From York to the World: Three Biotech Firsts Celebrated in British Science Week
With over 20 years of scientific heritage, York Biotech Campus (YBC) has been a hub for groundbreaking innovations and discoveries.
To celebrate this year’s British Science Week- a ten-day festival of science, technology, engineering, and maths – we’re highlighting some of the pioneering ‘firsts’ achieved right here on campus.
1. Fera Science Ltd. – Developing a first of its kind Insect Research Laboratory
In 2022 Fera, a leading provider of expert laboratory and field-based services in the agriculture, food, and environment sectors, invested £1m into creating a state-of-the-art insect research laboratory here at YBC. The expansion involved converting a former 2,000 sq. ft storage unit on site into a purpose-built insect research unit.
The result? The first of its kind in Europe, allowing Fera to upscale its current insect services and help meet the needs of clients from across the food and agriculture industries by demonstrating insect bioconversion at scale and replicating the nature of insect farming in a factory.
Insect bioconversion is the process of rearing insects on organic waste material to create high-quality products, such as protein or fertiliser. This is a sustainable practice that reduces waste, provides an alternative animal feed source, and reduces the environmental impact of producing protein in already depleted areas, ultimately helping to combat climate change.
2. Abingdon Health – the world’s first ever saliva-based pregnancy test
Abingdon Health is a leading international developer, manufacturer and distributor of high quality and effective rapid tests. They have recently teamed up with Saligonstics to launch SalistickTM – the world’s first saliva-based pregnancy test!
SalistickTM is based on Salignostics’ groundbreaking technology, which detects the pregnancy hormone β-hCG in saliva. Working alongside Abingdon, they’ve been able to launch the incredibly exciting product to market giving the ability to test for pregnancy anywhere, at any time.
3. Labskin – the first commercially available human skin equivalent mimicking different ethnicities
Labskin is a specialist in human skin microbiology and produces a lab-grown human skin equivalent which mimics the real thing. Until very recently, however, this was restricted to one type of skin model.
They’ve recently launched a world-first, new model made with melanocytes, the cells which produce the pigment melanin and give our skin its colour. The new Labskin-M has been validated with melanocytes from donors of different ethnic backgrounds, enabling Labskin to create 3D models which mimic different ethnicities. These models can now be used to study the effects of products on various ethnicities and skin types.
We take immense pride in the groundbreaking scientific research and innovation happening across our 80-acre site. Home to a diverse community of pioneers—from Pharma to Bio-Industrial—many of our occupiers are pushing boundaries in their fields, often collaborating right here on campus.
But our impact goes beyond research. We’re also a hub for the next generation of scientists, with many apprenticeship schemes based here, alongside hosting BioGrad’s delivery of immersive laboratory and clinical training courses. This British Science Week, there’s no shortage of achievements to celebrate!
Find out more about the businesses based here at YBC: https://yorkbiotechcampus.com/science-onsite/