Digostics’ world first home screening test for diabetes developed at Harwell Innovation Centre

According to Diabetes UK, it is estimated that more than 1.3 million people are living with undiagnosed diabetes in the UK. Digostics Ltd – a med tech company based at the Harwell Innovation Centre in Oxford – is on a mission to support the accurate and timely diagnosis of all types of diabetes with its new simple to use home testing kit, GTT@home.

A revolutionary new diagnostic solution, GTT@home is a user-friendly kit that contains everything required for a patient to easily complete a remote oral glucose tolerance test OGTT. It analyses fingerprick blood samples instantly to mitigate the risk of sample degradation to give the most accurate test data possible and enables patients to send that data to their healthcare team immediately, using a smartphone app.

Suitable for use with different patient groups, Digostics’ home test has been initially launched to detect gestational diabetes during pregnancy and it has now been adopted by two NHS trusts to replace in-clinic testing. The company has also completed a pilot with the Medical Research Council for Type 2 Diabetes screening, a pilot monitoring people with Cystic Fibrosis and is involved in a project with the University of Oxford to develop screening for Type 1 Diabetes in children.

All the Research and Development (R&D) for the product took place at Harwell Innovation Centre, which has played a key role in supporting the Digostics team on their innovation journey.

James Jackson, Founder of Digostics (centre), joined by Jo Stevens, Managing Director of Oxford Innovation Space (left), Toddy Tewson and Maxine Orme from the Digostics team (right and left), alongside Michelle Webb, Centre Manager at Harwell Innovation Centre (far left), and Wendy Tindsley, Senior Innovation Director (far right), at the Harwell Innovation Centre’s 25th anniversary celebration

Digostics founder, James Jackson originally moved into the Harwell Innovation Centre in 2002 shortly after setting up SmartSensor Telemed Ltd. Over the years, he has occupied various offices in the building – including Winston Churchill’s old office – as he increased or decreased space in line with the needs of his business. In 2019, James formed Digostics to take the new home testing product to the market, and the company took on the IP of its predecessor SmartSensor.

James Jackson, CEO and founder of Digostics, explains: “I don’t think we would be where we are today if we hadn’t been located within the Harwell Innovation Centre, as it has exposed us to a vibrant science and technology ecosystem. Everything has been on our doorstep, enabling us to easily access all the elements we needed to succeed. Without centres like this, innovators would be isolated in little silos. The centre plays a vital role in connecting the science community and fostering collaborations.

“The fact I’ve been located at Harwell Innovation Centre for over 20 years is testament to how good it is. The team are very supportive and always go out of their way to help. For example, when we were setting up for our clinical trial with Oxford University, the centre team helped us recruit part-time employees and sorted us out with additional space. Our Finance Director also came to us through an introduction from the centre.“

When James first moved into the Harwell Innovation Centre, which is managed by Oxford Innovation Space and based on the world-renowned Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, it was just himself and two part-time employees. Today, Digostics employs 10 staff as well as specialist contractors and has established a presence in New York to facilitate a screening study in Type 1 Diabetes at Yale Medical School.

With an eye on the global market, the company has also opened Digostics Middle East in Dubai, securing regulatory approval in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its first customers. Add to this the launch of Digostics Asia in Singapore and the company’s future on the international stage looks bright.

James concludes: “We want to become the ‘go to’ diabetes testing technology with our GTT@home test and alongside that we are building a digital logistics platform that could be used to detect other conditions including preeclampsia in pregnancy and post-natal depression.”

Harwell Innovation Centre is part of Oxford Innovation Space’s network of 31 innovation centres across the UK and Ireland. Working closely with universities, local authorities, science parks, developers and investors, the company creates dynamic environments for entrepreneurs to innovate, collaborate, develop their technologies and grow their businesses.

For more information on Oxford Innovation Space, visit Oxford Innovation Space | UK & Ireland’s largest network of innovation centres

For further information on Digostics Ltd, visit Digostics – Lab Quality Diabetes Testing, at Home