While the world’s attention has been focused on coronavirus, Suffolk company Deben Diagnostics has seen huge market growth with In Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs) to identify and combat cholera, salmonella, shigella, influenza and meningitis. Screening infectious diseases worldwide is vital, as they continue to be an issue during the pandemic.
From its recently expanded offices and distribution centre at Masterlord Office Village in Ipswich, Deben Diagnostics supplies and distributes laboratory consumables and test kits across the world, particularly to Africa, the Middle East and Far East.
The company has a varied customer base supplying mainly through country exclusive stock holding distributors, and has direct sales to organizations such as Public Health England, The World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Red Cross, overseas ministries of health and non-governmental organizations.
From a family business started at home in September 2009 by directors Stephen and Julia Hembling, they have seen impressive growth and now supply more than 85 countries. It was soon clear they needed office premises as their testing kits were in high demand. With offices in Unit 4 Alpha Terrace, they added a distribution unit opposite, where they are currently assembling 600 cholera testing kits to be shipped to Ethiopia on 50 pallets.
‘Masterlord has given us the flexibility to grow our business as needs change. Adding the distribution unit close by is a real bonus. We’re a small company trading across the world, so location and communications are important. We’ve grown organically, the office village is the perfect environment for us. Sadly, cholera and other diseases have not yet been defeated, but we’re playing our part in controlling them.’
Stephen Hembling, Deben Diagnostics
Last year, a shortage of reagents hit the news. It’s complex, as Stephen Hembling explains:
‘Deben Diagnostics reagents are liquid products that contain specific agglutinin and are used for serotyping of, for example, Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139. When these reagents are mixed with a V. cholerae strain which has antigens correspondent to the reagent, the antigen antibody reaction occurs to produce agglutination. This reaction is macroscopically observed to determine each serotype.’ We told you this was complex!
Deben Diagnostics are the only UK-based supplier of the Receptor Destroying Enzyme kit, which is used in the hemagglutination inhibition test for the influenza virus. The company’s branded products are recognised internationally.
Regulations governing in vitro diagnostics are constantly changing, so keeping up is a challenge. But Deben Diagnostics is now a leading supplier of cholera diagnostic kits.
