A medical screening business which recently won a contract to supply 20 million rapid Covid-19 tests to the government has taken on more premises.
SureScreen Diagnostics Ltd, which is based on the Prime Enterprise Park, Derby, has taken space on the city’s Alfreton Road Business Park.
The deal, brokered by Hugo Beresford of Salloway Property Consultants, means that the last remaining units on phase 1 of Ivygrove’s Eagle Park, have now been let.
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SureScreen recently announced that it was creating 200 jobs after securing a £6 million deal to supply the Government with its lateral flow antigen tests.
They will be used to deliver rapid testing to people without any symptoms of the virus, as part of the battle to help break chains of transmission.
The firm has been involved in diagnostic healthcare testing for a quarter of a century, and since the start of the pandemic has supplied kits to countries including Germany, Spain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa and Peru.
Lateral flow antigen tests check samples from the nose and back of the throat for the signature proteins of Covid-19. They show results visually, in the same way as some pregnancy tests, in under 30 minutes.
The Department for Health and Social Care said SureScreen’s were the first British tests to be validated in the laboratory by Public Health England.
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The jobs will be created in Derby and the wider 海角视频 supply chain.
Lateral flow tests are being used across the country to test NHS and care home staff, as well as in targeted settings including schools, universities and to allow key workers to continue their vital work as the nation reopens.
Up to a third of people with Covid-19 do not have any symptoms, so asymptomatic testing could play a big part in making sure people do not unknowingly pass on the virus.
Surescreen director Alastair Campbell said: “Salloway have been very helpful in securing this expansion into Eagle Park with a quick turnaround, meaning that we have been able to increase our operation quickly as demand rapidly increased.
“The unit is excellent, and we are putting it to good use with these much-needed diagnostics products.”
Acting on behalf of private investor clients, Hugo Beresford said the high-quality premises were an ideal fit for the hi-tech company.
He said: “I’m delighted that we were able to complete these lettings despite the current lockdown.
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“The work that SureScreen is doing is crucial in our fight against Covid-19 and I’m glad that I could do my part to assist with such an important cause.
“Eagle Park has turned out to be one of Derby’s most successful business parks and I have been thrilled to work with both the developers and private investors to secure occupiers through sale and lettings.
“The occupier mix is diverse but the quality is consistent across the board. This is a regeneration project in which Derby can take pride.”