Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

The Finnish company, which also operates from bases in Guildford in the UK and Tempere in Finland, said that it is to close the research facility to "become more focused on the commercialisation of its existing products."

It said it had completed the two key activities - identifying the mode of action of the bioactive component of its OptimaPLUS product and strengthening the IP surrounding the compound which the facility had been set up to undertake.

Bedford medical devices firm, Probe Scientific, has marked the launch of its single-use, needle eliminating blood-sampling tool with a first export order for the Joanneum Institute in Graz, Austria, where it will be used to progress research into glucose in blood.

MicroEye® is a minimally invasive device that allows continuous blood sampling in collaboration with pre-existing access devices, thereby avoiding repeated needle puncture for the patient.

The sale marks Probe's transition from pure R & D to a product pipeline for its own proprietary technology.