Innovation is at the heart of what we do at ODx Innovations Ltd. We’re bringing life saving medical testing products to market as fast as we can. We are helping provide faster answers to get the right drug for the right bug – or help NHS staff decide when it’s safe to prescribe no drug at all.
For about 4 years, ODx has focussed on one of the most common medical problems presenting at Hospital A&E, Pharmacies & GP surgeries – Urinary Tract Infections.
ODx started from a simple premise; when a doctor sees a patient, they often take a biological sample to see what is happening to them. There are two important questions they then ask; is there a bacteria growing in this sample, and if so, what should we do to inhibit the bacteria? Typically, this process can take 2-3 days. We have been looking at how we can provide answers within an hour and quite often within 30 minutes.
That relieves pressure on NHS by reducing repeat visits to GPs, benefits patients, their families & carers via relief from miserable symptoms, reduces hospitalisation and ultimately the cost and time savings for the NHS & health systems worldwide are significant.
From one person in 2019, we’ve grown to 35 employees and 70 contractors. We are hiring another 60 staff in Inverness as part of planned growth and to adapt to CV19 via flexible 24 hour working ensure adequate distancing at all times.
Our team is from all across Scotland, UK and overseas. We have roles from school leavers/apprentices to highly skilled roles.
I’m Lana MacGregor and my role as Marketing and Communications Coordinator is to raise the profile of ODx within the global medical, life sciences and medical technology industry & in our local community to individuals and businesses. I have been in the job just for about 6 months and it’s been eye opening. Marketing within a Medtech company is a rewarding and wide-ranging role.
My day can vary from writing press releases, conducting VoC interviews with healthcare professionals and clinicians or coordinating a film crew/photographer.
At the moment I’m supporting HR to raise awareness of our vacant roles, organising Voice of Customer (VoC) interviews to take place in Inverness and the US.
Most importantly, my work includes raising awareness of our clinical trials to support ODx find volunteers who have suspected urinary tract infections to provide urine samples.
This is key to our work and creating more jobs in Inverness. ODx would greatly appreciate Chamber members publicising our campaign for volunteers – they can directly help us reduce the suffering of others – and we can even pay them £20 for their travel expenses to come to our research facility or pick up samples from their home[GH1] .
I am thrilled to work for an organisation where each individual is part of making something incredible happen that will change outcomes for patients and make the job of healthcare professionals easier.
As a previous employee of Inverness Chamber, I saw the benefit that all types of businesses gained from getting involved in every aspect of the Chamber’s profile raising, like this member of the week campaign. At ODx, we are keen to find and engage with the people who are motivated by the same issues as us and Member of the Week is a great opportunity to showcase your business.
We are carrying out a number of clinical studies [GH2] with the NHS. We urgently need help from the Inverness community to help us find people who suspect they are suffering from (or have been diagnosed with) a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) willing to become ODx
volunteers, visit our facilities at Solasta House and provide a urine sample. We pay £20 for attending. We can even pick up samples from the home of volunteers or their place of work.
Volunteers can immediately help us reduce the misery of UTIs as their samples help our scientists learn more about the growing problem of UTIs and antimicrobial resistance. They also help us accelerate the development of our products, so they can reach patients faster. To find out more and book an appointment at www.odxinnovations.com/taking-part
Our expertise is developing a technology & turning it into useful products. Whilst our team have launched many products round the world in their work elsewhere, ODx first launch product will help assess suspected UTIs at the point of care, ensuring the most appropriate antibiotics are identified as quickly as possible. It’ll be in GPs, hospital outpatient clinics and some pharmacies. We’re looking forward to it being implemented in remote and rural communities in the Highlands & Islands, to reduce costs in the NHS and help have fewer people being hospitalised. We know from personal experience how hard it is on individuals, their families and the wider communities when loved ones have to move to Inverness for their care.
We are hopeful that people suffering with a suspected UTI or perhaps chronic sufferers will want to support our work as volunteers providing urine samples to help make this happen faster.
Over the next 12 months we’re excited about creating more jobs & opportunities for people of all ages in the Highlands, Islands, Moray & Inverness. ODx are keen to collaborate with businesses, public and third sector organisations. Innovation is what we do – we are dedicated to supporting existing initiatives & helping build a thriving centre for scientific excellence right here in the Highlands on Inverness Campus.
ODx Innovations Ltd received a Discovery Award at the Royal Society in London, that was competed for world wide. The coveted Innovation Award went to ODx in the 2017 Scottish Life Sciences Awards. We’re finalists in two categories for this year’s Scottish Life Sciences Awards for our work in 2019.
I shared with Inverness Chamber what ODx Innovations value most about their Chamber membership: When we moved to Inverness 18 months ago we kept our heads down while we were getting up and running. We are now beginning to grow awareness of ODx locally. We really value the connection to the wide network of business contacts in all sectors. We are committed to placing business with local suppliers and open to opportunities for collaboration. We definitely value the profile raising & relationship building the Chamber can help with. It was great to be able to submit a piece for the magazine immediately after joining.
My top-tip to other Chamber members to maximise their membership would be: It’s not often you find an independent business membership organisation that can speak truth to power effectively. Through the relationships the Chamber has with government locally and nationally and a strong presence in the media, they provide ODx with insight, a fair hearing, a voice & an understanding of local and national issues. For the many businesses who are struggling to return to normal after Covid-19, having a strong voice of business in Inverness Chamber can make all the difference. We recommend that all members keep engaged with the Chamber remotely & make their issues known. That helps the Chamber continue to be well sighted of member issues and support us all.
We would love to welcome fellow Chamber members to our facilities at Solasta House when they feel comfortable to provide them with a tour of the facilities and to learn a bit more about our technology.
This can be arranged through Lana by emailing lana.macgregor@odxinnovations.com or calling 07715517034.
Website: https://odxinnovations.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/odx-global
Twitter: https://twitter.com/odxinnovations