Randox: Behind those famous gates

There’s something almost elusive and mysterious about the world-famous healthcare diagnostics firm Randox - and I say that as someone who literally lives just 10 miles away from its Science Park in Antrim.

Even before I visited it, my husband, in response to my rather excited declarations about my impending visit, began to give me directions to where he claimed it was located at Crumlin, much to my initial confusion.

It transpired that he wasn’t entirely wrong; the company has indeed laboratories there, and it’s headquarters no less, and my subsequent research revealed that it was actually started here by its well-known founder Dr Peter FitzGerald - in a chicken shed.

But today it is far from such humble characteristics, with operations not only in Northern Ireland - there are six bases in Co Antrim, all within a six mile radius of the Antrim facility - but also in Donegal, the USA, and, Bangalore in India.

Still, the Science Park in Antrim, to the untrained eye, retains some of that ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ nature, as I very nearly did, and that’s possibly because it sits behind the remaining heavy steel gates of what was formerly Massereene army barracks, just out the town’s Randalstown Road.

Pulling in, I was quickly ushered into a reception area, where I filled out the relevant forms concerning my own Covid-free health, and then brought across the Science Park towards the new labs, which were built within the past few months in order to facilitate the huge Coronavirus testing role that the company has been so heavily involved in since the outbreak of the unprecedented pandemic.

Waiting to meet me are senior manager Mark Campbell, who’s planning on showing me a presentation on the background of the company, and senior manufacturing manager David Martin, my de facto ‘tour guide’ for the day.

Naturally, the topic of Covid-19 is high on our agenda, but even I’m slightly blown away when Mark reveals that, to date, more than five million tests have been carried out here.

In fact, as of last Tuesday, that number reached the 5.6 million mark.

“Just by way of illustration, it was four and a half months before we received and reported our first million samples, and in the last three months we have done an extra four million plus,” says Mark, as we sit around the boardroom table, each of us protected with our own Perspex shield.

“We’ve greatly accelerated, but this is based on some 40 years of experience; we are not a Johnny-come-lately company by any stretch of the imagination.

“We’re a leading diagnostics and healthcare company, recognised globally.

“We employ just over 2,000 people and have almost 500 scientists and engineers.

“We traditionally research, develop and manufacture diagnostic tests; we also carry out particularly clinical chemistry tests at a high volume.

“So, for example, if you’ve had your cholesterol tested in the last 15 years there’s a one in 10 chance that we were the people who supplied your test.

“Taking that in the context of a global basis, we don’t think that’s too bad.”

Mark says that last year alone, Randox manufactured 4.1 billion diagnostic tests, which were exported around the globe.

Considering there’s roughly 100 billion tests done worldwide annually, that’s four per cent provided by the Northern Ireland born company.

And, as Mark stresses, one of the most important aspects of the work that Randox does is ensuring its tests are all up to the required national and international standards, and pass rigorous evaluations before being approved for release.

“Quality control is absolutely essential in everything that we do,” he says. “It runs through our DNA from start to finish.

“Without effective quality control, there’s no point having a laboratory.”

Speaking of laboratories, where we’re sitting is in the new part of the Science Park that houses four labs, and is just one section of the 47-acre site that was formerly an army base - 35,000 square feet of new laboratories to be precise, which all had to be fully staffed, and fully equipped.

Plans are in place for the construction of two more dedicated Covid labs to cope with the demand for testing, and there are currently more than 750 staff employed who are dedicated to the virus testing and manufacturing operation alone.

Added Mark: “So you can see the scale of the company, and the absolute urgency of what was required here, what the country needed, and what we were asked to do by the government to support this requirement.

“Our people have been outstanding in rising to the challenge.

“Over the last number of years we have invested 335 million pounds in our Biochip; these really change the nature of healthcare, because they can carry out hundreds of diagnostic tests simultaneously. We can manufacture up to 120,00 of those in a day.

“In this way, as a company we bucked the trend internationally, because whereas most others try and outsource a lot of their manufacturing, we like to keep it all in-house.

“At the end of March, when we committed to the programme, we provided up to 150 Covid-19 tests a day.

“We now have a capacity of 80,000 tests a day, and that is quite an amazing step.

“There is a sense of professional achievement, and we will take that further.

“We have got our sights on 100,000 a day.

“In terms of our staffing levels, we have seen new people come from jobs such as working for airlines, picking up employment here. So it has been quite a journey.

“With the arrival of Covid, the whole world shifted on its axis, and we shifted with it, in order to provide the Covid-19 testing support the country needed at the time.

“The company has pivoted, and we must be prepared to pivot back again when the time comes.

“Our traditional business is very much still there, although demand has gone down just a bit because of the nature of this (pandemic), so we need to continue to support that as well.”

As David stressed, Randox was already in the perfect position in terms of its professional capabilities and experience to deliver on what government needed.

“We were robustly positioned in being able to support the testing programme,” he added.

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How company responded rapidly to pandemic

Randox has always been reputed as a company that is ahead of the game, and when the outbreak of Coronavirus hit Ulster’s shores back in March, it proved itself once again.

Its scientists had already developed a CE-marked panel of tests for 15 respiratory viruses, including four strains of coronaviruses.

Tests have also been developed for SARS and MERS.

When China released the genome (the genetic structure) of the Covid 19 virus (its scientific name is SARS-CoV-2), Randox was able to harness its research and development capability, and some 40 years’ experience in diagnostics (and specifically in diagnostics for respiratory diseases), to develop an effective Covid 19 test with the same vigorous and robust development processes that were applied to all its other tests.

The test, developed on Randox’s patented Biochip Technology, underwent evaluation within, and was accepted by, Public Health England.

A Biochip is a piece of ceramic, 9mm x 9mm, which has been coated and chemically engineered to carry and conduct multiple tests simultaneously, within a bespoke Randox analyser.

This is known in the diagnostic world as ‘multiplexing’, and differs from more routine testing, when only one test is conducted at a time.

Randox multiplex tests can be both proteomic (the testing of proteins) and genomic (the analysis of genetic material).

Randox has invested more than £350m in this technology over a number of years – and these multiple, simultaneous tests greatly improve a clinician’s ability to provide accurate and timely diagnosis.

So, in this instance, using multiple tests, on the Randox Biochip, Randox scientists were not only able to diagnose Covid-19, but to differentiate sufferers with other respiratory diseases, but with similar symptoms.

Randox: A numbers game

The company now employs more than 2,060 people, including 450 research scientists and engineers.

It manufactures around five per cent of all diagnostic tests used in the world, mostly in clinical chemistry.

Last year alone, it manufactured 4.1 billion diagnostic tests.

Randox operates its manufacturing and research and development in three different countries - Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland (Donegal) and India (Bangalore).

A fourth facility is under development in West Virginia, USA.

In the UK, it operates six major locations, all within a six-mile radius of Randox Science Park in Antrim. Additional laboratory facilities are located in London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Holywood and Crumlin.

A total of 35,000 sq ft of laboratories were built this year for Covid testing alone, and an additional 45,000 sq ft of engineering and 50,000 sq ft of logistic facilities.

The total investment in infrastructure and equipment to date is £41 million, with another £27 million to be invested over the next six months

There are currently more than 750 staff involved in Covid-19 testing and Covid-19 test