Health, a digital service launching the first national education programme for the NHS, are growing rapidly and increasing employment in the North East and beyond.
“Newcastle University spin-outs have also secured investment of over £10m in the Covid period to grow and accelerate seven businesses that we know are going to continue to have an impact for people every day.
“This includes AMLo, developers of early-stage melanoma testing; Newcells Biotech, the use of induced pluripotent stem-cells in new drug development and CellulaREvolution, continuous cell culturing technologies for 'clean' meat products.”
Mr Huntley said the team has plans to establish, develop and support more scalable businesses this year with real social impact, including supporting creation and management of the companies through the successful Northern Accelerator programme.