SubscribeEstablished over 12 months ago by Yorkshire Forward, and part funded by the European Union, the Specialist Bioscience Advisory Service (SBAS) is designed to provide support for the region's growing number of bioscience companies.
Leading business advisers Deloitte and law firm Eversheds deliver specialist support across a range of issues including: market research; regulatory; legal agreements; intellectual property; business strategy; resources and finance.
Deloitte Partner leading delivery, Heather Hancock says “the service has helped over 40 companies across the region, but there are many more eligible companies who have not yet taken advantage. Existing and start up bioscience enterprises are surprised to find that the service really is free and absolutely tailored to their specialist needs.
It’s very easy to access through our Programme Manager, Linda Rawlings, and she has lots of examples of how companies have used and benefited from the high quality advice that Yorkshire Forward and the European Union are funding”.
Companies like, HeartSmart, a Leeds–based medical technology company which is developing a world leading system to monitor patients during critical surgery. They used SBAS to advise on license and marketing agreements, and to put together information for potential investors.
HeartSmart’s Executive Scientific Director Ken Davies said “The service was really useful to us – giving practical advice on exactly what we needed, saving time and money, and a lot of headaches!”.
Another company using the service is Paraytec, an ultra high sensitivity analytical detection company, which emerged from the University of York. Their miniaturised UV absorbance detectors have application areas in bioscience, for example DNA, RNA or proteins.
Paraytec had not yet incorporated, but the company had prototypes developed and was looking for investors and commercial partners.
Professor David Goodall, Chief Scientific Officer of Paraytec and one of the UK’s leading analytical scientists explained
“We needed more detail on the size of the market and the particular sector for our technology, and we needed it quickly.
“Through SBAS we were able to access market analysis services within Deloitte. They came up with the key information to establish the size of the market for our technology. It was even presented already formatted - so it really was ready to use.
This made a big difference to our business proposition. Since making our investor pitches we have now incorporated the business and achieved further investment.”
Technostics Ltd, based at The Deep Business Centre in Hull, offer consultancy and also develop their own innovative products for conditions such as reflux disease and irritable bowel syndrome.
They used SBAS for legal advice to make sure their interests were protected when signing up to joint development agreements with other larger companies. Harvey Dettmar, Director of Technostics Ltd said "It was great to be able to call on the specialist legal advice we needed without having to worry about the cost”.
“Bioscience companies do need specialist advice” says SBAS Programme Manager Linda Rawlings. “Products can take a long time to get to market, finance can be challenging, and there are difficult regulatory hurdles to overcome.
“Investors also need to know that the intellectual property is secure. If companies don’t get the right advice when they need it, the consequences can be disastrous.
“If companies are involved in bioscience, based in the Yorkshire & Humber region and are classed as a “small or medium sized enterprise” then they can access expert advice free of charge through SBAS.”
Reza Zadeh, Head of Competitiveness at Yorkshire Forward commented: “There are a vast number of innovative young bioscience companies in our region.
SBAS offers the high standard of specialist business support, which when combined with excellent science could take ideas from the laboratory to the market place and make a significant contribution to the growth of our bioscience industry.”
To find out more information, contact Linda Rawlings, SBAS Programme Manager at sbas@yorkshire-forward.comor call the helpline on 0113 29 21739.