Zilico Ltd – Developing next generation of cancer diagnostics

Cancer Diagnostic Spin out company. Zilico Ltd was the first spin out company from Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and initially set up by Medipex.

• Diagnostic probes for cervical cancer screening.
• 2 new products are being developed to provide “real time” results for women undergoing cervical cancer screening which will remove weeks of waiting for a diagnosis.  Tests are safe, painless, and accurate.
• Reduces false positives and need for diagnostic biopsies.
• Estimated annual savings to the NHS between £28M to £30M.
• The two principal co-inventors Dr John Tidy, Consultant Gynaecologist, Sheffield Teaching Hospital and Professor Brian Brown, Dept of Medical Physics University of Sheffield.
• Initial research and diagnostic probe development work was undertaken within the clinical engineering workshops at Sheffield Teaching Hospital and was supported by NIHR funding under the NEAT programme.
• Clinical data from Sheffield on 500 women has demonstrated superior performance over existing diagnostic procedures and a multi-centre clinical trial during 2009 is expected to underwrite the effectiveness of Zilico’s technology and products.
• Over the next 12 months Zilico plans to raise a further £3M to take the product to market