AWARD-WINNING clinical diagnostics company Randox Laboratories is to boost the research and development (R&D) capabilities at its Antrim facility with a £9.2 million (€10.7 million) investment package.
The company, which has pioneered the development of innovative biochip analysing technology, will receive more than £3 million in support from Invest Northern Ireland towards the cost of the new investment in R&D.
It marks a turnaround in the chilly relationship that had developed between Randox and Invest NI. Last year Northern Ireland lost out on a €7.5 million investment by Randox after the company chose to develop a new manufacturing, research and development facility in Co Donegal.
At the time, Randox said its “investment plans were being hampered by a high level of bureaucracy in Northern Ireland”.
It also signalled frustration over the level of support it had received from economic development agencies such as Invest NI.
But yesterday this was put to one side as the North’s Economy Minister, Arlene Foster, praised the company’s “renowned reputation for excellence in the high-tech world of clinical diagnostics” during a visit to its Crumlin headquarters. “These latest investments by Randox, supported by Invest NI, will see the company further develop its already strong research capability and underline its longstanding commitment to seeking out new and improved diagnostic solutions.”
Randox Laboratories is one of the North’s homegrown success stories. The company, which was established in 1982 by its current managing director, Dr Peter Fitzgerald, is privately owned.
Today, the company employs 850 worldwide and has annual revenues of £50 million.
Randox specialises in the development of chemical diagnostic tests and devices that are primarily used by hospitals and clinical and veterinary laboratories.
The group said the latest investment would support R&D across three distinct projects. This includes its latest diagnostics solutions, which it hopes will enhance the company’s products and develop efficiencies as it seeks to grow its global market share.
