Aston University sets Meritics on course to become market leader in the bio-pharmaceutical sector

Aston University has completed a knowledge transfer partnership with Meritics Ltd to develop the company’s capability and underpinning knowledge to measure the size, concentration and distribution of biological entities, such as liposomes and exosomes, using proprietary particle analysers.

The project will enable Meritics to enter the fast-growing biologics sector with their particle analysis instruments and services to significantly increase company turnover. It represented a significant change in direction for the company and focused on systems that would have the largest impact.

Results provided Meritics with significant data and proof-of-concept applications required to widen the company’s product range into the biological market. It also broadened the company’s knowledge of biological applications and helped bridge gaps between the areas of interest and the limitations of the analysers.

Meritics Ltd supplies and provides service support for a range of particle characterisation instrumentation to industrial, research and academic institutions in the UK. Additionally, it offers a range of consumables, analysis services and consultancy.

A knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) is a three-way collaboration between a business, an academic partner and a highly qualified graduate, called a KTP Associate. The UK-wide programme helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills. Aston University is the leading KTP provider within the Midlands.

The project was led by Dr Alice Rothnie and Dr Alan Goddard from Aston University’s Aston Centre for Membrane Protein & Lipid Research (AMPL), a specialist research group with a track record of biological particle characterisation. Dr Rothnie has over 14 years of experience working with liposomes, viral and cellular systems, while Dr Goddard brought over a decade of experience in biological membranes and nanoparticles ¬– mainly focusing on liposomes.

Also working on this partnership as KTP Associate was Dr Megan Cox, whose proven expertise in biochemistry drove the innovation and research behind the project. Following the completion of the project, Dr Cox has been employed by Meritics as a Technical Specialist, using biological expertise to assess instrument parameters for biological entities.

Brian Miller, founding managing director of Meritics, said: “The project has sped up the company’s plan to move into more biological application areas and widen our customer base. Aston University’s extensive knowledge in biology and biological entities is crucial for our wider sales and technical staff and provided invaluable visibility of the biological markets”.

Dr Alan Goddard said: “Working in partnership with Meritics has allowed us to transfer our extensive experience of biological particles into industry. We have formed an exciting partnership which has continued past the end of the formal project, enabling cutting-edge research to be performed at Aston using the latest equipment.”