Best Business Collaboration
Winner - The Lighthouse Laboratory in Glasgow
The Lighthouse Laboratory was established by the University of Glasgow and the Department of Health & Social Care as a national COVID-19 testing facility analysing samples from individuals with suspected COVID- 19 infections.
Based at the University’s Clinical Innovation Zone, Glasgow’s triple helix partnership with industry and the NHS enabled the rapid establishment of what is currently the UK’s highest throughput facility.
To develop a COVID-19 testing facility, the University reached out to drug discovery service company BioAscent and Dundee University’s Drug Discovery Unit, who brought experience of high-throughput compound screening which could be translated to support high-throughput clinical testing. Industry partner BioClavis then expanded Glasgow’s initial production, providing leadership to add multiple laboratories, advanced robotic systems, and support for sequencing of Covid variants.
The Lighthouse Lab recently reached the milestone of processing over 12 million tests, a phenomenal achievement in supporting the country’s national COVID-19 testing effort and confirming the critical role the Lab has played in response to the pandemic.
The Lighthouse Lab team have been recognised for working collaboratively to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, setting up the facility within weeks and processing up to 85,000 tests per day.
Find out more: Lighthouse Laboratory
Lighthouse Laboratory
Dr Carol Clugston talks about setting up the Lighthouse Laboratory, the UK's highest throughput diagnostic facility and supporting the NHS during the pandemic, one of the biggest challenges it has ever faced.