TBM morning briefing: Oxford Nanopore breakthrough | PageGroup profits rise | Reading 2030
Oxford Nanopore part of team developing technique that could lead to quicker treatment of disease, pandemic boosts profits for recruitment firm PageGroup and what will Reading's economy look like in 2030?
Breakthrough for Oxford Nanopore
Scientists from Oxford Nanopore Technologies, NVIDIA, Google and others worked with a research team at the Stanford University School of Medicine to develop a whole genome nanopore sequencing approach that improves predictions of how a patient's disease will develop.
The technique can characterise pathogenic variants in as little as 7 hours and 18 minutes - faster than any previously published approach in clinical samples.
Reading 2030
What will Reading's economy look like in 2030?
That is the questions that The Business Magazine's conference will set out to address as we bring together key decision makers and organisations to discuss the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
PageGroup profits rise
Recruitment firm PageGroup saw its profits surge in the last few months of 2021, as the number of interviews conducted via Zoom or other video conferencing platforms increased rapidly and sped up the hiring process.
The Surrey company's gross profit increased by 55 per cent to £246.8million in the fourth quarter.
Industrial park sold to pension fund
Concorde Park, near Segensworth, has been sold for more than £23m to Nottinghamshire County Council Pension Fund. Commercial property developer Kingsbridge Estates announced it had completed the sale representing an initial yield of 3.79 per cent.
British Medical Auctions sold to Dutch outfit
British Medical Auctions (BMA) has confirmed its sale to Dutch auction company TBAuctions, part of Troostwijk Auctions.
BMA will continue to operate with its own brand and online presence having operated 110 trade auctions in 2021.
Jobs to go go at EV battery maker
Johnson Matthey is to close its its battery materials arm after failing to secure a sale in a move that is set to affect around 430 staff.
The firm put the division up for sale in November as it said it was unable to compete with alternative technologies and larger, lower cost manufacturers and has been unable to agree a deal with prospective buyers.
The majority of the division’s staff are based in Oxford with some of the affected personel based in Teeside and Cambridge.
Shinfield Studios starts work on next stage
STOCK WATCH: Allergy Therapeutics PLC (AGY)
AIM listed Allergy Therapeutics PLC said profits will be in line with market forecasts as it updated the market on trading and progress on its two key clinical trials.
The Worthing-based company will share data on its peanut allergy treatment in the third quarter of next year which is earlier than expected.
Its phase III evaluation of the grass allergy treatment will get underway in the autumn.
